Summer Reading: Make Your Own Flower Press (Boudreau)
Join our friends from New England Botanic Garden to create an upcycled press for preserving leaves and petals. We will also learn about the lifecycle changes from flower to fruit, and dissect a tulip. Recommended for age 7 and up with a caregiver.
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.
Youth Dungeons and Dragons Session 1/3 (Valente Branch)
Youth ages 10-16 are welcome to join for three sessions of cooperative role-play and storytelling as we build out skills playing the table-top game DnD. The first session will include a character-building introduction followed by play continued into the next two sessions. No prior DnD experience is required, and experienced players are also welcome to join.
Registration is required, as the program is capped at 8 players. Please plan to attend all sessions!
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.
[CANCELED] Use your smartphone to stay organized (Main)
Learn how to use your smartphone (iPhone or Android) to stay organized. You will learn how to use calendar apps, navigation apps like Google Maps and note-taking apps. This class will be delivered by a DOORS program instructor. To learn more about the DOORS program please go to: https://www.digitalpsych.org/doors-program.html
To view and register for other Basic Tech Classes at the Library, please go to tinyurl.com/basictechclass.
Registration is encouraged, but not required.
Summer Reading: Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon: Artists of Color (Main)
Join us as we edit and create Wikipedia pages related to artists of color!
At an edit-a-thon, people work together to contribute to Wikipedia, often focusing on expanding our knowledge of underrepresented groups. You might add to the information on an existing page, create a new one, find reliable sources for others to use, or copyedit and format a page. No experience necessary! Laptops will be provided.
This program is generously supported by the Friends of the Cambridge Public Library.
Time Out for Public Art Tour: East Cambridge Neighborhood
Join us for a guided 60-minute art tour featuring public artwork in East Cambridge and learn about how Cambridge Arts commissions and maintains art for public enjoyment. We will visit three public artworks, and two sidewalk poems.
Meet at Centanni Park between the Multicultural Arts Center and the Middlesex South Registry of Deeds.
This event is part of our Time Out for Public Art series in collaboration with Cambridge Arts. In October, these will be 60-minute art tours where we visit multiple sites as a group. Registration is required.
Summer Reading: Crafternoon with Pop Up Art School (Main)
Learn about the centuries-old art of reverse glass painting and create your own reverse painting! Choose from three images and paint it using acrylic paint on clear acetate.
This program can accommodate 30 youth ages 11 to 18 years old. 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. Please call 617-349-4038 for more information.
Funding for Summer Reading has been generously provided by the City of Cambridge, Cambridge Public Library Foundation and Friends of the Cambridge Public Library.
Summer Reading: Hip Hop Xpression (Central Square)
Experience the joy of Hip Hop Xpression with Jarell Howard Rochelle in this fun, high-energy program for kids and teens. Participants will learn simple choreography, explore freestyle movement, and be introduced to authentic hip hop terminology and culture. This interactive class emphasizes connection, creativity, and self-expression, while celebrating the spirit of hip-hop.
No prior dance experience is needed — just come ready to move, laugh, and have fun together. Families and youth of all ages are welcome.
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.
Understanding AI, Prompting, and Reality Checking (Main)
Explore what Artificial Intelligence (AI) is (and is not), learn how to create effective prompts, and how to recognize common AI errors. This class will be delivered by a DOORS program instructor. To learn more about the DOORS program please go to: https://www.digitalpsych.org/doors-program.html
To view and register for other Basic Tech Classes at the Library, please go to tinyurl.com/basictechclass.
Registration is encouraged, but not required.
Activist Sharing Night: Button Making (Central Square)
Join the Cambridge YWCA, the Cambridge LGBTQ+ Commission, and the Central Square Branch Library for a screening of the short documentary Ephemera about Libby Bouvier's activist button collection. Libby Bouvier has spent most of her life collecting an archive of cause buttons and other "ephemera" from the women’s movement, the LGBT movement, and other radical causes she's been directly or indirectly involved with over the decades. This is a moving image portrait of her and her collection. Produced by Lily Bouvier.
After the documentary screening, we'll have an opportunity to share about our own activism and to use the Library button makers. We'll have magazines, paper, markers, and more so you can make your own buttons to share your activism with the world!
Get creative with us, and join other local activists!