Northern Tier’s Regional Library Summer Learning Program 2023: All Together Now
We are coming together and gearing up to offer another great Summer Learning Program. All Together Now is this year’s theme; bringing lots of community crafts, friendly programs and gathering activities. We will be offering a wide variety of programs this summer to encourage community exploration: family art projects, STEM outside, tech gatherings and much more!
We will offer art and making kits to take home, drop-in crafts anytime you visit the library, and spaces to come together to engage in technology, building and making. We will also offer outdoor STEM activities, and our Fresh Air storytimes.
You can log the books and activities you have completed using Beanstack! Beanstack can be accessed through a portal on our website or downloaded as an app to your device. This website allows users to log the books they have read, complete activities, and use tickets to participate in prize raffles. There will be a diverse group of gift cards prizes to choose from, so we encourage every member of the family to participate! Please check our website for more information about Beanstack and how you can turn your summer learning into prizes.
Children’s and Teen Programming
- Maker Mondays Take Home Kits for Tweens and Teens:
MONDAYS June 12 – July 31
On Mondays, families will be able to enjoy kits to take home from our makerspace. These kits can be requested online or on the phone and will be placed in the library’s lobby for weekly pick-up. Each week is requested separately. We will also offer some in-person programming at the library.
June 12 – Message in a Mini Bottle: Create a tiny message in a bottle using craft supplies. Registration required for this take-home kit.
June 19 – Fiber Arts: Learn some basic crochet and knitting skills. This program meets in person. 3:00 – 5:00 pm. Ages 13 and up.
June 26 – CD Weaving: Create a hanging decoration with yarn and recycled discs. Registration required for this take-home kit.
July 3 – Rock painting: Create art to share (or keep!). This program meets in person. 3:00 – 5:00 pm. All ages.
July 10 – Paper Flowers: Create a festive flower from tissue paper and other materials. Registration required for this take-home kit.
July 17 – Friendship Bracelet: Learn different knotting techniques to create a bracelet. This program meets in person. 3:00 – 5:00 pm. All ages.
July 24 – Mini Craft Stick Container: Use craft sticks to create a mini container for flowers, pencils, or anything you like. Registration required for this take-home kit.
July 31 – Perler Bead Pixel Art: Create a small work of art using fuse beads. This program meets in person. 3:00 – 5:00 pm. All ages.
- Family Art Club:
TUESDAYS June 13 – August 1 (Take home kits)
Simple, collaborative paper art projects for the whole family to enjoy. This year, our prompts are based on bugs in our community! Each week has a take-home kit with instructions and supplies, available for lobby pickup. Please call or register online to reserve a kit, and note that each week is requested separately.
June 13: Firefly
June 20: Ladybug
June 27: Butterfly
July 3: Ants
July 11: Dragonfly
July 18: Millipede
July 25: Bumblebee
August 1: Walking Leaf
- Baby Playtime:
TUESDAYS June 13 – August 1; 11:00 am
Come enjoy a half hour of fun with your baby! We’ll share songs, finger plays, stories, and rhymes. Meet other parents and their babies, and enjoy some special time together. This program is intended for babies ages 0-18 months and will be held on Tuesdays, June 13 – August 1) at 11:00 am in the program room on our main level. Siblings are welcome, and only one registration is required for the series of eight playtimes, even if you can’t attend them all.
- Build-It Tuesdays:
TUESDAYS June 13 – August 1; 3:00 – 4:00 pm
June 13 – Build-It-Tuesdays: Fire Rescue Boat: Build a small fire rescue boat using tools and a DIY kit. Join us at the library and bring your best building skills. We received building kits from our friends at Lowe’s and Home Depot and you get to put these kits together using a hammer. Make sure to wear clothes that aren’t too fancy, they might get dust or paint on them. For children ages 5 & up. Registration is required.
June 20 – Build-It-Tuesdays: Mini Pinball Machine: Build a small pinball machine and paint it your own way. Join us at the library and bring your best building skills. We received building kits from our friends at Lowe’s and Home Depot and you get to put these kits together using a hammer. Make sure to wear clothes that aren’t too fancy, they might get dust or paint on them. For children ages 5 & up. Registration is required.
June 27 – Build-It-Tuesdays: Desk Organizer: Build an organizer for your desk or room using the kit provided, decorate it to your own liking. Join us at the library and bring your best building skills. We received building kits from our friends at Lowe’s and Home Depot and you get to put these kits together using a hammer. Make sure to wear clothes that aren’t too fancy, they might get dust or paint on them. For children ages 5 & up. Registration is required.
July 11 – PPG Science Discovery: Join us at the library and enjoy a hands-on demonstration of a variety of chemical compounds and reactions. Our friends at PPG will visit and invite participants to engage in interesting scientific principles. For ages 5 & up and their families. Registration is required.
July 18 – Allegheny County Park Rangers: Animals Habitats: Learn about animals and their habitats in the wild, the AC Park Rangers will share their knowledge on this topic. All ages. Registration is required
July 25 – Build-It-Tuesdays: Birdhouse: Build a birdhouse to place outside and watch feathery friends visit your yard. Join us at the library and bring your best building skills. We received building kits from our friends at Lowe’s and Home Depot and you get to put these kits together using a hammer. Make sure to wear clothes that aren’t too fancy, they might get dust or paint on them. For children ages 5 & up. Registration is required.
August 1 – Build-It-Tuesdays Make-up Day: We will offer all kits featured this summer. You can come and make a kit on a date you couldn’t attend or repeat one of your favorites. Until supplies last. Join us at the library and bring your best building skills. We received building kits from our friends at Lowe’s and Home Depot and you get to put these kits together using a hammer. Make sure to wear clothes that aren’t too fancy, they might get dust or paint on them. For children ages 5 & up. Registration is required.
- Fresh Air Playtime and Storytime:
WEDNESDAYS – 10:30 am. June 14 – August 2
THURSDAYS – 10:30 AM. June 15 – August 3
Every Wednesday and Thursday, 6/12 – 8/5; 10:30 am. Enjoy some toys and games before the start of our family storytime outside. You will need to bring a blanket or camping chairs to sit on the lawn outside. Bring a rattle or noise making toy as well. All ages.
- STEAM Outside:
WEDNESDAYS – 3:00 – 5:00 pm. June 14 – August 2
Every Wednesday afternoon we will offer a STEAM activity outside, weather permitting. 3:00 – 5:00 pm. Registration is required. Ages 5 and up.
Week of June 14: Candle Making. We will be melting wax and pouring it to make simple jar candles.
Week of June 21: Poured Resin and Perler Beads. We will use resin to encapsulate a small perler bead creation into a unique coaster.
Week of June 28: Block Printing. Using carving tools create stamps out of linoleum so you can put them together to create a pattern.
Week of July 5: Nails & String Art. Using a hammer and nails create an outline shape in wood that can be decorated with colorful string.
Week of July 12: Clay Modeling. Enjoy clay and make a figurine or beads out of polymer clay or air-dry clay.
Week of July 19: Paint Pouring Art. Using lots of acrylic paints, we will pour over a mix over a canvas to make abstract art.
Week of July 26: Bath Bombs. Find you inner chemist and learn how to make fun bath bombs to use at bath time.
Week of August 2: Silk-screen Printing. Learn the basics of screen-printing. You can even bring a t-shirt to make your own design.
- Digital vs. Analog Showdown:
THURSDAYS 2:30 – 4:00 pm. June 15 – August 3
Who will win? Trick Question. You do… when you build, play and explore with either or both of our digital & analog activities designed for creative learning. Some activities will even send you home with an item you made yourself! This a self-directed program.
June 15 – OzoBots & Button Making: Don’t be bozos, come play with these Ozo’s! Join us for a colorful edition of the Digital v. Analog Showdown where we will draw patterns for our OzoBot robots to interpret and make buttons you can wear all summer!
June 22 – Cubetto Robots & Perler Beads: This week in the showdown the theme will be putting things together whether in a logical sequence or for art. With the Cubetto robots we’ll practice coding principles and with the perler beads we’ll melt beads together to make wonderful designs.
June 29 – Sphero & Magna Tiles/LEGOs: Let the Spheros be your heroes this week in the Digital v. Analog Showdown! Zip, zap, and zoom around the room with these speedy Sphero robots. You may even want to build a maze out of LEGOs and Magna Tiles for you and your Sphero to conquer!
July 6 – Beebots & Bitmojis: Hello Bees! These Beebots don’t sting but instead bring you fun! Program them to move in specific patterns as a coding practice. Additionally, we’ll bring out a bunch of Bitmojis so we can practice our sequencing talents through storytelling!
July 13 – Botleys & Modeling Clays/Pom-Pom Kits: Botley listens, Botley does, Botleys do this just because! Instruct our Botley robots to follow a map or simply make them act silly for our amusement. We can even dress them up with modeling clays or give them Pom-Pom wigs!
July 20 – littleBits & Geodesic Dome: Here’s a little bit of fun for ya… or more likely a lot a fun! This week we’ll be designing circuits with gadgets built in them for our digital activity, the littleBits STEAM set, and crafting a geodesic dome as our analog challenge.
July 27 – Turing Tables & Binary Bracelets: Turing Tables teach us the logic of I.T. through a series of games that challenge us to put marbles through a maze in a precise order with each round getting more difficult than the next. We’ll also make bracelets using the binary language patterns. Best wear your computer science boots for this one!
August 3 – Super Mario Maker 2 & Cardboard Kits: It’s a meee, a Mario! Help Mario and Luigi build a video game level or complete one we’ll have ready on the Nintendo Switch in Super Mario Maker 2. Building on that theme is more building activities! Craft up something fun with our cardboard kits in this week’s edition of the showdown.
- Tweens and Teens Thursday Night Specials:
TWO SELECT THURSDAY NIGHTS FROM 5:30 PM TO 7:00 PM
June 29 – Mini golf: It’s tee time for the tykes! Join us for an indoor game of putt-putt between the stacks in this after-hours program. Along with obstacles on the course, we’ll also set up other golf related activities off to the side, or in the rough if you will. Ages 10 and up. Registration required.
July 20 – Among Us: Calling all teens! Are you under the presumption that your friend is ‘sus’? Then prove it in a low-stakes, high-fun, live version of Among Us! Patrons ages 13-18 are welcome to sign up for passage on the spaceship that will bring them to glory or to their demise. Registration required.
- NTRLZINE:
FRIDAYS, JUNE 16 – AUGUST 4 AT 11:00 AM
NTRLZINE is based on the DIY aesthetic of online magazines and made to share creative works from our community as a scrapbook of our Summer Learning Program. This program is open to all ages and abilities. Each week, we will gather for brainstorming and creation sessions. Submissions will be compiled and published at the end of the summer. Feel free to participate remotely, too! Simply share your contributions via email northerntiersrc@gmail.com
June 16 – Patterns Block Printing: Create your own unique patterns by cutting your own unique stamp. You can also color or learn how to draw your own patterns.
June 23 – Papel Picado: Make a decorative craft by cutting designs into sheets of tissue paper.
June 30 – Fruit Embroidery: Try a simple embroidery creation, using your favorite fruit as inspiration.
July 7 – Stained Glass: Use various materials to create your own imitation stained-glass piece.
July 14 – Button Making: Use our button maker to make your own buttons.
July 21 – Layered Fan Art: Accordion fold paper to make your own decorative art.
July 28 – Doodles & Drawings: Good or bad, we want to see your artistic creations! We’ll have tips and activities to help you get started.
August – 4 Paper Bookshelf Collage: Use recycled paper materials to create your own special paper bookshelf art piece.
- Friday Cooking Club:
FRIDAYS JUNE 16 – AUGUST 4 AT 1:00 and 2:30 pm
Four different areas of world cooking (and eating!) will be explored this summer. We will offer a new module every two weeks. 4 sessions of the same program will be offered in two consecutive Fridays. Session A will be at 1:00 pm and Session B will be at 2:30 pm. Participants can sign up to the time and date that is most convenient for each of our four modules. Ages: 7 & up.
All dates offer the two sessions: 1:00 pm and 2:30 pm
Module 1: Mexican Fiesta – Friday June 16 & Friday June 23
Module 2: Italian Discovery – Friday June 30 & Friday July 7
Module 3: Asian Medley – Friday July 14 & Friday July 21
Module 4: Southern Hospitality – Friday July 28 & Friday August 4
- Drop-in Weekly Programming:
Each engaging activity will be available at the round table by the teen area during library hours. One new activity each week for all members of the family.
Week of June 12: Community Coloring Pages. Enjoy a selection of coloring pages, pens and markers and enjoy some time just coloring with others.
Week of June 19: Favorite Place. Tell us or draw us a picture about your favorite place to visit in your community.
Week of June 26: Patterned Tile. Design a pattern to use on a floor tile. Use the cutout shapes to make your pattern.
Week of July 3: A Day in The Life Comic. Tell us a 3-panel story featuring something you do or you’ve seen in your community. Use the three spaces to draw a comic and add dialogue.
Week of July 10: Write a Little Song. Use your poetic skills to write a short song about anything you enjoy.
Week of July 17: Origami Hat. Using the origami paper and instructions provided make and decorate a little paper hat.
Week of July 24: Best Book/Worst Book. Let others know what you are reading this summer. Tell us about the best book you have read and why you loved it. Tel us about a book you didn’t like much and a reason why it wasn’t for you. Remember to be kind!
Week of July 31: Thumbprint Community. Using your thumbprint draw a few members of your community. Think about something fun they can be doing like walking their dog or tending their garden.
- Community Art Project:
Every other week we will set up a community created art installation. Library visitors will get the chance to add an element to every project when they visit the library.
- Week of June 12: Build a Brick Wall Together. Decorate a brick and add it to our brick wall.
- Week of June 26: Kite Festival. Decorate a kite and place it on the sky. Don’t forget to add the tail.
- Week of July 10: Pixel Art: Using the stickers provided, we will build this art piece together, one piece at a time.
- Week of July 24: Big Loving Community. Using envelopes create buildings to add to the community. Think about all kinds of buildings: stores, houses, bakeries, pizza places, post offices, even a library!
Adult Programming
Who said kids get to have all the fun in the summer? Check out these weekly adult offerings to see what piques your interest.
June 10 – World Wide Knit in Public Day: Celebrate World Wide Knit in Public Day inside the library’s new book area on Saturday, June 10 from 11:00 AM-1:00 PM. Knitters, crocheters, and yarn art enthusiasts are encouraged to participate and bring a project to work on. Registration is requested.
June 14 – Bridget’s Book Club: What was supposed to be a fun mother-daughter journey to Italy turns into a solo trip for Katy when her mother Carol unexpectedly dies. When Katy arrives in Positano, a town where Carol spent a summer right before she married, Katy can feel her presence everywhere. And then she is actually there, in the flesh and only 30 years old. Now Katy has the unique opportunity to spend time with a different version of Carol – the young woman she was long before Katy was born. Join us on Wednesday, June 14 at 6:30 PM for a discussion of One Italian Summer by Rebecca Searle. Registration is requested.
June 21 – Knit Together Now: Let’s make a community blanket this summer. Knit or crochet a square measuring 8” by 8” using a shade of blue. Plus, we will be collecting handmade scarves and hats for the KnitHope organization as we’ve done in the past. For more information, please check out their website at knithope.org This program will meet in-person on Wednesday, June 21 from 6:30-8:30 PM. Registration is requested.
June 28 – Paper Quilt: Create a unique “quilt” square using paper shapes and markers that we’ll combine to display as a community quilt! If you can’t make the event on Wednesday, June 28 at 6:30 PM, supplies will be left on the table in the new book area for patrons to participate throughout the remainder of the week. Registration is requested.
July 5 – Adult Coloring Take-home Kit: Mindful coloring helps you focus on the present moment to reduce stress and anxiety. Pick up one of our take-home kits from the lobby on Wednesday, July 5. Registration is required to account for supplies.
July 12 – Bridget’s Book Club: Lizbet Keaton is making major changes in her life.? A breakup with her longtime boyfriend means a new job and place to live. She accepts the position of general manager of the Hotel Nantucket, a Gilded Age gem that has fallen on hard times. Lizbet is striving to impress the new owner, as well as an Instagram influencer who can make or break the hotel’s bid for success. She also needs to overcome the stigma of the 1922 fire that killed a young chambermaid. And did we mention that the chambermaid’s ghost is currently haunting the hotel? Join us on Wednesday, July 12 at 6:30 PM for a discussion of Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand. Registration is requested.
July 14 – Embroidery Take-home Kit: Learn how to embroider this summer with this simple take-home kit that can be picked up from the lobby on Friday, July 14. This kit will be limited to one per family, so please register in advance to account for supplies.
July 19 – Knit Together Now: Show off your handmade items! Bring in your blue square to be stitched into our community blanket and/or your finished project for the KnitHope organization. Place your item in a Ziploc bag with a label that states whether the item is adult or child sized, and our group’s name: Knit Lit at Northern Tier Regional Library. If you haven’t finished yet, don’t worry! We will be collecting KnitHope items until Friday, September 29. This program will meet in-person on Wednesday, July 19 from 6:30-8:30 PM. Registration is requested.
July 24 – Moths & Trees: To observe National Moth Week, we’re hosting a Moths & Trees program at the library! The beauty of the habitats and life cycles of moths will be celebrated during this presentation by Joe Stavish from Tree Pittsburgh on Monday, July 24 from 6:00-7:00 PM. You’ll discover some amazing local moth species that rely on trees and how you can attract them to your backyard using a safe light trap. This program is intended for adults, but all ages are welcome to come. Registration is required.
July 26 – Gratitude Jar: Starting a gratitude jar can make a positive change in your life. It’s a place where you can place all the things, big or small, that you are thankful for. We will provide jars that you can decorate and tips to begin on Wednesday, July 26 at 6:30 PM. Registration is required to account for supplies.
July 31 – Community Puzzle Project: Stop by the library the week of July 31 for an adult drop-in program. Help build a book-themed puzzle in our new book area.
The Grand Finale
- Summer Learning Bash: August 5, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Come and celebrate the end of our Summer Learning Program! Arrive promptly at 11:00 AM, we will host activities indoors & outdoors. We will be offering a ventriloquist show at 11:30 am. We will have crafts and snacks. Do not forget your Summer Learning Program folder to claim your free book. Play games, make crafts, and enjoy a jump in the bouncy castle! We will offer tons of activities for the entire community to celebrate this accomplishment together.
