Staff writer
Marion Elementary first graders visited the county jail, city library, and Marion County Record after reading Mr. Poppers Penguin’s as a class assignment.
Teachers Michelle Adkins and Staci Hansen said a jail, library, and newspaper popped up in the story and they wanted the kids to get an idea of how each establishment operates.
During their visit to the jail, Sheriff Rob Craft said that in addition to explaining how the jail works, he showed the kids the booking area, inmate uniforms, and answered a flurry of questions.
The children, however, did not get to visit the interior of the jail where the inmates reside.
At the newspaper office, Adam Stewart gave first graders a tour of the office during which he reported about how news collected by the staff and transformed into a newspaper.
Oliver Good photographed the class and Eric Meyer designed a front page with a picture of and a headline “1st graders visit the newspaper,” as well as other weekly news so that students could witness themselves as breaking news.
At the library, Librarian Janet Marler showed the showed students where the children’s section was and told them of its history as a train depot.
Marler said she thinks “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” is wonderful but she was more excited the children were familiar with the library.
“About 90 percent of the children who visited yesterday had been to the library before,” she said. “It was encouraging.”