Cotsen Children’s Library

Traveling to India usually involves a long plane ride and maybe even a rickshaw. But for two hours on Saturday, local children journeyed to the subcontinent without leaving Princeton. Through the World Story Festival, an annual event at the Cotsen Children’s Library, local children made masks, marveled at a LEGO sculpture of the Taj Mahal and watched a special performance by Kalaa, the University’s classical Indian dance troupe. The event, organized by Patricia Sever ’11 and Dana Sheridan, Cotsen’s education and outreach coordinator, featured a wide variety of India-themed educational programming. “I mostly chose India because it has a really fascinating culture and history,” Sever said. “There’s great food, beautiful music, and I just thought that it would be a lot of fun.” Small details that made the experience seem real were highlights for the voyagers. Eight-year-old Sanjiv said that his favorite part of the event was “doing the whole simulation by getting your passport and going to the baggage claim ... and going [to the other stations] to see all the other places.” While event coordinators wanted to ensure that all the kids had fun, they made efforts to include an educational component in the program. Even the more overtly educational aspects of the event, though, were well received by parents and children alike. Eight-year old Anirudh Kirshnaprasad said he particularly enjoyed the station where participants learned how to write their names in Hindi. “I want to learn to write my name in different languages and speak the different languages, too,” he added. “It was well organized, well thought-out [and] really informative,” said Tina Biswas, a mother of two, who added that her family often tries to attend family-oriented events at the University. Biswas, like several others, said she heard about the event through princetonkids.com, a website that compiles information about family-friendly opportunities in the Princeton area. “[The Festival] is a great service that the community offers,” said Lenora Ziegler, who brought her two young children with her to the program. “It’s great to expose children at this age to an academic environment. It makes them comfortable.” John DaCruz, a local resident who brought his children Sofia and Jay, said he thought the event was “fabulous,” adding that “the dancing was very good ... It kept the kids’ interest.” Six-year-old Sofia agreed with her father, saying that she enjoyed the festival and would love to attend future events. Steve Chastain, who attended the program with his three youngest children, echoed both Biswas and Krishnaprasad, saying that it was the “hands-on aspect” of the festival that really appealed to him and made him think of bringing his family to attend. Sever said that she was pleased with the event’s outcome. “I don’t know what turnout was like last time, but it was pretty good,” she said. “The kids seemed like they had fun, and the adults seemed like they had fun, so I thought it was a success.” Beyond the activities’ educational and entertainment value, families were lured by the event’s cost. “Free is my favorite price,” Chastain said. “Free is very good when you have four kids.”