Week Calendar

Get creative this Summer at North Side! Every Monday, drop-in to use our cart of art supplies!

The whole family can come to Colby Park for a special Family Storytime presented by the Franklin Avenue Library! Bring your own blanket or chairs and join us for stories, songs, and rhymes in the great outdoors.

Visit the library for a special sneak preview of the Des Moines Young Artists' Theatre production of "The Spongebob Musical."  Learn about the show and get a chance to meet the cast!

Join our Tween and Teen Chef program to sharpen your kitchen knowledge and learn how to make delicious dishes!

Kids and families, get excited about amphibians! Discover these fascinating creatures that transform from egg to adult. Join us to learn about amphibians and meet some live ones, with the help of a Polk County naturalist!

Note: Please enter using the Ticket Office entrance on Walnut St, near 3rd St. There will be signs directing attendees on the day of the event.

Join us for a Nintendo Switch Party! We will have games like Mario Kart 8 & Super Mario Bros. Ultimate. Feel free to bring your own Switch or share the library’s controllers.

Join us at the Central Library to learn the ins and outs of Dungeons and Dragons!

Drama Games, with ASAP Teaching Artist Kyle Chizek

Young artists, here's your chance to learn watercolor painting from a professional ASAP teaching artist! Each week focuses on a new skill or technique: blending, texture, color theory, brushstroke technique, and more. 

Join an educator from Polk County Conservation to learn what type of animals are pollinators and why they are so important. Attendees will develop a simple model that mimics the function of an animal that pollinates plants.

Join ASAP teaching artist Amanda Rhoads and have fun sculpting a different project each week using polymer clay, a soft, non-toxic moldable clay that hardens as it air dries and eliminates the need for a kiln.

Love reptiles? Come to the library to meet the animal ambassadors from Spock's Sanctuary, Des Moines' own reptile and amphibian pet rescue!

Create a gorgeous work of art using everyday materials that mimics stained glass.

Please pre-register for this program.

The Franklin Library is located on DART Route #5.

Have you ever thought about food as art? ASAP Teaching Artist Amy Joens will help us explore the colors, shapes, textures, and tastes of fresh, in-season fruits, vegetables, and herbs straight from the garden.

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

Best for ages 6 and under, but all are welcome!

Enjoy children's stories, rhymes, and arts & crafts! Join us at the Forest Avenue Library for a bilingual story hour on the fourth Thursday of each month, starting at 6:15 P.M.