Library programs for kids

Here are 27 library activities for kids that will give you different ways of engaging them at the library and help to grow a love of reading.

The Library Adventure uses affiliate links, see our policies for more information.Kids ages 8 to 12 are often too busy with scheduled activities of their own to make it to library programs in the afternoons or evenings. For librarians who wish to increase attendance at programs for this age group, this can be very frustrating, […]

Are you looking for elementary library lessons? A fun way to review what you've taught this year is with a Battleship library game! Read all the how-to's in this blog post! #LibraryLearners

We spend many afternoons at our neighborhood library. At one point our time switched from going to find particular books, to just hanging out. For hours. Reading, exploring, asking questions, sharing, talking.... I wanted to share a quick list of fun things you can do at the library other than just check out books. Any of these ideas would be a great boredom buster. Just tell your kid you have an adventure in mind and embrace the mission with verve. You will have a great time! Please share…

Using all sorts of building materials, this simple STEM program is great for kids of all ages!

Last weekend at Gibson my awesome coworker friend Nicole and I did a library mini golf after hours program for teens and tweens and it was a HIT. We got the idea from this pin but couldn’t fi…

Take a trip with your kids to your local library and explore your library and all it's library books adventure with our Library Books Scavenger Hunt for kids! This is a great way to get kids excited about reading and finding new library books.

Story Crafternoon is a program our library offers to elementary aged kids, who have gotten too old for our preschool story time. This progr...

When you get new books at the library, what better way to get them checked out than to build an interactive table around them? For this ta...

Candy sushi made out of Rice Krispies, fruit roll ups, twizzlers, mike and Ike's, and nerds! oh and green icing as wasabi!

Make these adorable mini beaded bookmarks out of wire, beads and paperclips. An easy craft to do with kids

What’s the only thing better than normal board games? Giant board games! I have seen many inventive and huge versions of games in libraries, so I decided to make my own. And it’s super …

Ages: Tweens, teens OR 20/30s Duration: 1.5 hours Style: Drop-in Budget: $40 Goal: To provide a silly, surprising, and highly creative atmosphere with no pressure to make something “good.” Summary:…

Amazing Race: Library Edition is a program that I’ve ran twice before. It always brings out a huge crowd – and for those of us who have a small budget – it’s a great program…

Turn a normal library trip into a treasure hunt adventure your kids will love using this free printable library scavenger hunt BINGO game. It’s official....

This one is pretty self-explanatory. All I did was combine my idea for “Wind Racers” and my idea for “Water Works.” I liked this one because it’s definitely somethi…

After reading “Tiny T. Rex and the Impossible Hug” by Jonathan Stutzman, everyone got to make baby T-Rex Finger puppets! Kids can color their dinosaur however they want, then put thei…

Creative library program ideas for kids, tweens, teens, and adults. Free resources included!

Free library games and resources, including printables, worksheets, and slideshow presentations designed to help kids build library skills.

Haven't tried a book tasting with your students yet? This fun reading activity is an awesome way to introduce genres in your elementary classroom or library!