Something huge has arrived at the Amherst Public Library, 221 Spring St., as hundreds of dinosaurs descend upon the newly renovated building’s second floor children’s area.
This first time event, known as Dinovember, is a monthlong imagination-invasion first thought up by Refe and Susan Tuma, of Kansas City, as a way to surprise their children.
“In an age of iPads and Netflix, we don’t want our kids to lose their sense of wonder and imagination,” the Tumas said.
The event began in 2012 with the Tuma family of six and a herd of plastic dinosaurs that moved in the middle of the night throughout November much like the beloved “Toy Story” characters of Pixar.
The dinosaurs started innocent enough, crumbs on the table and crayons out of the box.
The next morning, the Tuma family delved into elaborate schemes.
These antics led to Refe and Susan Tuma writing a series of picture books titled, “What the Dinosaurs Did,” and Dinovember was born.
Since then, the idea has spread like wildfire to various schools, households and libraries throughout the nation, including Amherst’s.
“Everyone loves dinosaurs,” said Becky Denes, the library’s public relations consultant. “We saw the idea growing and decided to jump on it this year in our new children’s area with our own herd of dinos.”
The group, a mix of various plastic dinosaurs, arrived at the library early Nov. 1 and will continue their antics throughout November in the children’s area and lobby.
And alongside the plastic terrors, comes a whole slew of activities for youngsters to enjoy from coloring pages to research projects including a dino hunt.
“The upstairs children’s area is always doing some sort of theme, and so Dinovember seemed like just the perfect fit,” Denes said. “Its adorable, really.
“There’s dinosaur footprints leading into the children’s area and plenty of books from adventures to research.”
The educational aspect of Dinovember is not lost on the librarians.
“I think every kid went through their dinosaur phase, and we are here to nurture that,” Denes said.
Different dinosaur oriented activities will continue throughout the month, including a special dinosaur, Thanksgiving mash up for youngsters to enjoy.
While the activities are geared toward children ages 10 and younger, everyone is welcome to participate.
After all, according to the Tumas, “Childhood is fleeting, but imagination is forever.”
