Penn Museum Collaborates with Free Library of Philadelphia Summer Reading Program and Offers Outreach Programs at Select Libraries throughout Pennsylvania

When school lets out, summer reading is a crucial activity for children and young adults-who can lose up to three months of their reading skills during the vacation season if they stop reading. Library summer reading programs strive to encourage reading, and learning, for all ages.

DISCOVER THE WORLD Collaboration

This summer, the Free Library of Philadelphia's summer reading program theme is DISCOVER THE WORLD @ YOUR LIBRARY. The program runs June 20 through August 12, 2011. Penn Museum has partnered with the library system to extend the experience for children and youth, ages 6 through 18, who sign up for the reading program, by providing them each with a FREE PASS to continue their summer exploration in the Penn Museum's three floors of art and artifacts from cultures through time and around the world.

"DISCOVER THE WORLD is a theme near and dear to the hearts of the archaeologists, anthropologists, and researchers who are part of the Penn Museum," noted Dr. Richard Hodges, Williams Director. "We are delighted to partner with the Free Library of Philadelphia. We hope we can help to inspire a lifelong love for learning about the many stories and cultures of the world, stories one can find in good books-and throughout the galleries at the Penn Museum."

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