By Karen Kelly | Special to the Times Vedette
Why did the book join the gym? Because it wanted to work on its spine before all the new spring events!
Youth Programs
LEGO Mania Day is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 8. The next Guthrie STEM Lab will occur at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, May 14. Participants interested in these events should pre-register by visiting the library’s website, calling, or emailing the library.
Preschool Story Hour is every Friday at 10 a.m. and is open to all preschoolers and their caregivers. Next Friday’s theme is construction.
Parents and caregivers of preschool-age children are encouraged to sign up for our 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program. This free program is designed to help caregivers and parents prepare their preschoolers for school through reading. Inquire at the MJB Library to sign children up for this fun and valuable program.
Summer Reading Program: “Level Up at Your Library”
Join us for our Summer Reading Program! We have an exciting lineup of events planned.
- June 3 at noon: Summer Reading Kick-Off Event is a Magic Class
- June 4-7 during Open Hours: IOWA PBS STEAM Trailer
- The trailer is here and Full of STEAM/STEM activities. We will have tables in the library with different activities each day while the trailer is parked here.
- June 5 at 4 p.m.: LEGO Mania – Library STEM Summer
- June 9 at 4 p.m.: Guthrie STEM Lab – Library STEM Summer
- June 11 at 2 p.m.: Game of Best
- Guthrie County ISU Extension Outreach Program will host “Game of Best.”
- June 13 at 1 p.m.: Prehistoric Pep Rally
- Dino Anthony will present a fascinating program on a prehistoric pep rally about Prehistoric Antarctica.
- June 17 at 1 p.m.: Absolute Science is BACK this time with a Trick Bubble Show.
- June 19 at 2 p.m.: Ann Riordan – Springbrook State Park – SRP Program
- June 23 at 4 p.m.: : Creation Corner- SRP Creation Stations
- June 25 at 2 p.m.: : Tricky Towers
- Guthrie County ISU Extension Outreach Program will host “Tricky Towers.” Participants will explore teamwork and individual skills, then work in teams to build a 2-foot (or taller) tower modeled after ISU’s Campanile using spaghetti and marshmallows.
- June 27 at noon: Incentive/Prize PARTY End of Summer Reading Event
Stay tuned for updates here and on our library website about the summer reading program, which will run throughout June. This year’s theme is “Level Up at the Library.” Registration is now open, and you can find the online registration form on our website.
Adult Programs
Card sharks, please consider joining our Cribbage Group, which meets on Monday mornings from 9-11 a.m. in the Taylor Meeting Room. If bridge is more your style, join the Bridge Club, which meets weekly on Wednesdays from 9-11 a.m. Players of all skill levels are invited and encouraged to participate.
Friends of the Guthrie Center Public Library
Friends of the Library will meet on Monday, May 5, at 6:15 p.m. to plan their Golf Tournament Fundraiser, which will be held on Saturday, June 14, at the Guthrie Center Golf Course. All interested people are invited to join the Friends of the Library. Registration for the golf tournament is open on the library website. Businesses interested in sponsoring a hole at this event may contact the library.
Attention Book Club Participants!
Make sure you stop by the library to check out next month’s book selection. The Between the Covers afternoon book club will be diving into the gripping historical novel “Frozen River” by Ariel Lawhon, meeting on Tuesday, May 13, at 3 p.m.
The Reads Well with Others evening book club will read “My Travels with Mrs. Kennedy,” a compelling nonfiction account by Clint Hill, the Secret Service agent who protected Jackie Kennedy Onassis. This book offers valuable insights into his experiences with Mrs. Kennedy after her time in the White House. Don’t miss the chance to join us on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 5 p.m.
We expect to see all of you there!
Author Talks/Programs
The library is hosting two programs with Iowa authors in May.
On Wednesday, May 7, at 4 p.m., “Iowa Prohibition and Bootlegging,” presented by author Ann Hanigan Kotz, will feature the history of bootlegging in Iowa during prohibition. Kotz will also discuss her book entitled “Moonshine by Moonlight.” You won’t want to miss this fascinating look at a part of history you didn’t learn in school.
On Saturday, May 17, Enfys McMurry will be speaking about her book entitled “Disaster at 39,000 Feet: How Small-Town America Came Together at a Time of Crisis.” McMurry spent countless hours researching this accident, which disrupted the peaceful towns of Centerville, Iowa, and Unionville, Missouri, in May of 1961. McMurry’s book has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
Alice and library aide Lynda Menefee work on preparing dowels for the sail car Alice is building. Calvin carefully measures parts for his sail car during the library STEM Fest. The fort was so big, they could go inside. Using the Build a Fort STEM kit loaned from the State of Iowa Library, these young people are constructing a giant fort. Hadley screws together the plates that will make the body of her sail car. Della prepares to launch her sail car to see how far it will go.
