On October 28, 2026, America will mark a big milestone for a big lady: the 140th anniversary of the dedication of the Statue of Liberty. A shining beacon of freedom, independence and our country’s historical alliance with France, this anniversary falls during America 250 and offers libraries and schools around the country a chance to teach this commemorative event in a fun, engaging way that brings the symbol that so many know into focus.
Read more: Celebrating the 140th Birthday of the Statue of Liberty
This spring, I began preparing my students in my school library for this anniversary as part of a contest, the DAR Junior American Citizens Contest, that asked them to create their own art and imagery inspired by the Statue of Liberty and the path of freedom that she represents for millions. As I read a few books with my students, showed them uses of the Statue of Liberty in pop culture, and asked them what represents freedom to them today, it got me thinking about other ways libraries might be able to celebrate this anniversary.
Here are a few ways to make this 140th birthday come to life in your library.
Throw a Birthday Party for the Statue of Liberty
Library kids love a birthday party! Grab some balloons, coloring pages, and your favorite craft supplies and make an afternoon of it! This would be a great passive program to have build up over the month of October with a culmination on the 28th, or a one-time program inviting families to learn about the Statue of Liberty with an activity, a read-aloud, or both. Your birthday party could even include a virtual field trip.
Read a Book & Learn More
If you want to bring the anniversary into your rotation without balloons, consider picking up one of the many books on the Statue of Liberty and utilizing it for a classroom read-aloud, longer storytime or display. Some of my favorites are HER RIGHT FOOT, which also has a great Dreamscape animation of the book, EMMA’S POEM, and LET LIBERTY RISE. There are of course a lot of other more traditional non-fiction books featuring the Statue of Liberty, and for a display you could easily throw in some Ellis Island books too to expand on freedom.
Write Your Own Pedestal Poem
Have a group of writers at your library or want to bring in some community contest opportunities? Ask your patrons or students to write a poem for a new pedestal. If a new Statue of Liberty was dedicated today, what message would you want the poem to convey with the world? This works great to bring your April poetry contest entrants back for a fall experience. You could even make your judging work a bit easier and make them haikus to really bring in a cross-cultural element.
. New York United States New York State, 1912. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2025672593/.
Bring in the French
If you have a French-speaking community or some knowledge yourself, why not use this anniversary as a chance to bring French songs, stories, or writers into your storytimes and programs? There are lots of other great examples of our French alliance throughout children’s literature, and if you have a French-speaking community near you, this could be a natural opportunity for partnership.
Build an Interactive Picture Timeline Game
A few years ago at a professional development course, we had to build a timeline of the history of the White House through photos alone. Try doing that with the Statue of Liberty–the National Park Service has some great ones to start with, but you can also find them in the Library of Congress collection and other venues. Blow them up, laminate them, and make it either a passive activity with a little prize or utilize it as part of a larger activity. This help builds cognitive thinking skills and gameifys history coming to life.
How are you celebrating the 140th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty? Are there any other upcoming commemorative events you’re planning to utilize for library programming?
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Aryssa Damron is a librarian living in San Antonio, Texas. She’s been a public librarian, a school librarian, and a personal librarian to many friends and toddlers. She is an ALA Chapter Councillor and a former member of the Alex, Carnegie, and Caldecott awards committees.
The post Celebrating the 140th Birthday of the Statue of Liberty appeared first on ALSC Blog.
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