Do you love dirt, dinosaurs, and volcanoes? The seventh annual Princyclopedia just might be for you. This year’s event takes attendees through Jules Verne’s 1864 novel Journey to the Centre of the Earth with fossils, caves, primordial plants, and more.
The Cotsen Children’s Library at Princeton University sponsors the event annually and aims to promote a love of literacy through bringing the selected book to life. This year’s Princyclopedia is held at Dillon Gym on the Princeton University campus on Saturday, April 6 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is open to the public and free.
Dana Sheridan, Cotsen’s education and outreach coordinator, said this was the first year the chosen theme gave her a challenge.
“Geology is the focus of the book, and there is some history, but our three heroes are in a subterranean world,” she said. “How do you take rocks and tease out different angles? But, we have history, music, food, and anything else you can imagine.”
Over 30 guests and contributors will provide activities, put on performances, and present lectures at the event. Attendees can traverse across an 18-foot crevasse put together by the YMCA or make their way through a “cave” sponsored by Central New Jersey Grotto. If you prefer to be a spectator rather than a participant, listen to local musical historian John Burkhalter’s clay and stone flute demonstration or check out the Mercer County Wildlife Center’s bat, possum, and owl shows.
Other activities include a volcano station, a gem mine, an earthquake table, and a live-action 15-foot baby tyrannosaurus rex.
Cotsen puts on several programs each year, but Princyclopedia is its signature event. It is consistently well-attended, and Sheridan hopes that continues this year.
“People keep coming,” she said. “It’s that magic that makes me coordinate this event year after year.”
For more information, visit princeton.edu/princyclopedia.
