Reading : The Key to Unlocking the Imagination

Niki Glen designed a large painted mural with 4th-6th grade students for the library entrance. The mural is located on the high wall that greets the user as they enter the room. The main idea is that reading can open the world up to your imagination, and reading allows one access to a world of ideas. The mural shows a librarian reading to students and shows students reading as ‘imagination’ is unleashed in the background. The project was designed to comply with the Arizona Visual Arts Standards.

To accompany the mural, the school librarian created a “magical mural scavenger” game in which students examine the mural and then use the library to find the answers to the questions. For example, one question is “what insect in represented in the mural?” Books create the adventure and the scavenger hunt game is another way to invite children into the library by having them look at the mural to find clues about the library- another way to make reading and learning fun. The library mural, along with courtyard pillar murals created during a previous project, beautify the campus, foster interest in reading, and develop a sense of pride in the school community.