Greetings from the Great Bend Public Library! This coming week, our Summer Library Program is back in full swing! We have our regular 10:30 a.m. Children’s events, starting with Reading to Luna on Monday, followed by special Story Times this Tuesday and the next session of our We Grow Corn Series on Thursday.

At this week’s Whale Tale Story Time (1st grade and younger), PBS will be here to read stories and do a Wild Kratts craft. Additionally, each child in attendance will receive a copy of the Wild Sea Creatures book. For our Coral Reef Readers Story Time (2nd grade through 5th grade), lifeguards from Wetlands Waterpark will be here to teach kids about water safety and what it’s like to be a lifeguard. 

Teens can join us on Monday between 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. for this month’s Teen Café, during which we’ll be making Ocean Slime and Japanese Basket Rocks. Come hang out with other teens, eat popcorn, and watch as much anime as we can fit in an hour and a half during our Teen Anime Watch Party, starting at 4 p.m. on Thursday. To wrap up the week, our next Teen Take and Make is available starting Friday. This time the kit will include everything you will need to make your own Mermaid Shell Pendant. Come grab one while supplies last. And, of course, don’t forget our Titanic-themed, Choose-Your-Own Scavenger Hunt, which is a passive activity available at the library that will be ending next Saturday, July 16. Try your luck as a passenger or crew member and follow the clues to see if you will sink or swim.

For adults, we have our next Adult Craft night on Thursday at 6 p.m. Come learn to make your own Sailor Knot Bracelet to wear as a nautical fashion statement!

On Wednesday we have a couple of all-ages events. In the morning at 10:30 a.m., Dan Dan the Magic Man will be here celebrating 20 years of magic with us! Get ready for magical feats and laughter at his upcoming under the sea show. Later that evening at 5:30 p.m., we have our Learn to Crochet Class for all skill levels. Whether you’ve never held a hook, or you’ve been crocheting for years, you are welcome to come and learn the basic skills needed to make your own seashell kitchen scrubby to take home.

To see what else we are up to at the library, find us on social media @greatbendpl and visit our website, greatbendpl.info. You can also message us on Facebook, email us at gbcirc@gmail.com, or give us a call at 620-792-2409 with any questions about our programming or services.

By Hannah Grippin, outreach manager at the Great Bend Public Library.