Library Check-In Local Look-Back - Prince George's County Memorial Library System

Summer Recap 2025

The Library Check-in is a newsletter that shares news, event highlights, and happenings from across the Prince George's County Memorial Library System (PGCMLS). This page showcases the programs and initiatives from across every one of the system’s 20 locations that made this past season unforgettable.

General features from the latest edition of the newsletter can be found here.

To stay up to date on all things relevant to the Library, be sure to follow us on social media (@PGCMLS), or by clicking the social icons in the footer of the webpage. Thank you for being a part of this wonderful community — dive in and enjoy!

Accokeek

Building a Community through Legos at the Accokeek Branch Library

On the first and third Tuesday of each month, the Accokeek Branch Library hosts a regular group of local kids for the branch’s long-running “Legos: Creative Club” program.

IMAGE: Angled shot of a long wooden activity table in the middle of a room with big window. Young children surround the table, putting together various Lego builds, while a library staff member in a blue shirt assists.

A favorite of the Accokeek community for many years, the “Legos: Creative Club” program is organized as an open creative space. Kids ages 5-12 are welcome to dig around in the branch’s extensive Lego collection and design new builds as their whims take them.

“They come up with really creative stuff,” says Accokeek Librarian Johanna James. “We've had some houses, some space centers, a pink princess castle… Some have been really small, but also we’ve had someone who did a whole construction site with the scaffolding and [everything]!”

Baden

Dinosaurs Take Over the Baden Branch Library

In late July, the Baden Branch Library brought in paleontology experts from the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) for a “Dinosaur Park Pop-Up Museum” and had dinosaur-themed activities take over the whole branch.

“I went to an Anne Arundel program where they brought in PG Parks people from the dinosaur dig up in Laurel, and found out they do pop-up museum programs like these, for free,” says Baden Branch Librarian Danielle Cayea-Wilson, who organized the partnership. The M-NCPPC experts set up tables with different fossils, including some they had just pulled out of the ground in May, as well as some of Maryland’s state dinosaur, Astrodon johnstoni, which Danielle was especially delighted to see.

To complement the M-NCPPC’s pop-up museum, Baden staff filled the branch with six additional activity stations: two crafts, two games, and two STEM activities. This last category included a “Dinosaur Nursery” that Danielle created by encasing little plastic dinosaurs in baking soda paste “eggs.” Kids used vinegar to “hatch” these eggs, after which they got to take the toy dinosaur home, along with a little adoption certificate!

IMAGE: 9-photo grid collage of various activities at the Baden Dino Park Pop-Up, including the baking soda dino eggs on the top level, with two photos showing a boy successfully hatching a blue dinosaur using vinegar; a trio of photos showing two other young boys listening to a visiting expert in a blue t-shirt talk about fossils, with a giant fossilized dino skull in between; and three photos of paper-wrapped "dino tails," pool noodle palm trees, and the dinosaur scavenger hunt worksheet.

Beltsville

Learning About Financial Literacy at the Beltsville Branch Library’s Life Lab

IMAGE: Four adults sit at grey plastic tables listening to a presenter talk through a slide presentation being projected onto a screen on the stage in front of the tables.

In early August, the Beltsville Branch Library’s Life Lab hosted a financial literacy workshop in collaboration with the University of Maryland (UMD) Extension’s Financial Wellness team all about “Understanding Scams and Frauds.”

As reported by Beltsville Public Services Specialist Yassin Kargbo, who leads the Library’s Life Lab, program attendees spanned a wide range of ages, backgrounds, and life experiences, including middle-aged adults attending solo, a gentleman who came with his granddaughter, and a young newlywed couple expecting a baby.

The UMD Extension instructor went over various scenarios in his presentation, then invited participants to do role plays around specific red flags. Questions asked by the audience included safety regarding checkbooks, phones, fake credit card readers, and even how to prepare for AI capturing your voice to use in future scams.

“It was a great conversation,” Yassin says. “The presentation was really good — comprehensive, informative, and engaging. And then people even stayed because they had more questions to ask.”

The program was such a hit that the Life Lab will be hosting a sequel on Tuesday, October 28. Mark your calendars!

Bladensburg

“Bleeding Tissue Paper Art” at the Bladensburg Branch Library

In late July, the Bladensburg Branch Library hosted an incredibly fun “Crafternoon” program this past week focused on “Bleeding Tissue Paper Art.”

Organized as a brand new “process art” craft offering by Bladensburg Branch Library Associate Nancy Love, this hands-on-paper program brought in nearly 40 participants, including both individual families and a handful of summer campers.

IMAGE: A long photo shot at a slightly skewed angle showing a long rectangular gray table covered with white sheets of paper and colorful tissue paper shapes. Three adults are seated at various points along the table, helping about half a dozen children with there art. There are two babies being held in laps.

“I got inspired while looking up fun color art activities online, to fit this summer’s theme,” says Tracy, who bought special “bleeding” tissue paper for the project, which came pre-cut in various geometric shapes. The basic approach to making art with this paper is to “paint” a piece of paper with plain water, and to then lay the colored tissue paper pieces on top, but attendees ended up using a variety of techniques, all to different results.

IMAGE: 5-photo collage in a loop with a cube at the center featuring a close-up of an abstract tissue paper painting. The top left picture is a distance shot of two adults leaning over a long rectangular table assisting two of the seated five kids with their work. The top right photo is of a young boy in a green shirt painting blue squares onto his paper. The bottom photo is three girls with poofy ponytails and buns applying colored paper to their canvases in layers. The bottom left photo is of a teenaged girl with a ponytail painting pink, yellow, and orange shapes onto the center of her paper.

“It was really quite interesting!” Tracy says. “I had shown them a couple of my own examples, some that were abstract, and some that were [more figurative], like a beach at sunset. And after seeing those, some of the kids were like, I’m doing a rainbow! I’m doing a landscape! They had such great imaginations!”

Brighter Bites and Healthy Eating at the Bladensburg Branch Library

From late July through early August, the Bladensburg Branch Library ran a four-week program called “Hands-On Healthy Eating Workshop & Food Giveaway” in partnership with a team from Brighter Bites, a national nonprofit that partners with schools and other community organizations to “create communities of health through fresh food.”

The inspiration for this bilingual collaboration began in a one-off program that Bladensburg Public Services Specialist Norman Lezama organized last summer as part of the branch’s Social Equity Commons.

This first run of the “Hands-On Healthy Eating Workshop” program — which also marked Brighter Bites’ first partnership with a public library system — was a hit. The program, which was conducted in both English and Spanish, filled up every week. And thanks to the help of the Bladensburg Branch Library’s Teen Action Group (TAG), the bags of free produce Brighter Bites provided at the end of each session were distributed successfully and efficiently.

Norman is already thinking about how to evolve the Brighter Bites partnership with a second series next summer. In the meantime, he is focused on organizing some big programs for the branch’s fall and winter calendar, including an “Eat Well” program in partnership with Priority Partners, a Managed Care Organization authorized by the State of Maryland to provide health care services for the state’s Medicaid, Maryland Children’s Health Program (MCHP), Medical Assistance for Families and Primary Adult Care (PAC) recipients. This program will feature a “fun and informative cooking demonstration focused on healthy eating,” where attendees will be given a free copy of the cookbook “Eat Well on $4 a Day.” Upcoming sessions are scheduled for September 24 (today) and November 19.

Bowie

The “Color Our World” Spirit Comes to the Bowie Branch Library with Colorful Clay Monsters

In late July, the “Ready 2 Read: Art” storytime at the Bowie Branch Library turned monstrous — with fun!

In an effort to bring some cool and colorful process art to the table for the age 3-5 cohort, Bowie Public Services Specialist Laria Johnson came up with an interactive clay monster program based around Anna Llenas' “The Color Monster” that turned out to be a huge success.

IMAGE: 4-photo collage. The top photo is a long distance shot of the entire Bowie auditorium / activity room, set up with two long rectuangular tables covered with black plastic tablecloths, both filled with families creating clay monsters. The bottom three photos show a variety of blue, orange, pink, brown, and black clay monsters adorned with googly eyes of various sizes, colorful feathers and pipe cleaners, pom poms, and stickers.

“They had a great time!” says Laria. “They got to tell me the name of their monster, their superpower, and where they live. One girl’s monster was named Flaig and he lived in the ocean. Another was called Orathump, and they had the superpower of eating cheeseburgers.”

Laria bought air dry clay for the program, but the group also learned about how to make their own clay at home with flour and water.

“I wanted them to have an opportunity to make cool stuff with their parents,” says Laria. “And the parents got into it, too! Which was really cool, because sometimes as adults we forget to relax and have fun.”

Laria credits the success of this program in part to how much of a community library the Bowie branch is — for all ages.

“We’re engrained in the community,” Laria explains. “It’s great to celebrate all of that.”

Fairmount Heights

Growing a Dungeons & Dragons Program at the Fairmount Heights Branch Library

This year, a fun new “Dungeons & Dragons” program for teens has started taking shape at the Fairmount Heights Branch Library. Organized by Fairmount Heights Branch Library Associate Louis Bondoc, this tabletop role-playing program was designed to welcome players at every level. Participants are invited to bring in their own fleshed out character if they had one, but Louis also prints out a number of pre-filled character sheets for anyone coming in fresh. Using the Fairmount Heights Branch Library’s DREAM Lab, he has also 3D-printed a number of character figures for the players to use.

IMAGE: A close-up photo of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, with paper world map, pre-filled character sheets, a number of various-sided die, and five 3D-printed plastic character figures in white and gold.

The teens who came to the August 4 “Dungeons & Dragons” program were branch regulars, but tabletop novices. This meant that Louis got to introduce the game to some new future fans, and showcase how welcoming and involving tabletop role-playing games can be.

“They enjoyed it!” says Louis, who opened the session by comparing “Dungeons & Dragons” to a video game before launching the introductory game and combat encounter he had prepared. “They liked rolling the special dice, and liked picking characters to play.”.

Glenarden

Chess Club: A Big Draw for the Glenarden Branch Library

One of the most exciting multi-generational programs at the Glenarden Branch Library right now is the bi-weekly “Chess Club.”

Founded by Glenarden Branch Librarian Kiana White and currently led by Glenarden Branch Library Associate Thibault Raoult, the Glenarden Branch “Chess Club” program sees a healthy number of regulars and new faces every session.

“We run it as an all-ages, all-abilities, all-levels club, so it's very much a space in which all community members are welcome,” says Thibault.

IMAGE: Collage of two photos. In the top photo, a group of six teens stands in a library entry way in front of a brown brick wall holding up their completed bookmarks. Two library staff members are standing with them, smiling. In the bottom photo, it is an overhead shot of a long light blue table covered in a swathe of teen-created bookmarks with tassels.

“It's such a tactile game! With everyone on their screens so much, being able to offer this space where they can come for an hour, meet someone new, and get that tactile experience at work in their brain, that’s so important.”

Glenarden community members are invited to learn the game or hone their skills by joining the branch on the first and third Thursday of each month. Next program: October 2.

Greenbelt

Shooting for the Stars: The Greenbelt Branch Library’s “Storytime on Screen” Partnership with the Greenbelt Cinema Expands

One of the Greenbelt Branch Library’s most popular programs is a special monthly storytime for ages 5 and under done in partnership with the Greenbelt Cinema. Called “Storytime on Screen,” this program brings specialized library programming directly to the community, with a fun movie theater twist.

These Monday morning “Storytime on Screen” programs are a community favorite. At the pet-themed August program, more than 107 attendees came out for the show!

PGCMLS and the Greenbelt Cinema took this partnership to new heights in September, inviting local children’s book author Amy Hanson to read from her new book, “Wanda Hears the Stars.” Co-written with Puerto Rican astrophysicist Wanda Díaz Merced and illustrated by Rocio Arreola Mendoza, “Wanda Hears the Stars” is a non-fiction picture book that tells the story of how Wanda losing her sight didn’t stop her from studying the stars. Joining Amy at the special “Storytime on Screen” program were Wanda’s NASA colleagues Denna Lambert and Lenny Garcia, who shared stories about working with Wanda.

IMAGE: Two adults stand behind a table in front of the entrance to the screening room in the Greenbelt Cinema. The table has copies of the children's book "Wanda Hears the Stars" on it. One adult is also holding a copy in her hands. The other adult is wearing a blue NASA t-shirt and holding a white mobility cane.

After Amy read from her book, she challenged the kids to practice “listening” like Wanda, using the different colored stars they had been given upon arrival. On a little xylophone Amy had brought along for the purpose, she assigned a note to each color, and had the kids raise their hands whenever they heard the color of their star.

“It was hard, because the notes are so similar!” says Pamela Hamlin, PGCMLS Family Literacy Specialist (and occasional “Storytime on Screen” presenter). “But this is how Wanda hears the stars, comparing the red dwarfs to blue supergiants.”

For any adults interested in learning more about Wanda, check out the “Lunch and Learn” conversation with Amy Hansen hosted on September 9 by PGCMLS and the Prince George’s County Office of Human Rights.

Hillcrest Heights

Crafting Stories at Hillcrest Heights

What is a story?

That’s the question Hillcrest Heights Public Services Specialist Kaneisha Matthews asked the 11 children who showed up for her first ever “Kids Create: Crafting a Story” program at the Hillcrest Heights Branch Library on June 30.

As a hip-hop artist herself, Kaneisha had previously done a program teaching kids the narrative craft of hip-hop. But for this new program, she wanted to move closer to traditional storytelling. To accomplish this, she developed a methodical road map for the kids to follow along with, first getting them warmed up with an “alliterative animal” introduction activity (e.g., “Koala Kaneisha”), and then asking them a series of open-ended questions along the lines of What is a story?

IMAGE: A small activity room with gray walls and a closed light-colored wood door with a round red "Storage" label. Kaneisha Matthews, in a black tee-short and khaki trousers, stands alongside a rectangular craft table surrounded by 7 children, all with story worksheets in front of them.

Taking the open-ended question approach helped the kids realize that they already knew how good stories work, and it also gave them the confidence to use those tools to create their own. Once the kids were ready, Kaneisha gave each participant a blank folded book and coloring tools, along with a “roll-a-story” worksheet with various characters, plot points, and setting options so that they could randomly pick the basic building blocks they’d be including in their stories. By the end of the hour, everyone had a completed storybook ready to take home!

Hyattsville

Olympic Artist Jesse Raudales Brings the Therapeutic Power of Art to Young Adults at Hyattsville

Throughout July, the Hyattsville Branch Library hosted an intensive “Therapy Through Art” program for teens and young adults. The series was led by Upper Marlboro’s own Jesse Raudales, an “Olympic Artist” who was commissioned by the U.S Olympic Committee to create a painting to commemorate the 2006 U.S. Olympic Team, and who now runs programs like these for young adults across the country.

Funded through an Urban Libraries Council grant, Raudales’ program was designed to give emerging adults in Prince George’s County the opportunity to get professional-level art instruction, for free, in an atmosphere designed to cultivate emotional support, camaraderie, and mutual respect. It also let the participating young artists push beyond their creative comfort zones, as it shifted mediums and subjects from one class to the next.

Atiya K., a rising Frederick Douglass High School senior, counted herself among this group. “Art is my life,” she shared during the watercolor landscape session. “I really wanted to push myself this summer to try new things and work on skills I’m not so familiar with, so I was excited to get to sign up for this class.”

IMAGE: A young woman with multicolored brains pulled back into a pony tail sits at a wood table on which an easel sits atop. The young artist is painting a canvas with a blue background, featuring a pink jelly fish.

Just as important as the artistic instruction was the feeling of calm and support that Jesse and his co-presenters cultivated in the room. Students also supported and encouraged each other.

One of the most notable things about this summer’s “Therapy Through Art” program, though, was how densely packed it was with genuine artistic talent.

“Most [of my] classes will have one or two good artists,” says Raudales, who has been doing this kind of work for decades, and who has been invited by PlayLA to organize the exact same program during the 2028 LA Olympics. “But this one, you can tell that at least 80 percent of them are just excellent. It’s so exciting to see their creativity [thrive].”

IMAGE: A young woman with a black shirt featuring stars and moons and who is also wearing large earrings, holds up a certificate with the instruction, Jesse Raudales, who wears a black shirt. The background of the photo features artwork including a canvas with a blue background and an orange and pink flower.

Raudales went all out to showcase his students’ final paintings at a gala opening at the Hyattsville Branch Library on August 2. Opening with a red carpet photo moment, the Saturday event included welcoming remarks from PGCMLS Chief Operating Officer Megan Sutherland and Ashanti Martinez, Maryland State Delegate (District 22). Following those remarks, Jesse presented each of the participants with certificates of completion, swag bags, and citations of excellence from Delegate Martinez.

After these official proceedings, family, friends, and community members were invited to tour the exhibit and engage with the artwork directly. The student artists got the opportunity to talk about their work with the public, and also to connect with the other local elected officials and community stakeholders who had come out to support them, including Betsy Ramirez, education liaison for new Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy; Hyattsville City Councilmembers Joanne Waszczak, Gopi Dhokai, and Kelson Nisbett; Omar Eaton-Martinez, senior vice president for Historic Sites at the National Trust for Historic Preservation; and Corey Lewis, assistant state archivist at the Maryland State Archives.

For more photos, check out the “Therapy Through Art” program and exhibit albums on the Library’s Flickr page!

DOWNLOAD THE FULL PDF SUMMER RECAP 2025

Largo-Kettering

Nature Scavenger Hunt at the Largo-Kettering Branch Library

In the lead-up to the long July 4th weekend, the Largo-Kettering Branch Library organized an engaging outdoor scavenger hunt in the shade for little ones as part of their weekly summertime programming for kids in the 0-5 age range.

Library Associates Tamika Gaskins and Kelly Holley-Poole closed off the corner of the Largo-Kettering parking lot that includes a small grassy area with trees and bushes, and put together a card of “Patterns in Nature” for each child to carry around on their search.

The 18 items on the card included real things that the kids would be able to find in that particular patch of nature like rocks, leaves, and bugs, as well as a few “crafty” wild cards like a pom-pom caterpillar or a painted plastic sea turtle that Tamika and Kelly planted in out-of-the-way spots for the kids to discover. To add an extra level of engagement to the program, they also provided nature-themed coloring pages, and created stapled printer paper bags for the kids to etch the shape of a sweet gum tree leaf onto, and then carry the leaf home.

IMAGE: Two adults and two children stand around a small shrub in a grassy lawn with the Largo-Kettering library building in the background, looking for items on their game cards. Another child in the background to the right of the photo is looking at a carved heart on a large smooth-barked tree. A library staff member in a black sweater and black face mask leans over to explain something. Two smaller photos on the right show elementary-aged kids sitting at tables with chess boards, one a basic green and white board that two children are playing on, the other an ornate brown, tan, and cream board with carved pieces that a boy is sitting behind while holding a thumbs-up to the camera.

Laurel

Water Play Day at the Laurel Branch Library Splashpad

In early July, the Laurel Branch Library hosted its first “Water Play Day” of the season. To set things up, Laurel Branch Librarian Tracy Day spread wading pools, watering cans, buckets and shovels, sponges, beach balls, a variety of pool toys, and a brand new dinosaur sprinkler across the splash pad in the community park next door. The result? A water wonderland for the 36 children and 34 adults who came out for the fun.

IMAGE: A long-shot photo of children of various ages and backgrounds playing in the water on a red tiled outdoor splashpad while the sun shines above them. The blue sprinklers built into the splashpad are shooting water into the air.

“I also brought out a waterproof speaker that has good volume to it, and put on a kid-friendly summer playlist,” Tracy says. This playlist includes a variety of Disney songs, as well as some upbeat tracks in other languages that Tracy particularly enjoys.

The water feature built into the Emancipation Community Park splash pad doesn’t usually activate for public use until around noon, but the “Water Play Day” attendees lucked out that day, as the geyser-like sprinklers came on a couple hours early. This gave the “Water Play Day” attendees even more exciting water elements to race through!

Mount Rainier

Echoes of Nature Has Its Eyes on PGCMLS

At the Mount Rainier Nature Center in early July, all the (animal) stars were out: Tamika the turtle, Glinda the Argentine horned frog, Spectre the rock pigeon, and even Chupa the chinchilla, who garnered a collective awww when she was lifted from her travel box.

IMAGE: A 3-photo collage. The left most photo shows a woman in a green shirt showing a young family a rabbit. A little girl pets the rabbit. THe top right photo shows the presenter carrying a bird around a room where the audience sits in rows of chairs. Finally, the bottom right photo shows the presenter showing off a turtle to an adult woman sitting in a chair.

The “I Have My Eyes On You” animal meet-and-greet program was presented by Echoes of Nature, a Bowie-based environmental education organization who has returned to PGCMLS for another summer of fun, educational animal programs. Led by Echoes of Nature animal expert Jennie, “I Have My Eyes On You” ran once in the afternoon at the Mount Rainier Nature Center, and once again in the evening at the South Bowie Branch Library. Registration was maxed out for the afternoon program, where the audience included both Mount Rainier Branch Library customers and local summer campers.

“[The Mount Rainier branch] has worked with Echoes of Nature for the last three years, and their programs are always a hit for families and kids of all ages,” says Mount Rainier Branch Librarian Caitlin Clark. “I mean, who doesn’t want to touch a fluffy animal? Everyone who comes always leaves happy — it’s one of their favorite summer programs.”

New Carrollton

New Carrollton Branch Library Brings “Family Movie & a Craft” Sparkle to Summer Meals Program

At the New Carrollton Branch Library this past summer, New Carrollton Library Associate Claudia Parra organized a bonus treat for community members who came in for the “Summer Meals” program: a curated “Family Movie & a Craft” series!

Featuring a mix of animated films both new and old that Claudia paired with fun, simple crafts that kids and parents could do together, this programming series saw families return week after week, with kids excited to dive into whatever activity Claudia had planned. It also let the New Carrollton branch staff show off what makes public libraries so vital, facilitating access not just to resources and services like the county’s free summer lunch program, but also to interactive, socially engaging learning opportunities — and all of that in a safe and welcoming community space.

“I wanted the community to be able to make good use of [both] the summer meals and the resources we have [at the Library],” explains Claudia, who first developed the bonus program in 2024 as a way to entice more community members to come in during the summer months. “We know that people really need those lunches, but that they don't always know what's going on at the library, so I thought this would be a good way to promote both.”

IMAGE: A close-up family shot of a mom in glasses with a toddler on her lap and an elementary-aged kid sitting next to her on the colorful alphabet rug, grinning at the camera.

IMAGE: An adult library employee with curly red hair and glasses helping a mom and small child get their crafts upon entering the space

Customers shared their appreciation of the program with Claudia throughout the summer. Everyone was happy for the free lunches, but they also appreciated how it was a nice cool break from the summer heat, or that it was somewhere they could bring grandkids who were visiting for the summer. Says Claudia, “I was happy to hold this safe space for them — to have the community making good use of our resources, making new friends, and just experiencing the joy of a simple craft, all in this shared space.”

Oxon Hill

The Oxon Hill Branch Library’s “Computer Basics” Program Meets Community Members at All Levels

Throughout his years running the Oxon Hill Branch Library’s intensive “Basic Computer Skills for Beginners” skill-building program, Oxon Hill Library Associate Jahmiel McBride has gotten to engage with a diverse group of participants.

“The whole idea of the program when we [OH staff] first developed it was to figure out the needs our community has, and how to provide [for] them,” says Jahmiel. And as Jahmiel has seen first-hand, it can be literally life-changing for participants to get to learn all of the skills he covers in this intensive four-day program, at the Library, for free.

“One gentleman who came in July told me that he had until just recently been incarcerated for 30 years,” Jahmiel shares. “He went to a local resource center to get more info about things he can do [to gain job skills], and they told him about my class. For him, the class reintroduced the basic functions of computer and technology terminology, which [he hopes] will provide him with better opportunities as he starts looking for employment.”

To meet the ever-evolving needs of the Oxon Hill community, Jahmiel is always iterating on and updating his course materials. To see the latest version, check out the next series, running from October 20-23.

South Bowie

Adult Crafting Time with Pressed Floral Bookmarks at the South Bowie Branch Library

The South Bowie Branch Library hosts engaging craft, art, and interactive STEM programs for kids and families on a regular basis. With this summer’s “Craft and Create: Pressed Floral Bookmarks” program, adults got in on the crafting action, too!

Using dried flowers and leaves, acrylic bookmark forms, and clear-drying Modge Podge crafting glue, participants at this program were able to craft unique bookmarks to take home for personal use or to gift to family and friends.

IMAGE: 3-photo collage of crafting supplies and finished pressed flower bookmarks, including one with a black motif, one with orange and white, and two with pink, white, and yellow.

“I love crafting and doing DIY projects, [so I wanted] to host a program specifically for adults to enjoy, unwind, and vibe with,” says South Bowie Library Associate Paris Jackson, who designed this program. “Crafting is very calming, and I was hoping this easy three-step activity would be a great [way] to bring in [more] craft programs for our adults to enjoy without the kiddos.”

In fact, the pressed-flower bookmarks program was such a hit with attendees, it landed on TikTok!

“This was a free workshop that our tax dollars pay for, so this is why local libraries are so important,” says customer and content creator Naturally Shauniece in her video. “I was surprised, because when I think of the library, I always think of kid events, not events for adults [...], but this one was for adults, and it was super cute!”

Getting Crafty with Paper Plate Jellyfish at South Bowie

For a “Kids Create” program in early July, South Bowie Library Associate Brandon Adams organized a papercraft project focused on fun, colorful jellyfish.

“Since our Summer Prince George’s theme was ‘Color Our World,’ I wanted to do something color adjacent that was also summery,” Brandon says. “Jellyfish come in all types of colors, and you can do a lot with them [imagination-wise]!”

The energy at the program was great, Brandon reports. One mother liked it so much that when it was done, she declared she would be coming to the branch’s “Sip-n-Paint” program the following day — and the next day, there she was!

Most participants at this program seemed to be newer to the branch. Says Brandon, “I think that in general, even if people don’t use the library much outside of summer, this is a time of year where they’re looking for things to do and ways to connect with their community.”

Spauldings

A Short but Fruitful Summer at the Spauldings Branch Library

The Spauldings Branch Library was closed for most of June and July for building repairs, but that didn’t stop the branch from putting on a number of fun and engaging programs for the District Heights community once they were back in action starting in August.

Some highlights from the final month of the summer included a visit from the Science Guys of Baltimore for a STEM-themed “Color Our World” program geared toward kids ages 5-12, and a well-attended “Lawyer in the Library: Tenant’s Rights and Housing Clinic” presented by Maryland Legal Aid, where lawyers came to the branch to provide one-on-one legal services on matters related to housing, landlord/tenant disputes, and tenants' rights on a first-come, first-served basis.

Both programs were a big success, reports Spaulding Branch Librarian Precious Abujana.

“At the Science Guys of Baltimore program, [the kids] got to learn about light, prisms, and rainbows and the scientific concepts around color in an interactive setting,” she shares. “Everyone who came expressed really loving the hands-on learning experience, and the fact that it was both fun and educational.”

IMAGE: An adult in a white lab coat, khakis, and black sneakers crouches on stage in front of a black “Science Guys of Baltimore” table to interact with two small children after a STEM program. There are multicolored lights on stage.

Surratts-Clinton

“Summer Prince George’s Kickoff: Truck-a-Palooza” a Huge Success for the Surratts-Clinton Branch Library

As a fun way to kick off their Summer Prince George’s programming, the Surratts-Clinton Branch Library hosted a “Truck-a-Palooza” in the branch parking lot. There, kids were able to get up close and personal with a Prince George’s County Fire Department truck, a Prince George’s Police Department squad car, a United States Postal Service mail delivery truck, a WSSC Water truck, a Pepco bucket truck, the Library’s “Curiosity Cube,” and a sno-cone truck.

IMAGE: Three older elementary-aged children pose with a white USPS mail delivery truck while holding library books and sno cones on a bright summer day.

The branch has long been wanting to host a “touch-a-truck” event like this, and so were excited this year to make it happen! Surratts-Clinton Branch Librarian Ryiesha Simms took the lead in securing partnerships with local businesses and civic organizations with vehicle kids might be interested in getting their hands on, using her connections in the community, including a bi-weekly community meeting called the “Clinton Coffee Club,” to get trucks of all kinds out for the afternoon.

All the vehicles were a hit on the day of the event, but with temperatures that day reaching 96° perhaps none was more popular than the sno-cone truck. A perfect way to kick off Summer Prince George’s 2025!

Upper Marlboro

“Game On: Kids Adventure Challenge” at the Upper Marlboro Branch Library

On Saturday, August 2, the Upper Marlboro Branch Library hosted the Get Fit Mobile Unit from the Maryland-National Capitol Park Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) for a fun “Game On: Kids Adventure Challenge” midday program.

Gathering in the parking lot behind the Main Street branch building, kids got to do ladders, speed hurdles, box jumps, push-ups, and sprints. They learned about how to motivate each other, and they also learned about the importance of daily stretching.

Alt text: IMAGE: Slightly overhead shot through a slatted black metal railing featuring two adults and nine children outside in the shady part of a sunny parking lot. All are bent to the side stretching, with one arm at their toes and the other sticking into the air.

“After I’m done with my exercises, I should lay down on my bed, right?” called out one M-NCPPC presenter as she gathered the group together after their final sprints. “Nooo!” the kids called back. “You’ve got to stretch!”

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