Elizabethton children gathered at Edward’s Island Park to create asteroids, planets and rocket ships, all in the name of creativity and enjoying the outdoors as the community continues to use space-related topics to keep reading interesting for children of all ages.

Art in the Park took place Tuesday morning at 10:30, bringing Elizabethton’s children in a space-themed adventure.

“A lot of times parents think art is messy and are reluctant,” Children’s Librarian Ashlee Williams said. “This way, the kids can share some of their experiences, try some new materials they have not tried art-wise.”

Art in the Park Tuesday was part of Williams’ reading program for her child patrons, in which the children get to be hands-on with a variety of different topics and projects.

“We always like to let them be creative and express their creativity,” she said. “We know that imagination and brain development before the age of five is huge.”

She said this focus is important because it catches a gap in education during the summer months.

“When you get to school, your creativity is restricted, so during the summer, children of all ages can be creative and do things they do not normally get to do during the school day,” she said.

The event happened to coincide with the anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch, and so the library also held a storybook trail event that evening about the Moon.

The event took place as part of the library’s summer reading program, which has feature space-related topics and themes including reading books about the solar system, watching movies with aliens in them and even learning how to use the night sky for navigation. This Art in the Park is yet another event on that list.

Williams said she loves hosting these kinds of events because she can see what the children are interested in.

“I enjoy keeping them excited about reading all summer,” she said. “And letting them know reading is fun. It is not just something you have to do to get points, that it can be enjoyable any time of year.”