We are at Bowdoin College, in the theater on the first floor of Sills Hall. Read the "First Day Reminders" tab for notes about drop off, pickup, masks and what to bring.
Oliver and I can't wait to start our mysteries! He will be debuting his first adventure during our second session, and working as my Assistant Director for the first time.
Session III features the mystery called "The Bottle Tree." This story draws upon southern traditions and beliefs of the Gullah and Geechee people of the lowlands and islands oof Georgia and the Carolinas. Blue bottles are hung upside down on small trees, as a kind of fly trap for evil spirits, keeping homes safe. Our story examines what happens when a collector's collection of spirits threatens to break loose.
Session IV involves the adventure called "The Crossroads of Knowledge." It draws on my love of libraries. My journey has led me from library to library in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Boston, and Maine -- creating a kind of map of books. We will be making book nooks as part of our story -- these are magical nooks that lead to tiny rooms or back alleys or mossy grottoes ... or the legendary library in Alexandria, Egypt.
More about these two mysteries may be found by clicking their titles.
Details about dates, times, and fees are on the Current Programs tab.
Registration forms and directions are on the Registratin & Contacts tab.
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| The Rat Queen and the Secret Keeper |
All staff and participants have been vaccinated for Covid-19. We will be using social distancing this week, but masks are optional.
Drop off will be in the hall outside the library -- so parents may enter the building with their child. Children over 12 may sign themselves in and out of the program, but children under that age need an adult to accompany them during drop-off and to sign out at the end of the day.
Please remember that any sick child should stay home! Please monitor your child's temperature and wellness each morning. Staff will ask about wellness each day.
Two snacks are provided each day. Children should bring a lunch and a water bottle. If a child has special food needs, then send two snacks marked clearly for morning and afternoon. No sodas or candies should be included with lunches. We do not have a peanut allergy this week, so children are welcome to bring nuts.
If you have questions, email me at dragonseyeadventures@gmail.com. Texting is the most efficient way to reach me during program hours. I do check email at lunch and the end of the day, but texting 207-350-5926 is a faster way to reach me.
We will miss the fabulous machines from the Searles' Science building, but the Sills Hall auditorium will be a great space for the Basic Sneak games we play.
Bowdoin's buildings are no longer open to the public, so we've been told our hallway games in other buildings will no longer be allowed, but the auditorium stage should allow for some excellent games on rainy days. Creative use of limited space has always been our hallmark!
The April vacation program will still be at Freeport Middle School, in the library, under the auspices of RSU5 Community Programs. I am so grateful to RSU5 Community Programs for the continuing support for our school year programs. We had a lot of fun at the Freeport Middle School last summer, and will continue to work with the organization to provide school-year holiday and vacation programs.
Pick up and drop off at both places will continue to be curbside. I am working with both organizations to finalize the details about masks, distancing and other Covid-related practices -- so expect an email close to the start date for each program.
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| The Midnight Cat RL McNulty |
The mystery is among the oldest and most re-written stories from the Dragon's Eye treasury. It features my favorite villain, with the record for the most escapes. One group of detectives followed this elusive jewel thief through five different mysteries, until detectives were vowing to spend their entire professional years guarding the prison door.
This session introduces the character to our team.
A mysterious jewel thief known as the Midnight Cat leaves a trail of coded messages that leads the detectives on a wild romp through London. All roads lead to 19th century Paris, and the studio of an artist whose famous shadow plays hid a secret. Can the detectives catch this wily thief, or will the Midnight Cat vanish into the shadowlands following a game of cat and mouse?
We will be crafting Cat's Eye jewels and Shadow Puppets for this session.
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"The Fairy Queen's Flock" is the first mystery written by Oliver Van Soest. He is returning for his fourth summer as assistant, and we have all enjoyed his hilarious cartoon summaries of our mysteries each season. Oliver started as a detective in the program, so I am excited to be featuring his first mystery. The story draws on Oliver's recent studies in Irish mythology and literature.
Trouble lurks in the fairy realms when the Birds of Peace and Healing begin to lose their color. The mystery leads into the fairy mounds of Ireland and across a mythical sea to the Otherworld realms of Tir na NOg. Can the detectives save the Birds before their songs go silent?
Our project this week will feature Fey Creatures. Detectives will be summoning these creatures for help in their mystery.
A Root Doctor calls upon the detectives for some assistance with the mischievous spirits captured by her Bottle Tree. Truth and lies entwine as the tiny spirits lead our team deeper and deeper into the realms of Gullah and Geechee folklore from the sea islands and lowlands of Georgia and the Carolinas.
Along the way, the detectives will learn about the resilience of Gullah Geechee culture.
Our project this week will be inspired by the quiltmakers of Gee's Bend. We will make quilted pouches to hold our Sea Island Secret Keepers.
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| Solomon's Ring RL McNulty 2022 |
Our story draws upon Hebrew, Arabic and Ethiopian legends about Solomon and his legendary ring of power. Last summer, the detectives visited the Market at Wits End, where all things lost and found make their way through the goblin market. Our team purchased Solomon's Ring on behalf of Dog Tinker, a dream mage who has helped the detectives on several cases.
We knew this would lead to trouble -- and it has.
Dog Tinker's cat comes to the detectives in need of their help. It seems that Dog Tinker left his studio after a visit by a magical being. No trace of him can be found in this world or the dream world, so the detectives must follow the clues Dog left concerning his plans.
Our team will trace the ring's journey through the dreamtime to the African kingdom of Ethiopia, following legends and rumors from the animal kingdom.
We will be
making Animal Totems and pouches to hold them, drawing on the rich fauna of Ethiopia. Think black lions, hyenas, rhinos, hippoes and gazelles -- some very rare species, others common if you live in Ethiopia. These totems will bring help from the creatures, and allow communication in their language. Something very useful in finding Dog Tinker!
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| The Shadow Dragon RL McNulty 2022 |
The story draws on ancient dragon lore from Tibet and China, augmented by the Dragon's Eye lore about the Nine Dreamers. Dog Tinker will be teaching our team a powerful, magical dance, using a Tibetan drum, so the detectives may enter the Shadow Realms in safety.
We will meet three of the Nine Dreamers in this adventure. The Nine Dreamers call heroes to begin their journey as dragon mages and detectives. They live in Mt. Draig, and send their dreams through the Jewel of the Dragon's Eye. Each dreamer has a gift, an area of expertise -- and those gifts are part of what they awaken in the detectives who choose to walk the Heroes' Path of Honor.
Our art project will feature Portable Gau. These are tiny, portable shrines that hold bits of cloth, prayer and magic. Tibetans place a tiny figure of the Buddha or one of the Taras, or a Hindu god or goddess of personal meaning to them. For Dragon's Eye, the Gau will hold secrets about each detective's dragon.
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| Crossroads of Knowledge RL McNulty 2022 |
Our mystery this week involves a search for the lost Book of Thoth. All Spirit Roads lead to the library at Alexandria, shrine to the nine Muses and home to countless works of linterature, science, mathematics and astronomy. Our story will draw upon Egyptian and Greek history, legend and myth, with visits by Thoth, the Egyptian god of language and writing.
Ptolemy's reasons for creating the great library and center of learning and study will also be explored, with a brief introduction to the ideas of Plato, Socrates and Aristotle. The value of books and learning to society is at the heart of this adventure.
This sessions art project will focus on Book Nooks. These delightful inserts for library shelves are like miniature havens for the Keepers of Books. In our story, these book nooks will become portals that librarians use to reach other libraries in space and time. Each detective will be able to make their own miniature portal to their favorite mythical place where books are valued as the treasures they are.
Detectives are welcome to bring their own materials to add to their nooks. They are about six inches by 4.5 inches x 2 inches, so only the tiniest miniatures will fit! We will have Sculpey in many colors, to make those tiny props.
Our mystery is called The Rat Queen. The story is a sequel to last summer's adventure. The Market at Wits' End. Wile traveling through the sewers of London, our team of detectives made a promise to the Rat Queen, in exchange for safe passage through her realms. This April, the Rat Queen will summon the team for help with a missing Secret Keeper. It's back to the sewers, where our heroes discover word about a legend growing among the Toshers -- a legend about the Disappearing Ghost Children of the London sewers.
We will be making Sewer Rats with tiny backpacks full of found items. Trash or treasure? It’s all in the eye of the Beholder!
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| The Rat Queen's Wedding |
The April vacation program will be under the auspices of RSU5 Community Programs in Freeport. We will run from Tuesday, April 19 through Friday April 22, from 9 AM to 4 PM. We will be in the library at the Freeport Middle School, at 19 Kendall Dr. in Freeport.
Our adventure will be "The Rat Queen" -- a sequel to last summer's "Market at Wits' End." A description will be up very soon for this wacky adventure, so check back in the next week!
The Summer 2022 adventures will also run from 9 AM to 4 PM. Our location is still being decided -- we will either be at Bowdoin (all signs pointing to yes, so far) or in Freeport again, as guests of the wonderful RSU5 Community Programs that allowed us to run last year!
Expect masks and distancing, a roadside drop-off and pickup. Children who are able to be vaccinated need to be vaccinated -- and copies of their vaccine cards are now part of the registration. Medical exemptions may be discussed with me (Rebecca) via email.
Any adults who enter the building must also bring their ID and vaccine cards, along with their mask. Most pickups and dropoffs will be handled curbside, but there are times during the day when an adult may have to come into the classroom, so be prepared for extra precautions and instructions. Always text first, ebfore entering the building!
Visit the Cuurent Programs tab for details about dates and fees.
Descriptions of each week's session may be found here. I will be posting finalized descriptions as the drawings are finished, but these short blurbs will help detectives choose their adventures!