West Iron library hosts hands-on frog life cycle program

The West Iron District Library turned a regular visit into a northwoods science lesson on April 25, as local students and their families learned the frog life cycle with live frogs, frog eggs and an interactive presentation from Licia Johnson of the North Lakeland Discovery Center.

Children at the Iron River library, at 116 W. Genesee Street, were asked to stand and act out the four stages of a frog’s life: eggs, tadpole, froglet and frog. Johnson walked them through what each stage means and how the animal survives at each step, giving the lesson a classroom feel without losing the energy of a family program.

The presentation stayed hands-on from start to finish. Johnson brought frog puppets, games and a frog costume, and students got to see a live frog up close instead of only looking at pictures. The Discovery Center also brought frog and salamander eggs, which gave the children a chance to compare real specimens and connect the lesson to the wetlands, ponds and swampy edges that shape Iron County’s natural landscape.

One of the most memorable parts of the program came when students were assembled into a frog band. Using instruments, they made sounds that mimicked a wetland chorus, with rubber band strings over boxes for bull frogs, bells for spring peepers and wooden washboards for toads. The result echoed the kind of night sounds families can hear around Iron County swamps as spring settles in.

Amryn Ehlinger’s frog costume helped show the parts of a frog and how those features support life in water, reinforcing the idea that biology is tied directly to habitat. The program blended education, conservation and play in a way that made the science easy for children to remember and easy for parents to build on at home.

The library has been building that role as a hands-on community stop for science learning. Earlier in 2026, the North Lakeland Discovery Center brought its “Science of Snow” presentation to the same library, continuing a pattern of free family programming. West Iron District Library describes itself as a friendly, local resource offering free programs and events for the whole family, and the frog lesson fit that mission by giving Iron County children a closer look at the animals living in their own backyards.