PEABODY — Summer reading at the Peabody Institute Library has a patriotic twist this year.
As part of the nationwide commemoration of America’s 250th birthday, the library has launched its American Revolution 250 Bingo, inviting adults to explore local history while checking off reading and library activities for a chance to win prizes.
The bingo card mixes traditional library challenges — like checking out cookbooks, travel books, CDs, and DVDs — with Revolution-themed activities, including reading biographies of Revolutionary figures, visiting the Lexington Monument on Washington Street and Sewall Street, learning about the Battle of Menotomy and Leslie’s Retreat, and exploring the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights through QR codes linked to online resources.
Public Services Librarian Eileen Finnegan said the idea grew out of the library’s annual summer reading bingo.
“I said it would be great if I could add a couple of things to get people more involved or more aware of local history. … So many people are unaware of the history that surrounds us,” Finnegan said.
Researching the project introduced even Finnegan, a lifelong Peabody resident, to stories she had never learned growing up.
“I had known about Leslie’s Retreat, but really only as the name of a restaurant on North Street in Salem,” Finnegan said. Learning about the 1775 standoff in Salem made her realize “it could have ended up with the shot heard ’round the world being fired right there.”
Beyond history, the bingo card is designed to encourage participants to discover everything the library offers. Finnegan intentionally arranged the squares so completing a bingo generally requires checking out materials or exploring library resources.
“We want to encourage people to come into the library,” she said. “Folks that may not be regular patrons can come in and check out things. … We constantly have terrific events scheduled at the library, and they’re all free.”
Participants who complete any five activities in a row can submit up to three bingo cards for prize drawings, with prizes including a wooden book stand, a gift card to a local cafe, and a rechargeable book light.
Everyone who turns in a completed bingo card will also receive a free pass to the USS Constitution Museum, one per person.
Although the printed materials list Aug. 15 as the deadline, Finnegan said the program will be extended through the end of August, with prize winners drawn in early September. The bingo cards are available at the library’s main, south, and west branches, and anyone 18 or older can participate. Library cards are only required for borrowing materials.
