Visitors to Melham Park in Broken Bow will soon be able to add reading to their outdoor adventure with the planned addition of a StoryWalk, organized by the Broken Bow Library.
StoryWalks, which exist in public outdoor spaces across the country, display pages of a story on weather-resistant pedestals that visitors can enjoy one at a time during their walk.
“So basically you’ll be able to go to the nice walking path at Melham and you can start there by the new picnic shelter and there will be a story just kind of spread out along the walking path and it will end up by the playground,” explained Broken Bow Library Director Megan Svoboda.
She said the library is excited to get everything in motion in the new year. Materials will be ordered early in the year with hopes of the StoryWalk being in place by summer 2025.
“Our library board kind of challenged the staff to try to think of things and ways that we as the library could give back to the community, and that was something that we kind of kicked around and we thought ‘You know, let’s see if there’s interest in this’, and there’s definitely interest,” said Svoboda.
A grant received from the Custer County Foundation has helped get the project off the ground financially, along with 25 businesses that Svoboda said will have their names on each of the outdoor pedestals. Monthly story sponsors are also being lined up, which will assist in having the stories change about ever four to six weeks.
Those interested in helping raise funds for the StoryWalk and its stories for the future are encouraged to contact Svoboda at 308-872-2927.
Learn more about StoryWalk Exhibits by visiting the Pannier Graphics website, the planned partner for the Broken Bow project.
