A new facility outside Denver is being billed as "the nation's first public nature library."
Set on 15 acres adjacent to the scenic Aylor Open Lands in Thornton, Colorado (about 20 miles north of Denver), the Anythink Nature Library opened earlier this month.
It's part of the Adams County public library system, but is far from the typical microfiche-and-kiddie-story-time setup you might be imagining, owing to the new center's extensive outdoor offerings and unique lending program that lets people borrow hiking gear and other equipment for free.
According to a news release, "Every aspect of the library, from its architecture and collections to its programming and surrounding landscape, encourages visitors to see themselves as part of nature rather than separate from it."
So, in addition to finding traditional library services (i.e., books to read), visitors can gaze upon a living plant wall, clamber over indoor boulders, and enter "sensory environments" such as a dark room designed to simulate an evening of stargazing, complete with twinkling lights overhead and the faint smell of woodsmoke as if from a campfire, reports Outside magazine.
Outdoors, the library is surrounded by a hiking loop, gardens, and, for kids, a water-flow station and mud pit.
Perhaps most intriguing of all, the library has a large collection of "TryIts"—hundreds of "experiential kits and equipment that encourage customers to continue exploring beyond the library."
These loanable items include "bird-watching kits, wildlife cameras, hiking gear, microscopes, weather exploration tools, gardening equipment, nature art kits, and conservation resources," according to the library.
All of that is free to borrow for up to 21 days with a library card. Frommer's confirmed with an Anythink staffer that only Colorado residents are eligible for library cards at this location, so out-of-state visitors are excluded from borrowing equipment. But there are no limits if an out-of-stater wants to browse the resources or read a book for a while.
Also free for everybody: accessing all of the library's facilities—the walking path, the mud pit, the indoor areas, and so on—as well as the onsite programming.
For more information, go to AnythinkLibraries.org.