The University of Connecticut’s Avery Point Campus will host groups of preschool children for a day of reading and getting to know ocean life in observance of Read Across America Day on March 2.

Eighty children aged three to five will convene at UConn’s Avery Point Campus in Groton to listen to readings of such classic books as Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. The readers will include Avery Point faculty, staff, and students; Groton City Mayor Dennis Popp and Groton Town Mayor Jim Streeter; UConn student Tim Plungis, a Republican candidate for Connecticut’s House of Representatives; and Merrick Alpert, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate.

“This Read Across America event will help young children not only to get excited about reading, but to learn through reading and hands-on activities about one of our greatest resources: the ocean,” says Helen Rozwadowski, interim director of the Avery Point Campus.

In keeping with the campus’s marine and maritime educational mission, the event will include a reading of The Magic School Bus: On the Ocean Floor by Joanna Cole. The children will also view and touch marine animals in a saltwater touch tank, and color pictures of fish.

Read Across America is an initiative of the National Education Association that promotes reading motivation and awareness. The national program occurs annually on the birthday of children’s author Dr. Seuss.

The event will take place in Branford House on Tuesday, March 2 from 9:30 a.m. until noon.

For more information:

Lisa Hastings 860-405-9262, lisa.hastings@uconn.edu

Christine Buckley 860-486-0871, christine.buckley@uconn.edu