DAVIS COUNTY — You don’t need a rocket to go on this space adventure.

The Davis County Library will be hosting their Spring Read-a-thon on March 16 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the South Branch in Bountiful, the Central Branch in Layton, and the North Branch in Clearfield. The theme for this year’s event is “Lost in Outer Space,” and activities are free and open to all ages.

“We want to encourage the entire family to come,” said Laurel Pedersen, youth services coordinator for the library.

A variety of activities will be held at all three branches, including Astronaut Training (an obstacle course), Black Hole Explorer (kids get to reach their hand into a black hole and find out what’s inside), storytime and a variety of other activities.

“There will be plenty of surprises,” said Pedersen.

The Ogden Astronomical Society will be on hand with a presentation of galaxies and other space pictures that will be layed on a loop throughout the evening.

Local artist Val Chadwick Bagley has also made space-themed backgrounds for each library, and parents who bring their own cameras can take pictures of their kids in front of them.

A variety of space books will also be made available for checkout that night, with the hope that the activities will inspire children to want to do more exploring on their own.

“Part of this is to get children and families interested in different books,” she said.

The three locations were chosen for their centrality to both the north and south halves of the county, as well as the fact that North and South Branches are the only ones with auditorium spaces.

“We wanted to be able to fit in as many children as we could,” she said.

On March 16, all three libraries will close at the regular time of 6 p.m. They will re-open for the event at 6:30 p.m.

“We only have about 20 minutes after everyone leaves to get ready,” said Pedersen with a laugh.

South Branch is located at 725 S. Main St. in Bountiful. Central Branch is located at 155 N. Wasatch Dr. in Layton and North Branch is located at 562 S. 1000 E. in Clearfield. The Central Branch is partnering with Layton City for their activity.

For more information, visit www.co.davis.ut.us/library. The phone numbers for each individual branch can also be found on the website.

jwardell@davisclipper.com