Princyclopedia brings ‘Treasure Island’ to life for area youth

Captain Jack Sparrow, the mermaid princess Ariel and local children all attended the fourth annual Princyclopedia convention on Saturday in Dillon Gymnasium. Throughout the day, the children learned about sea creatures, made musical instruments, colored cutouts of parrots and took pictures with Ariel and Jack.

The free public event, whose theme this year was the novel “Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson, is sponsored by Cotsen Children’s Library.

Education and Outreach Coordinator Dana Sheridan, the event’s organizer, estimated that more than 4,000 people attended the convention, noting that the event grows each year.

The event featured booths and activities run by roughly 30 participating businesses and student organizations, including the Tigerlilies a cappella group, eXpressions dance company, the men’s soccer team and Princeton Engineering Education for Kids.

Adhering to the pirate theme, Tico’s Eatery and Juice Bar offered samples of fresh-squeezed orange juice, renamed the “ultimate scurvy cure,” and the Bent Spoon gave out samples of pineapple ice cream, labeled “bongo.”

Utopia for Pets had a table where kids could color and tape parrots to their shoulders, while Music World ran a booth for making drum-like musical instruments. The soccer team manned a popular children’s obstacle course.

Several University science organizations participated in the event as well. The Princeton Center for Complex Materials set up a chemistry experiment to show how ordinary coins can be turned into “gold” coins, and Princeton Engineering Education for Kids gave a presentation on a shipwreck.

Katie McGee ’10, who co-organized the event, dressed up as the Disney mermaid princess Ariel, greeting families and taking pictures with children throughout the day. McGee explained that she came up with the idea of dressing as Ariel after children followed her around to take pictures during last year’s event, when she dressed up as Alice from “Alice in Wonderland.”

Emily Garcia ’10 and Miranda Sachs ’11 worked at the “Ocean Life” booth, where children made a small aquarium and learned about sea creatures. Ben Taub ’13 walked around the fair dressed up as Jack Sparrow from the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie series.

Garcia, who has been working with Cotsen since her freshman year, said that Princyclopedia encourages children to be excited about reading. “It’s like an interactive book fair,” she explained.

Sachs, who also joined Cotsen her freshman year, said that Princyclopedia is “a fun way to bring activities to kids in the community. We want to encourage learning, and it’s fun.” Sachs added that the event’s free admission makes it more accessible to the local community.

Sheridan explained that the goal of the event was to show that education, while important, could also be fun and interactive. “It shows kids how a book can come to life,” she said.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

While research for the event begins during the summer, the “wheels get turning in January,” when University departments, student groups, local businesses and local nonprofits are invited to participate in the event, Sheridan explained. Because of the event’s increasing popularity, though, some organizations that wanted to participate this year could not be accommodated.

Sheridan explained that once the 30 tables were filled, no more could be accepted. While McGee coordinated invitations to student groups, Sheridan focused on outreach to the larger Princeton community.

Past themes for the event have included Harry Potter, Aladdin and Alice in Wonderland. Next year’s theme will be Percy Jackson, a popular children’s series about a 12-year-old demigod who embarks to rescue his friends while interacting with the ancient Greek gods.