Backpack kits, free park passes available from your local library

Taking your family to a Georgia park or historic site? Make sure to stop by the local library first.

Public libraries across the state now have backpack kits available for checkout, in addition to passes for free entry into parks. Each kit includes a pair of binoculars, guide to Georgia parks and historic sites and foldout pocket guides to state wildlife, birds, trees and wildflowers inside a five-pocket backpack.

The backpacks can be checked out for a week at a time, and the park passes must be checked out separately. Park passes have been used by more than 100,000 families since the program began.

“Our Georgia State Park passes are one of our more popular family activity passes available for checkout,” said Jennifer Lautzenheiser, director of Middle Georgia Regional Library, in a release. “The addition of this kit and the materials within transforms every Georgia State Park visit into an educational adventure.”

This story was originally published October 5, 2017 at 2:24 PM with the headline "Backpack kits, free park passes available from your local library."