Palmerton Area Library launched its summer reading program with a Super Science event in the gallery.

About 100 children from infants to 12 years old, plus their parents and adult friends, filled the room. A circle of tape on the floor indicated where the children were supposed to sit. It quickly overflowed.One little girl said, "This is a tiny circle."In front of them stood a long table by the windows strewn with scientific objects of bright colors and shapes. Fun couldn't be far away.Cathy Seachrist, an educational entertainer with Super Science Amazing Art, greeted the children. Then she gave them a few safety rules before getting started. "Be smart. Use your noodle," "Raise your hand," and "Crisscross, applesauce, pretzel legs at all times," she said."How do you get energy?" Seachrist asked."By reading books at night and getting good sleep," a young girl said."Very good," Seachrist said.She went on to talk to the kids about the three states of matter - gas, liquid and solid.Seachrist had three children come up, each was given posters with only one word on them. Their assignment was to identify what was in the bucket, without looking - a gas, liquid or solid - and hold up the poster with their answers.The group of two girls and a boy, who said their names were Madelyn, Emma and A.J., did excellent with the first three buckets, getting all of the answers right. It was the fourth bucket that posed a problem.As each child reached in, it was obvious by the look on their faces that not only was this a bit more difficult, but also it felt icky. Their answers were mixed - solid, maybe liquid.Seachrist reached into the bucket and pulled out "Slime," letting it flow down from her hand back into the bucket. "Ew," could be heard throughout the crowd of children."It's a polymer," she said, and explained that is name given to matter that is stretchy.Seachrist was only getting started. She went on to teach the children about potential energy, gravitational potential energy, and elastic energy, all by using two bouncy balls - Spidy and Dotty. The next volunteer, Brooke Warner, picked Spidy. It was smaller than the big, red ball with blue polka-dots, and it had Spider-Man on it.At the same time, Seachrist and Warner dropped the balls to experiment to find out which one would bounce back up the highest. From there, the questions and answers flew.Next up was Shen DeNardo who aided in the baking soda in vinegar trick. It was a lesson in chemical and thermal energy. The children learned that carbon dioxide is released in the chemical reaction.The morning was capped off with a hair dryer-filled hot air balloon that floated above the children's heads, and smoke rings generated from a converted garbage can into makeshift drum.Seachrist said she enjoys doing the shows, because she likes getting the kids excited about learning any subject, including science."Just seeing the kids light up," she said.The Palmerton library will have activities at 10:30 a.m. every Friday throughout the summer for the reading program. The theme this year is "On your mark. Get set. Read!" There is Preschool Circle Time for children ages 3 to 5, and the Summer Reading Club for children in grades kindergarten through sixth.Diane Danielson, the director of the library, said there will be something different each week. The children will be broken into smaller groups so that they can do more projects, but participants don't have to come every week."You can come even if you're just in town staying for a week with grandma," she said.