La Salle Library awarded $40,000 grant

The La Salle Public Library has been awarded a Project Next Generation grant for the eighth year for youth ages 11 to 14 from the Illinois Secretary of State, Jesse White and the State Library.

The grant, “Project Next Generation: Destination Discoveries,” in the amount of $40,000 will provide funding for a six-week autumn backyard astronomy program that incorporates both daytime and nighttime astronomy. It also funds a six-week spring program that explores the concept of change in Illinois through the forces of nature, through human interaction and humans and their environment.

The autumn and spring programs are hands-on, mentor-supported, distance-learning enrichment experiences, structured to offer unique and flexible learning opportunities using science/technology kits and independent and group field trip experiences. Each program will serve 18 participants and are free and open to the public.

Participants who successfully complete either or both programs will receive an invitation to attend an all-expense paid field trip to either the Adler Planetarium in Chicago (autumn) and/or the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford (spring). Additionally, as part of the spring program, participants and their families may elect to participate in optional, independent field trips to the Illinois State Museum in Springfield, the John Deere Historic Site in Grand Detour, and the Dixon Waterfowl Refuge in Hennepin. These sites offer free admission and round-trip mileage for these trips will be reimbursable when the participant completes site activities related to the Spring program.

More information about the autumn program will be announced in September, with announcements for the Spring program coming in February 2023.

For more information, call the library at 815-223-2341. The La Salle Public Library. 305 Marquette St., is ADA compliant.