Reading can open up a whole new world, and BYU's Museum of Peoples and Cultures is doing just that during weekly storytime for children with a program called Stories from Around the World.

Children hear a story from a different country and do a craft project related to the story. For example, at the last storytime, the story was a Ukrainian folktale about a pair of white mittens, and after the story the children made white mittens from construction paper and yarn.

Kari Nelson, the museum's curator of education, said the program helps expose children to cultures that they may not be exposed to at home. The storytime started in September. It is held every Thursday at 10:30 a.m. at the Museum of Peoples and Cultures at 700 N 100 East in Provo. There will be no story time Dec. 27 due to the holiday.

Jenny Brooks takes her daughter Isabella, 3, every week because Isabella loves books and the activities.

"We read a lot at home," Brooks said. "It's good for bonding. It's good for pre-reading skills."

On Thursday, Michelle Curtiss helped her two sons, Daniel and Lincoln, thread yellow yarn through the holes in their paper mittens. It was their first time at storytime, but it was a good experience.

"It's really fun and my kids like it and that's important," Curtiss said.

Lincoln, 4, said he likes books, and started asking his mom to read stories to him when he was 18 months old.

"He can literally sit for hours until I fall asleep, then he wakes me up and says read," Curtiss said.

According to the U. S. Department of Education, reading to young children significantly helps them develop into to good readers and writers.

Curtiss said she reads to her children because there is so much to learn and so little time. She also sees the developmental benefits of reading to Lincoln, who is articulate for his age. Curtiss said that sometimes she hears Lincoln say a word and is taken by surprise because she doesn't know it is part of his vocabulary.

"Plus it's a good time to snuggle. Otherwise you can't snuggle with a 4-year-old," Curtiss said.

Jamie Moesser is an advocate of reading to children. She likes the program at the museum in particular because her 4-year-old son Jonah can learn about other people.

"We like the museum because it exposes him to other cultures at his level," Moesser said. "He needs to be aware."

• Brittani Lusk can be reached at 344-2549.