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Join us for a collaborative experience where families build and battle robots together. This event is recommended for children ages 7 and up and their families. This program can accommodate 16 families. Tickets are available on a first come, first served basis on the day of the program. The entire party must be present to receive a ticket. This program starts promptly. Unclaimed seats will be offered to someone waiting. We appreciate your patience and understanding. Funding for Summer Reading has been generously provided by the City of Cambridge, Cambridge Public Library Foundation, Friends of the Cambridge Public Library and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

The climate is changing, and we're all here on the planet together. Join us for a monthly community gathering and discussion of a variety of books about climate change. We will share thoughts, resources, and occasionally host special guests in a welcoming small-group environment. Our July book is The Weight of Nature: how a changing climate changes our brains by Clayton Page Aldern. Copies are available to pick up at the Q&A desk at the Main Library. This is a hybrid event. A Zoom link will be sent to all registered participants 1 hour before the event. Registration is required. Please contact alengel@cambridgema.gov with questions.

Discover how AI can make creative work more fun and accessible. Learn simple tools for writing, audio and video editing, graphic design, and social media — even if you’ve never created content before. Do you have any accessibility or language support needs? Please submit this form and we’ll do our best to meet your needs. This hybrid event will take place in-person in the Learning Lab at the Main Library and on Zoom. The Zoom link will be sent to all registered participants one hour before the event's start time. Led by The Hope Group, an award-winning Boston-based AI education team, in collaboration with the Cambridge Public Library.

The climate is changing, and we're all here on the planet together. Join us for a monthly community gathering and discussion of a variety of books about climate change. We will share thoughts, resources, and occasionally host special guests in a welcoming small-group environment. Our October book is Before It's Gone by Jonathan Vigliotti. Copies are available to pick up at the Q&A desk at the Main Library and immediately on the Hoopla app. This is a hybrid event. A Zoom link will be sent to all registered participants 1 hour before the event. Registration is required. Please contact alengel@cambridgema.gov with questions.

STEAM resources available to the public

Meet a swimming, quacking friend at a duck-themed story time, learn about duck behavior and anatomy, and do a themed activity! Best of all, in the Duck Circle, youth are able to touch and interact with a live duck. Due to the particularly fine weather, this program will meet in the Valente Reading Garden, at the corner of Cambridge Street and Berkshire Street. This program is for children of all ages, with a caregiver. Registration is required. When registering, please indicate how many children are attending. Adults do not need to be included in the numbers for registration. Contact the Valente Library at 617-349-4015 for more information.

Join us for a lively discussion of a great book in person at the Main Library! Snacks will be provided. For ages 7-9 and a parent or caregiver. This month's book is The Homework Machine by Dan Gutman. Four very different students are stuck sitting together at the “D” table, but form an unlikely alliance when one of them creates a machine that can do their homework for them at the press of a button. Soon, though, tensions form and even when they try to put it behind them the machine takes on a life of its own. Copies of this month's book are available at the Children's Desk. Both caregiver and child should read the book before the discussion to participate. Registration is required — only one registration is needed per family. For questions about parent/child book group, please email Rachel: rbeaton@cambridgema.gov

March selection: Wellness: A Novel by Nathan Hill Reading Interests: We read mostly contemporary Fiction and Non-Fiction, with forays into older works and classics. Past selections include: The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt and The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. How to get the print book: Copies of the book are set aside at the O'Connell Branch. Visit during open hours and a staff member can help you check out a copy. Click here for O'Connell Branch Hours How to get the e-book or digital audiobook: This month’s book is available as a digital audio and e-book through Hoopla. This book group meets in person at the O'Connell Branch. No registration is needed. Drop-ins welcome. For more information contact the branch at 617-349-4019. The City of Cambridge does not discriminate, including on the basis of disability. We may provide auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures to people with disabilities. For more information contact us at library@cambridgema.gov, 617-349-4032 (voice), or via relay at 711.

Learn about the trees in the park by making leaf and bark rubbings! Feel free to gather your own ahead of time, but some leaves will be provided. The craft will be followed by a story time. Recommended for ages 5 and up with a caregiver.

Learn the basics of beaded jewelry making and the difference between semi-precious stones and precious stones. Participants will keep all pieces they make. This will be an in-person program at the Main Library - Rossi Room. Space is limited to 10 participants. Led by Zangar Freeman.