Hennepin County Libraries Offering Free Summer Programs

Looking to learn and grow while having fun this summer? Hennepin County Library is collaborating with community organizations and businesses to present hundreds of free, enriching arts and cultural programs for kids, teens and adults starting in June.

The Guthrie Theater will present more than two dozen workshops for children, teens, and adults as part of the Library’s “Act Out” series. Teen arts educators trained by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts will teach two dozen “Art Out of the Box” workshops for kids. 

MacPhail Center for Music early childhood music specialists will lead hands-on music activities for young children at seven libraries. 

Kids will do “Mini Magnet” and other science experiments with a Bakken Museum educator at 11 libraries. They can learn about natural sciences at four “I Spy Nature” programs presented by Three Rivers Park District.

Teens can participate in the sport of improvisational comedy at “Comedy Sportz Improv” programs, make a hip-hop CD with local music producers, design and create trinkets and unique art at seven libraries with guidance from Leonardo’s Basement, and help solve a whodunnit at “Steampunk Mystery Mayhem” programs created by the Minnesota Historical Society.

“We’re excited about all of the options for fun, learning and reading planned for this summer,” said Hennepin County Library Director Lois Langer Thompson. “We look forward to seeing everyone at the library, online and in the community.”

Dozens of book clubs, including several online, are scheduled for kids and teens, too. Children, teens, and adults who would like to start their own book club this summer should start by reading helpful guidelines on Hennepin County Library’s BookSpace pages: http://www.hclib.org/pub/bookspace/

Kids and teens can also tell other kids and teens what they’re reading this summer by filling out “Read.Write.Draw” (kids) and “Best Book Ever” (teens) forms. The forms will be available in June at libraries, and online at www.hclib.org.

“’Read. Write. Draw.’ and ‘Best Book Ever’ are tools for children and teens  to explore all of the reading choices at the library,” said Johannah Genett, program librarian at Hennepin County Library. “Strong readers master the skills of reading, writing and retelling stories.”

What’s happening for adults at the library this summer? Adults can learn textile arts from Textile Center staff and basic bicycle maintenance from Freewheel Bike. More than a dozen Master Gardener programs are scheduled. Computer classes, author programs, job search and career workshops, and many other adult programs are also on the agenda.

Photographs of writers, screenwriters, and playwrights by Michael Childers, one of the entertainment industry’s portrait photographers, will be on display at an “Author, Author” photo exhibit June 26-Aug. 18 in Cargill Hall at Hennepin County Library—Minneapolis Central, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis.

That’s just a sampling of summer events at Hennepin County libraries. For the complete schedule, go online to www.hclib.org and click on Events & Classes at the top of the page. You can search for programs by library, by event type, by age level, and by keyword. Or stop by your library and pick up a copy of Hennepin County Library’s printed program guide beginning the week of May 20.

Information provided by the Hennepin County Library.