Week Calendar

Beyond Birth: Baby's First Year is a free weekly postpartum support group for parents and their new babies.

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

Toddlers and their caregivers can enjoy introductory stories, songs, music, and movement! For ages 18 months to 36 months.

Join Miss Jennifer for Preschool Storytime on Monday mornings at 10:15 a.m.  There will be stories, rhymes, music, and more.

This storytime is recommended for ages three to five, but all children are welcome to attend.

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

Children ages 0-5 and their caregivers can engage in open play, come and go activities at South. 

Babies and their caregivers can join Miss Jennifer on Tuesdays for rhymes, songs, bounces, and a story followed by a short playtime.

Babies, toddlers, and their caregivers can join us on Tuesdays for rhymes, songs, lap bounces, and a story.

This program is recommended for children from birth to 24 months of age.

Listen to silly stories, sing songs, dance to music, and make art! Join us at Forest Avenue Library for Family Storytime every Wednesday morning at 10:15 A.M.

Join Miss Donna for this fun filled story time! Together we will enjoy stories, songs, and more, all selected to engage your active toddler. Ages 18 months to 3 years old.

Children ages 3 to 5 and their caregivers can join us Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. for a 30-minute storytime with stories, musical activities and take-home activities that prepare your child for school.

Join us at the Central Library for a fun storytime featuring movement, music, and rhyming! The storytime will take place in the meeting room to allow for social distancing.

Preschoolers and their caregivers can enjoy stories, rhymes, music, and learn school readiness skills. Afterwards, we will enjoy free-play together.

The whole family can visit the library and take on our Family STEM Challenge.  This month we will have supplies available to make a kite shaped like a bird.  Materials will be available between 10:00 AM and 12:00 PM.

Drop by our children's area to build with LEGOs. Show a staff member your creation for a prize!

Tippi Toes is coming back to the library!

Our exciting, high energy dance classes are the perfect opportunity for kids to try something new while having a blast and burning some energy! Any child between the ages 2-10 can participate.

Love playing board games or putting together puzzles? Stop by the South Side Meeting Room to play a selection of provided board games and puzzles or invite a group and bring your own! Snacks will be provided.

Join the African American Museum of Iowa for part two of a three-part series. 

Part two will focus on African American carceral farming and husbandry with presenter, Dr. Negus Rudison-Imhotep.

The Des Moines Public Library is partnering with area organizations to connect people with community resources. Community advocates will provide information about community resources like meal sites and shelters.

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 Friends of the North Side Library Meeting.  New members always welcome.

This program will include a brief overview of where Mindfulness Meditation comes from and why we do it, followed by a 20 minute sitting practice with time for Q&A afterwards. Chair seating will be available.

The Des Moines Public Library is partnering with area organizations to connect people with community resources. Community advocates will provide information about community resources like meal sites and shelters.

Looking to add some pollinator plants to your garden? Come to this event and exchange perennial plants with other gardeners. 

Tome Hope started studying calligraphy over 20 years ago at the University of Iowa. She started her calligraphy business, Ink & Oak, in 2013, and has been a teaching artist at the Des Moines Art Center since 2017.

Please join us for our monthly book group where we will discuss The Secrets we Kept by Lara Prescott. Book

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This month we will be reading and discussing The Air Raid Book Club by Annie Lyons. Copies of the book are available at the North Side Library.

Drop-in to North Side every Wednesday to enjoy a craft or STEM activity!

This week, get creative with our arts and crafts supplies!

Memory Cafés provide a welcoming social gathering for people living with dementia and their care partners, focusing on person-centered care for those living with dementia.

Do you have any board games that have been gathering dust lately? Wishing you could trade them for ones that are new to you?

Learn how to use the Glowforge Plus Laser Engraver at Tech Central! This program takes the place of the 1 on 1 Glowforge tutorial, so you will be fully qualified to book and use the Glowforge on your own after this program. 

Join us Mondays 4–5 p.m. this Spring for a weekly program in Hip Hop dance, choreography, cultural history, and more, with the After School Arts Program (ASAP) and teaching artist Mia of Creative Netwerk.

Tweens and teens ages 10-18 can join us after school on Tuesdays to enjoy activities in our meeting room.

This week, play Nintendo Switch Games on our big screen!

Come to South Side for an hour of sensory exploration!

Teens! Do you need volunteer hours over the summer? Students ages 12-18 may volunteer at the South Side Library this summer.

Interested in learning about the history of our great City? Or learning about your little corner of it? DMPL is offering free bimonthly presentations on Des Moines’ fascinating past.

The Art of Expression is a monthly program for teens to learn and create different types of art in a relaxed atmosphere. 

Join us for a discussion of Arsenic and Adobo by Mia Manansala. Ask at the information desk for a copy of the book. 

Join artist and library staff member Fueche Vang as we dive into charcoal portrait drawing. Learn about concepts such as facial features, perspective, lighting and more! Basic materials such as paper, charcoal, and erasers will be provided.

Join us for our evening Family Storytime at 6:30 p.m.! Kids and caregivers can join us for fun songs, stories and crafts. You can even wear your jammies!  All Ages Welcome!

May's film selection is the 1974 Roman Polanski drama Chinatown, starring Jack Nicholson.

Dive into the fascinating world of cicadas alongside ISU Polk County Extension and Outreach Natural Program Coordinator, Gina Buelow!