By Michael Doran
Not all the treasures of the Yarra Valley are in plain sight and one that might need some local knowledge is the Yarra Glen Toy Library.
The library celebrated its 25th anniversary on Saturday 25 August, with some of the original founders and current members joining for a day of reminiscing, face painting, sizzling sausages, toys and birthday cake.
“The library was originally formed by a group of local ladies after a community meeting to discuss a toy library in Yarra Glen in 1993,” co-ordinator Theresa Stewart told the Mail.
The library is housed in the Yarra Glen Memorial Hall and funded solely through member subscriptions, donations and grants.
Ms Stewart said the library received no government funding and paid rent to use the Yarra Ranges Council space.
“For $30 a year our members can choose from over 600 toys, puzzles, bikes, scooters and games to take home, play with and then bring them back to swap for different ones,” she said.
The focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics in children is growing and a new library addition is Cubetto, a robot that exposes kids to basic computer coding skills in a fun and exciting way.
Ms Stewart said not enough people knew about the library and she would “love to see new people come along to have a look to know what is here”.
The library welcomes donations of good-quality toys suited to children aged six months to six years.
It’s open from 9.30am to 11am during school terms on Saturdays and on the second Wednesday of the month.
