Week Calendar

“Mother Goose on the Loose”, is a 30-minute nursery rhyme program for newborns to three-year-olds. The class helps to strengthen babies' and toddler's foundation for literacy with rhymes, rhythm, repetition, story, and movement.

Do you need a calm place to play? Then come to the Forest Avenue Calming Room for a sensory interactive experience! This is an unsupervised, drop-in program for youth.

Children ages three to five can come and enjoy stories, rhymes, songs, and more, followed by a craft.

Play, Grow, Learn! is an opportunity for you to use the Imagination Station to explore early literacy tips and books, play with others, and develop early literacy skills using Forest Avenue Library's space and toys.

Join us for rhymes, bounces, a story, and a short playtime.

For caregivers and babies from newborns up to eighteen months.

“Mother Goose on the Loose”, is a 30-minute nursery rhyme program for newborns to three-year-olds. The class helps to strengthen babies' and toddler's foundation for literacy with rhymes, rhythm, repetition, story, and movement.

“Mother Goose on the Loose”, is a 30-minute nursery rhyme program for newborns to three-year-olds. The class helps to strengthen babies' and toddler's foundation for literacy with rhymes, rhythm, repetition, story, and movement.

Toddlers and caregivers can enjoy stories, songs, rhymes, occasional crafts and a little playtime with Miss Janee. For toddlers ages 18 months - 3 years.

Do you need a calm place to play? Then come to the Forest Avenue Calming Room for a sensory interactive experience! This is an unsupervised, drop-in program for youth.

Join us weekly for rhymes, songs, bounces, stories, and a little playtime. For caregivers and babies ages 0 - 18 months.

Event Details

Toddlers and their caregivers can enjoy stories, songs, fingerplays and more, followed by a craft. Ages 18 months to 3 years. Meeting Room.

The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round during this special edition of storytime!

Join Miss Janee for a special Preschool Storytime with DART! This week's storytime will have a special guest reader from DART (Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority).

Join us for stories, songs, and movement that build literacy and school-readiness skills!

Play, Grow, Learn! is an opportunity for you to use the Imagination Station to explore early literacy tips and books, play with others, and develop early literacy skills using Forest Avenue Library's space and toys.

Join us for stories, songs, fingerplays and movement that build literacy skills for ages three to six years old.

On Thursdays, children and their caregivers can enjoy stories, rhymes, fingerplays, and songs together, followed by a period of free play or drawing.

Kids! Get ready to explore the galaxy at South with our "Star Wars" Scavenger Hunt! Drop in from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM to search the library for "Star Wars" characters and win a prize! May the Force be with you! For youth ages 5-12.

The LEGO bricks will be available in the Children's Area, so bring your imagination and get ready to build.

Build and create with Legos in the children’s area! All ages.

Join us for stories, songs, and movement to practice the 5 simple steps of pre-literacy!

Join us at the East Side Library for open play and more! Meet families with other young children, check out our awesome picture books, and engage in the five simple steps to success - Read, Write, Sing, Play, and Talk!

Kids and families! Drop in at South from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM for our Saturday Craft Day! This week, kids can use our foam stickers and holiday tree foam cutouts to decorate a Holiday Tree Bookmark to take home! For youth ages 5 and up.

The whole family can come to the library for stories, rhymes and songs.

Event Details

Toddlers and their caregivers can enjoy stories, songs, fingerplays and more, followed by a craft. Ages 18 months to 3 years. Meeting Room.

Do you remember the excitement of receiving a beautifully addressed letter in the mailbox? Take an hour away from email and texting to join us for an evening of old-fashioned letter and card writing.

Celebrate the best winter spice at East during this special storytime.

Children are encouraged to read with Caper, the therapy dog, at South! Caper is a friendly Pembroke Welsh Corgi who loves to hear stories! Walk in and choose a book to read to Caper in the Children's Area! For youth ages 3-12.

Do you want to practice your English skills? Looking to meet new people in your community? Join community members and English language learners alike at Forest Avenue Library and enjoy light refreshments and sparkling conversation!

Kids! Stop by Rosie's Forest at Forest Avenue Library and read a book to a reading therapy dog! Reading to a dog is a great way to build reading/language skills while making a furry friend!

Visit us at the North Side Library every Monday to learn some computer basics. Create an email account, build a simple resume, and learn about the library catalog.

Visit us every Thursday afternoon to receive guidance in searching for jobs. We will use Google Tools to help you create an email account, build a simple resume, and apply for jobs.

Irish American storyteller Maureen Korte writes, adapts, and tells stories of every genre, from every country for every kind of audience. Come hear her family winter and Christmas stories from around the world.

Love Raina Telgemeier, superheroes, manga, graphic novels, and cartoons? Ready to let your artist flag fly? Then come to Comics Creators! We'll provide the paper and pens, you provide the creativity! This is an unsupervised, drop-in program.

Celebrate the release of the 8th Dog Man book:  Fetch-22 at our Dog Man party after school! Drop in for Dog Man related fun, games, crafts and an epic scavenger hunt around the library!

Use toothpicks and gumdrops to construct unique shapes. Taste-testing allowed!

• Program is for ages eight to eighteen. 
• Registration is required.

Recreate potions from Hogwarts with everyday materials! This program is for children ages 8-18. Children under 10 must be accompanied by a caregiver over the age of 12.

Come learn more about how to build and grow a social media presence for your organization!!!  FREE - Social media marketing training for small businesses and non-profits.

Read a story, explore and create with art and STEM activities! Bring your imagination and join us in the children's area. Ages three to eight.

Join us every Tuesday as we play Minecraft, Roblox, and more. Ages 8-12. 

Come to our monthly Pokémon Club! Bring your Pokémon playing cards and Nintendo DS to battle other Pokémon fans. Ages 8-18.

Tweens and Teens! Learn to make something new during our Try It Out Tuesday events at South! This month, participants can learn how to make bars of soap and a bath bomb just in time for the holiday season! For youth ages 10-18.

Come to the library and make ornaments filled with a variety of fun things. Keep them for yourself or use them as gifts.

For ages 6-12. Younger siblings may attend if accompanied by an adult.

Come make a difference at the Central Library while meeting other teens interested in helping their community! Work together to help prepare youth activities, assist with programs and more to bulk up your résumé. Ages 12-18. No Walk-ins.

You don't need a pair of goggles to experience virtual reality. Come experiment with some cool apps and gadgets and see what augmented reality is all about!

Get excited for the new movie by playing Star Wars Bingo at the library! Whether you are a brand new fan or have every character's name and backstory memorized, this is the game for you. Wear a costume if you want.

Try a variety of materials for making your own personalized sketch book! While supplies last.

¡Usa una variedad de materiales para crear tu propio libro de dibujo! Mientras queden reservas.

Build your own castle using our 3-D pens. You will learn the basics of using a pen to draw 2-D objects and then turn them into 3-D toys in only a few simple steps. For ages 5-12. Registration Required, space is limited!

Join us at North Side to design a maze for marbles with straws and paper plates! For ages 5-12

Want to what's coming up at Forest for adults? Come meet Nikki, our adult librarian, learn about our existing plans for 2020, and tell us what you'd like to see more of!

Join us for an evening of winter themed bad art at the East Side Library.

Bring the family at night for stories, songs, and occasional crafts and activities that prepares your children for school! You can even wear your jammies! All ages.

Come and enjoy stories, rhymes, songs and crafts in English and Spanish. Venga y disfrute cuentos, rimas, canciones, y manualidades en inglés y español.

Please join us for a public information meeting with the City of Des Moines with a focus on property taxes, storm water projects, and local option sales tax. 

The whole family can come to the library for stories, rhymes and songs.

Listen to cookie-themed stories while you decorate and devour your own gingerbread men! 

What was your favorite book of 2019? We will share our favorites books and our favorite treats as we wrap up a wonderful year of reading. No registration required.

Families can enjoy stories, rhymes, and songs together on Wednesday nights. It's a great way for busy families to relax and listen to stories together.