It’s full steam ahead for the Iowa City Public Library’s Second Annual STEAMfestival!

Come to the Library on Saturday, May 5, anytime between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. for fun, adventures and activities that encompass all things STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics.

Start your adventure at ICPL’s STEAM Engine. Our main floor meeting rooms will be transformed into a train transporting all curious passengers on an expedition of knowledge. Continue your journey outside to the Ped Mall and MERGE, where the National Center for Science Education Science Booster Club, Iowa City Parks and Recreation, the Grout Museum of History and Science, the Iowa Children’s Museum, Green Iowa AmeriCorps, and others will have a variety of hands-on activities.

The STEAMfestival @ Iowa City Public Library is made possible with the generous support of the Iowa City Public Library Friends Foundation, HAVlife Johnson County and the Rev. Dr. Barbara Schlachter Memorial Fund.

Libraries Rock, the 2018 Summer Reading Program, will be held June 1 through August 10, with 11 weeks of programming events designed to inform, entertain and keep everyone reading all summer long.

“Every year we talk about the ‘summer slide,’ how children lose academic skills during summer vacation,” says Angela Pilkington, coordinator of children’s services.

According to the National Summer Learning Association, students experience learning losses when they do not engage in educational activities during summer vacation. At the same time, parents consistently cite summer as the most difficult time to ensure that their children have productive things to do.

“Participating in our Summer Reading Program helps keep kids’ minds engaged,” Pilkington says.

Libraries Rock is available to readers of all ages and abilities, babies through adults. Registration begins May 24, during which participants will receive game cards to track their summer reading goals. The program itself won’t begin until June 1. Prizes will be available for distribution beginning June 4.

Participants can register online or at the Library.

Children are invited to celebrate the arts during ABC Saturday on June 2. Formerly known as Children’s Day, ABC Saturday stands for Arts, Books and Children Saturday.

This annual event, produced by the Iowa City Public Library with Summer of the Arts during the Iowa Arts Festival, encourages kids’ creativity with an extensive lineup of hands-on activities to promote Libraries Rock – the 2018 Summer Reading Program. More than a dozen booths will be set up on the City Plaza, with hands-on activities and live entertainment.

ABC Saturday begins at 11 a.m. with activities concluding at 3 p.m.

Spring not only brings warm weather and beautiful flowers, but new books you have to read!

"Until I read The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson, I had never encountered a fun, casual middle grade puzzler that was, at the same time, socially conscious regarding the topic of race in America, with a clear, keen sense of how the past affects the present in every way," Children's Room Coordinator Angela Pilkington says. "This is a great summertime read for all those 9- through 12-year-olds!"

In Katie O'Neill's The Tea Dragon Society, Greta wonders why her mother is teaching her the art of blacksmithing when swords are no longer used. When she saves a tiny tea dragon and begins to train as a tea dragon caretaker, she forges new friendships and makes new memories as long held traditions are passed down. "Pick this graphic novel up for the whimsical fantasy art and keep reading it for the gentle story exploring themes of friendship, memory, and tradition," Children's Room Librarian Morgan Reeves says.