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Earth Day Terrariums

December 12, 2016
By Mary Robinson, Library Events Coordinator, Patience S. Latting Northwest (Okla.) Library

It's easy being green! In this class we used recycled jars to create miniature moss terrariums featuring such materials as crystals, mushrooms and tiny toys for patrons to take home and display. All supplies were provided.

Program Type
Makerspace
Target Audience
Adult
Young Adult
Program Topic
Crafting / Hands-on
Budget
$101-250
Advance Planning

This program was inspired by the concept of reduce, reuse and recycle. We connected with a local family-owned nursery that specialized in terrariums, mosses and fairy gardens to lead this educational program. The nursery provided all the materials, and the staff members of the Patience S. Latting Northwest Library collaborated to gather recycled materials for customers to use.

Marketing

Posters and fliers were created in-house and displayed within the library for two to three weeks prior to the program. (View the flier under Attachments at right.) We also advertised the event on Facebook and Twitter with the help of our in-house marketing department.

Budget Details

The initial cost of the first program was $150, which was spent on supplies such as soil, moss and toys. However, we were able to offer the program two more times for two other age groups with a replenishment cost of $50 to 75. When I first approached the family-owned nursery I stated the budget we could offer and asked if they could work with that amount. They were more than happy to accommodate us!

Day-of-event Activity

The local nursery representative began by teaching about the types of plants in terrariums, the differences between closed and open terrariums and how to pick your plants and maintenance. After her presentation, the members of the class each selected one jar to begin creating their enclosed moss terrarium.

The representative offered explanations of why certain materials were used as the participants made their craft. The final product was awesome! Customers had the opportunity to decorate their terrarium with toys, sea shells and natural rocks. Everyone’s terrarium had their own fun look, some with dragons, others with dinosaurs, farm animals or rocks and shells.

Program Execution

The presenter was able to share their expertise and had a lot of fantastic questions. Some of the questions included customer inquiries about caring for fairy gardens, how to plan their terrariums and small garden spaces and what would work in varying climates.

We welcomed 21 participants to join us for the class, which was so successful and well-received that we offered it again to 10 grade school students for a makerspace program, and a third time as an outreach event at a senior center. The initial event was scheduled to start at 7 p.m. and last about one hour, but because of the great questions it ran about 15 minutes long.

Advice

Ask your staff for help in gathering materials like recycled jars and vintage toys! It is a great way to get everyone involved and knowledgeable about the program.

Submitted by wtolan on Mon, 2016-12-12 11:39

Short Title
Earth Day Terrariums
By Mary Robinson, Library Events Coordinator, Patience S. Latting Northwest (Okla.) Library

It's easy being green! In this class we used recycled jars to create miniature moss terrariums featuring such materials as crystals, mushrooms and tiny toys for patrons to take home and display. All supplies were provided.

Attachments
earth_day_flier.pdf
Related Programs
Free Trees
DIY Terrarium Workshop
Earth Day & Beyond
  • A terrarium with a toy dragon is on top of a table.
    Earth Day terrariums can be made with recycled jars and toys. Photo credit: Mary Robinson
  • The terrariums can be made with plants and moss.
    Plants and moss are used with creating terrariums. Photo credit: Mary Robinson
  • Two terrariums are next to each other, both with seashells.
    Each terrarium can look different from one another depending on how the participants design them. Photo credit: Mary Robinson
Summary

An Oklahoma library hosted an Earth Day program where adults created miniature moss terrariums.

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