When Eric Krupkin entices the fog from dry ice to creep across the floor, he loves hearing kids shout, “Oh, yeah! Cool!” But mostly, he loves what comes after the show.

“Kids come up to me and say, ‘I want to be a scientist when I grow up,’ or ‘This is the best day of my life,’” said Krupkin, known to kids throughout the mid-Atlantic as Eric Energy. “Those types of things are so rewarding.”

Krupkin was a big hit when he presented his “Science Spectacular with Eric Energy” at McCormick Riverfront Library in June, the kickoff for The Library’s summerlong youth entertainment series. The exciting lineup, part of the Summer Reading Challenge, brings the proven benefits of live entertainment to kids’ post-COVID learning and development.

“COVID prevented kids from participating in many social activities,” said Dauphin County Library System Public Services Director Lori Milach. “We are seeing an increase in in-person participants for our programming, and parents have cited the social aspect as why they are attending more.”

Summertime is infamous for the “summer slide” in learning, when children can regress in their academic progress. But summer can also separate children from social interactions, slowing their social and emotional development, and Library staff realized that they had the power to fill that gap.

“We decided to bring a full lineup of programs that are entertaining while still being educational, so that we can maximize participation and encourage social development that kids need during the summer,” said Milach. “During the summer, many kids are not getting that social interaction through the classroom and recess, and these are opportunities for growth that we can provide.”

Encounters with stories and books promote child development, said Mlanjeni Nduma. East African theater’s folk music, magic, and dance inspire the dynamic Mlanjeni’s Magical Theater. For The Library, the troupe will bring Ijapu, a turtle puppet who needs the kids’ help to craft a story blanket.

Children need lessons and an emphasis on their overall development, Nduma believes.

“My parents always emphasized storytelling,” said Nduma, who founded his program with Dauphin County Library System programs in the mid-1970s. “When we were growing up when it gets dark, they would come in and tell stories. Even when we had television, they would tell the stories. That’s how we were given the desire to hear these stories.”

According to research, live entertainment helps children expand their knowledge while also building tolerance and empathy. They are more engaged for better retention of learning and practicing the mindfulness that teaches patience and focus.

After all, what could be more engaging than live snakes, lizards, turtles, and maybe even a crocodile? Kids will encounter that with Jesse Rothacker of Forgotten Friends Reptile Sanctuary. Rothacker teaches kids to “give reptiles a chance” by respecting them in the wild – or even adopting and learning to care for a slithering critter.

In Rothacker’s interactive program, kids can handle and touch live reptiles or their shells and skins (specimens confiscated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and loaned to educators). There’s also a good helping of fun and games, because “if they’re laughing, then they’re listening.”

“We want people to walk away with a feeling of wonder and fascination,” said Rothacker. “People will only remember a handful of facts, but they will remember how you make them feel. We’re hoping people think, ‘You know what? I got to do all these things with reptiles, and I was not afraid. I was smiling.’ That’s what we hope for that they can lose all the fears associated with reptiles.”

Rothacker said live interaction is essential for connecting kids with the natural world – especially important these days, he said, when kids are glued to their screens and becoming detached from the outdoors.

When children become engrossed in a live program, The Library has the resources to seize the opportunity and help them dive into the topic. Rothacker ends his program by directing kids to a table full of reptile-themed books from The Library – maybe Lizards at Large, The Book of Turtles, All About Drawing Dinosaurs & Reptiles, or – watch out, parents — Kids Top 10 Pet Reptiles and Amphibians.

Since the pandemic, Krupkin notes, children have been directed to learn from videos, and their attention spans are now whittled down to TikTok length. Generating enthusiasm is the key to capturing – and keeping- children’s attention without using a screen.

“I like to get a laugh from the kids with a silly dance or joke,” he said.

To Nduma, children who see live programming experience something “very dynamic and magical, so hopefully the message they get is a positive one — positive in the sense that they will gain a message that helps them develop into a complete person.”

The Library’s live entertainment started in mid-June and runs through August. For information on these remaining programs, visit dcls.org:

• Ijapu’s Story Cloth with Mlanjeni Magical Theater: With music, magic, and help from the kids, African storytellers craft a blanket of stories for Ijapu the Turtle. July 11, East Shore Area and Kline Libraries
• Don’t Hate Me, I’m Just a Bug, with Ryan “The Bugman” Bridge: Kids can hold all sorts of creepy crawlers while Ryan debunks old stereotypes about bugs. July 22, East Shore Area and Kline Libraries.
• Zoo America: Paws, Claws, Scales & Tails: Learn how animals survive in the wild. July 28, Alexander Family Library.
• Dinosaur Expedition Adventure: Kids will dig for fossils, hold dinosaur bones, and dig up Triceratops! Aug. 11, McCormick Riverfront and Elizabethville libraries.
• Critters of All Kinds with Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary: Reptile rescuer Jesse Rothacker brings his slithering, crawling friends to meet the kids. Aug. 16, Madeline Olewine Memorial and Northern Dauphin libraries.

Registration is required and limited, so visit dcls.org/events or call (717)234-4961 and choose option 6.