Week Calendar

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

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

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

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.

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.

Staff from the Evelyn K Davis Center for Working Families are ready to provide one-on-one job search and resume assistance to job seekers.

Listen to silly stories, sing songs, dance to music, and make art! Join Miss Emily for Family Storytime every Wednesday morning at 10:15 AM. Designed for children ages 0–5, this storytime welcomes all ages to join in the fun.

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, music, and fun activities!

Enjoy a fun storytime featuring movement, music, and rhyming! 

Celebrate Day of the Dead at North Side! We will have a sugar skull mask craft and Day of the Dead scavenger hunt for you to enjoy.

Visit the library for a special sneak preview of the Des Moines Young Artists' Theatre production of Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka Jr.  Learn about the show and get a chance to meet the cast!

Are you turning 65 or planning for retirement? Join us for a helpful session designed to guide you through the Medicare Open Enrollment process and answer your questions.

What you’ll learn:

Join us in the Forest Meeting Room where building blocks will be available for open play! Use your imagination to build your ideas or use the STEM-challenge prompts and building guides to bring ideas to life. Drop-in anytime between 12-5pm.

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.

This conversation club is both for native speakers and those wanting to learn Russian. Topics of conversation are meant to be light. Get to know other members of your community, or assist those wanting to learn Russian.

Spend a couple hours with other crafters and work on your knit, crochet, or needle craft projects. Please bring your own supplies and projects with you. This program happens the first Saturday of the month.

Step into the Mississippi Delta when Juke Joints came alive at “quittin’ time!” Matt Woods delivers authentic Delta guitar, showcasing why he’s one of the region’s best.

Join other women who are practicing their English in this casual conversation group. We will chat, share coffee, and learn together in this group moderated by a Forest Avenue Library staff member.

Need help with a phone, laptop, or tablet, or another electronic device? Come by the Central Library at 2PM on Thursdays and our staff will work with you to figure things out. This is a drop-in, first-come first-served service.

Join us at Forest Avenue Library for a Student Harmonica Giveaway and lesson with Bob Pace. A fixture of the Des Moines blues scene, Bob is best known for his guitar work with many famous musicians—but his first love was the harmonica!

Using fall and Halloween as inspiration, we’ll decorate edible works of art with frosting! Get creative and enjoy your sweet masterpieces. Supplies and snacks provided.

October 7, 14, 21, 28

Music, movement, games, and activities - everyone’s invited! Join the fun at an ASAP Dance Party and dance your heart out. Snack provided for all participants. 

October 1, 8, 15, 22, 29.
 

Join ASAP Teaching Artist Cameron Solen to create sensational sculptures! Transform repurposed and upcycled materials into imaginative three-dimensional works of art.

Get into the fall spirit by painting your own mini pumpkin! Best for ages 6 and up, but all are welcome!

While supplies last

Tweens and teens ages 10-14 can join us for a book club on the last Tuesday of the month.

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

On October 29, we will design calavera masks in honor of Day of the Dead. 

Earn volunteer hours by assisting with library programs and projects! Teens ages 12 to 18 can drop in any open Wednesday and volunteer for one hour.

Join our Sewing Instructor, Kaitlyn Munro, Wednesdays in October for a five-week Beginners Sewing program with hand-sewing basics! Program for students in grades 4-8. 

Get creative at North Side! Drop-in on Wednesdays to enjoy our large cart of art supplies.

Join ASAP to create amazing art projects with thread, yarn, and wool! Explore techniques like wet felting, embroidery, knitting, and patch-making while crafting one-of-a-kind creations.

Do you like all things K-pop? Come to the Central Library every month and bring your photocards to trade, invite your friends or meet and hang out with other fans! Enjoy snacks, other activities, and listening to music.

Join us for an introduction to special effects makeup, where you’ll learn how to create realistic cuts, bruises, and scars—just in time for Halloween!

Dungeons & Dragons is a role-playing game set in worlds of swords and sorcery where players use their imaginations to tell a story and create an adventure together.  We usually get together on the third Thursday of each month to play, but

Stop by the Forest Avenue Library to pick up a copy of this month's title, The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez.

Join us for a special Family Storytime! Kids and caregivers will enjoy songs, stories, and activities. Wear a costume and join our library-wide costume parade! Best for ages 6 and under, but all are welcome.

Join Judith Leavitt for an introduction to the world of premium loose leaf tea. Explore the origins and myths of tea, learn where and how it’s grown, discover the six types, and get tips for brewing the perfect cup.

Join us for an introduction to special effects makeup, where you’ll learn how to create realistic cuts, bruises, and scars—just in time for Halloween!

Join professor Andy Langager for a series on different aspects of the history of photography. Did you know that photo manipulation goes all the way back to the 1840s?