Solar System ~ Preschool STEAM

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Preschool STEAM (for children ages 2-6) is all about having fun with science, technology, math and art!  There is no right or wrong way for children to experiment – the fun and learning comes from the doing!  Early childhood research shows us that little hands and minds learn best when at play. […]

Meeting Varian Johnson – author of The Parker Inheritance

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An Afternoon with Author Varian Johnson Meet Varian Johnson, author of The Parker Inheritance, our 2019 Young Reader League selection. Participants had their books signed and joined in a scavenger hunt, crafts, and viewed art contest submissions. To view a list of the winners for the art and writing contests, […]

School of Rock@PPL! ~ Summer Music Program

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What happens when you bring together 35 school age kids, a group of talented musicians, 27 guitars (electric and acoustic) and 5 keyboards?  You get SCHOOL OF ROCK @ PPL!! For the second year in a row Pasadena Public library gave a group of kids (ages 10-16) a rock and […]

It’s Showtime! LEGO Movies Made by Younger Kids

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**Updated 7/11/19 — see notes at the end** Last week we held another LEGO Stop-Motion animation workshop in our Central Library in the fourth floor studio–this time for kids 5-8 years old. Once again I shared a Powerpoint Presentation about stop motion animation using one of the library’s books as […]

It’s Showtime! Stop-Motion LEGO Movies Made by Tweens

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A few weeks ago when our Summer Reading Program, “It’s Showtime At Your Library!” officially began, we held a LEGO Stop-Motion animation workshop in our Central Library in the fourth floor studio. To prepare for this program, I read up about stop motion animation using one of the library’s books: […]

Book Trailers Made by Kids!

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Kids 9-12 years old came to the library for a three-day program last week to make book trailers about their favorite books. These trailers were all created using iPads with the iMovie app, though we also tried some other movie editing software too. Most of the photos the kids used […]

Make-Believe Science: Kids’ Writing Workshop

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On Saturday, we held a workshop called “Make-Believe Science,” inspired by two books: “Don’t Forget to Write: For the Elementary Grades” by 826 National (this was from my personal collection): and “Two Truths and a Lie: It’s Alive!” by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson (copies available at Pasadena Public […]

Pigeon Picture Books: Made By Kids!

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Last Saturday, kids between the ages of five and eight came to Pasadena Library to do do a crafty creative writing activity making our own books–covers included!–inspired by the Pigeon books of Mo Willems! We read The Pigeon Needs a Bath and a little of Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive […]

USC Pacific Asia Museum @ The Library: Listen, Learn, Create!

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This year Central Library is excited to offer kids a new art series provided in partnership with USC Pacific Asia Museum. Each month, representatives of USC Pacific Asia Museum come to the library to read kids a picture book about Asian culture, and then guide children in an art project […]

Educator Night 2019

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This year we held our fourth annual Educator Night, sharing information about the library’s resources while giving Pasadena-based teachers dinner, a tote bag and a few free books to show our appreciation for all that they do! We did some fun new things at this year’s Educator Night, such as […]