StoryWalks inspire reading in a creative way – building youngsters’ literacy skills without them even knowing! The walk also encourages time with friends and whānau in a free outdoor space, where everyone is welcome.
Pages of a children’s book are displayed on boards, secured to posts along a path, usually through a park. The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Storywalk® is a registered service mark owned by Ms. Ferguson.
UPDATE: October 2023
Matamata has finished trialling a new StoryWalk® at Swap Park from the Rata St entrance. A smaller, refined version will become permanent in the near future.
Morrinsville The River Walk now has a permanent installation of the history panels that we have partnered with the Morrinsville Museum and Ngāti Hauā to create. The StoryWalk® permanent installation is currently being developed for the Lockerbie Park walkway in conjunction with Morrinsville Intermediate school.
The two temporary StoryWalk® panels are availble for loan to schools or other educational centres. These are Colour the Stars | Taea Ngā Whetū by Dawn McMillan and There are no moa, e hoa | Kua kore he moa, e hoa by Melinda Szymanik.
Matamata-Piako Libraries would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Libraries Partnership Programme for the grant money to fund the permanent installations.