Exhibit begins February 18 at NYM Library

By Tucker Henderson

Reporter

The New York Mills Public Library will be hosting an exhibit starting February 18 and running until March 16. The exhibit titled “Minnesota’s Changing Climate” is one of several environmental education exhibitions sponsored by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The opportunity arose from an email that Library Director Julie Adams received last year.

“There was an email that came through from the state library that had a link in it about these exhibits,” Adams explained. “It was several months ago already that I put our name in on the different exhibits. Then they figure out the schedule because it gets delivered around the state, so they selected the dates.”

Adams said that the library received a number of visitors when they hosted the Testify exhibit last February and was hoping to find another educational exhibit for all ages. This exhibit incorporates an interactive format for families and individuals to learn more about Minnesota’s climate.

“I’d been hoping to find some more kinds of exhibits because people really enjoyed looking at the one we had last winter,” Adams said. “This one is described as a table-top, so it won’t be the banners that we had up before. I think these are going to be more interactive objects to look at.”

Another positive of the exhibit is that it is totally free for the library to host. Adams was informed recently that NY Mills would be the host of this and two other MPCA exhibits in 2025 including one titled “Climate Resilient Communities” coming in March. That exhibit takes a look at actions communities can take to withstand extreme weather, warm temperatures and the wetter seasons that can affect many aspects of life in Minnesota.

The third exhibit titled ‘Pollinators, “Bee Aware,” will be available in October and will showcase the importance of pollinators throughout Minnesota, their impact, and their survival in our state.

This upcoming exhibit will kick off the library’s series of environmental exhibits this year which according to the MPCA, “showcases what communities and organizations throughout Minnesota are doing to address climate change.”

The interactive map of Minnesota illustrates accomplishments in the field and also the effects that the change in climate has already had on Minnesota’s natural landscape. The MPCA’s goal is to engage Minnesota residents to learn about the effects of a changing climate and what communities can do to address the causes of these changes.

“I think that anytime we can learn about our environment is a great learning opportunity for all of us,” said Adams. “The MPCA has been working on tracking different data points for many years and so I think learning about how this affects the lakes and even our farmers and businesses is important for all ages.”

Last year, the library had several teachers from the NY Mills school attend the Testify exhibit with their students to experience it for themselves. This year, Adams is hoping students will stop in after school to interact with the exhibit. The increase in traffic within the library is something Adams looks forward to, especially as she gets to greet patrons as they enter the building.

“Last time when we had the exhibit in here, we really had a lot of people who just stopped by specifically for that,” she said. “So I really enjoy seeing new faces coming in and it gives us a chance to welcome them into the library. I just love these kinds of opportunities to have everyone come visit.”