Perham library adds outdoor obstacle course to spark summer reading

The sidewalk in front of the Perham Area Public Library turned into a small summer destination Friday, giving children a place to move, laugh and still stay connected to reading.

The outdoor obstacle course was designed as a self-led activity, with directions that sent kids spinning around the sun, squishing bugs, squashing watermelon and using stepping stones to avoid lava. Library assistant LaVonne Lindberg said the idea came from librarian Susan Heusser-Ladwig, and the setup was meant to make the library feel active and welcoming during the months when school is out.

For families in Perham, the appeal was practical as much as playful. The course offered a low-pressure way to burn off energy without leaving reading behind, turning the front walk into a spot where children could move through a game and still connect the experience to the library. That kind of summer programming can matter in a town the size of Perham, where even a modest activity can pull people in, encourage them to linger and make the library part of a family routine.

The obstacle course also fit the bigger job summer reading programs try to do: keep books and libraries feeling like part of everyday life instead of a school-year obligation. By pairing movement with imagination, the library gave children a reason to return to the building, and parents a local option that blended literacy with physical activity.

In a community where downtown foot traffic can rise or fall with small, repeat reasons to stop, the course gave the Perham Area Public Library a simple way to draw visitors to its doorstep. The result was not a formal program or a lecture, but a hands-on attraction that made the library feel less like a quiet stop and more like a place where families could play, read and come back again.