BY JESSALYN KIRCHHOFF
Have you ever been curious as to what the Hays Public Library looks like at night when everyone goes home for the day? Grab your friends and your sleeping bags to get ready for an authentic ‘Night at the Museum’ experience at this year’s HPL Lock-In!
The HPL Lock-In has been a staple event at the library happening every summer since 2011.
Young Adult Coordinator at the HPL Skyler Robinson explains the target age range for the event is teens who are between 12-18 years old, or sixth through twelfth graders. Robinson goes on to give an overview of the upcoming night and provides reassurance to any concerned parents about the supervision circumstances.
“The Lock-in has games, activities and snacks every hour between 8:00 pm on Friday to 7:00 am on Saturday,” Robinson said. “There are four staff members and one volunteer to supervise the teens during the entire duration of the Lock-in.”
Robinson describes one of the events that will be taking place over the duration of the night.
“One of our exciting activities this year is an hour of Cultural Trivia at 10 pm to go along with our summer reading theme of “All Together Now” and celebrating other cultures,” Robinson said.
Robinson continues with a TMN-exclusive sneak peek.
“We don’t want to give too much away, but there may be a chocolate fountain at some point in the night as well,” Robinson said.
Robinson believes that the lock-in provides a great opportunity for teens to connect with other teens that they may not know, whether it be because they don’t go to the same school or are not in the same classes.
“The Lock-in participants are separated into teams and we try to group teens together to meet new people,” Robinson said. “Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean that teens won’t get to hang out with their friends; this is just an opportunity to make new friends as well.”
The annual HPL Lock-In will take place on Friday from the dropoff at 7:30 pm to the pickup at 7:00 am on Saturday.
Robinson states that registration is now available online at the HPL official website.
“Once you have registered or signed up through our calendar of events, please come to the library to pick up your Rules and Regulations sheet and the permission form,” Robinson said. “We must have a signed permission form for the teen to participate in the lock-in.”
The rest of the week’s events are as follows:
Wednesday, July 5, 2023
- 9 to 10 a.m. – Itty Bitty @ Children’s Activity Room
- 10 to 11 a.m. – Bookmobile @ Wyndham Place
- 10 to 11 a.m. – Itty Bitty @ Children’s Activity Room
- 10:30 to 11 a.m. – STREAM Team: Balloon Paint Stamping @ Schmidt Gallery
- 2 to 3 p.m. – Chess Club @ Children’s Activity Club
- 2 to 3 p.m. – DIY Birdfeeders @ Upper Level Commons Area
- 2 to 3 p.m. – Video Games @ Trish Davies Activity Room
- 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. – Crafter’s Social Hour @ Schmidt Community Commons
Thursday, July 6, 2023
- 10 to 11 a.m. – Bookmobile @ Via Christi
- 10 to 11 a.m. – Explorers: STREAM @ Children’s Activity Room
- 10 to 11 a.m. – Kansas Room Koffee Hour @ Kansas Room
- 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. – Bookmobile @ Hays Senior Center
- 2 to 4 p.m. – Digital Planetarium @ Children’s Activity Room
- 5 to 7 p.m. – D&D Club @ Trish Davies Activity Room
- 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. – Chair Yoga @ Schmidt Gallery
Friday, July 7, 2023
- 10 to 11 a.m. – Bookmobile @ Rainbow Stage near ARC Park
- 10 to 11 a.m. – Storytime @ Rainbow Stage near ARC Park
- 2 to 3 p.m. – Board Games: Uno @ Trish Davies Activity Room
- 2 to 3 p.m. – Funky Friday: Maracas @ Children’s Activity Room
- 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. – Bookmobile @ Larks Baseball Game
- 7:30 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. – Lock-In @ Hays Public Library
Saturday, July 8, 2023
- 9 to 11 a.m. – Bookmobile @ Downtown Market
- 10 to 11 a.m. – Family Storytime @ Children’s Activity Room
For more information, visit https://hayslibrary.evanced.info/signup/Calendar for a short description of each event and to keep up to date on any changes throughout the week.