Begin here at your Rock Island Public Library for great ways to spend family time together. Check out a stack of books, DVDs, or music, and enjoy a free night at home. Visit your library to checkout a cutlure and attractions pass to a local museum, Rock Island Fitness & Activity Center, or the Quad City Botanical Center. 

Make a family game night by checking out board games from the library. Plan your spring garden with seeds from the Rock Island Public Library's Seed Library. Or, take a short day-trip by using Explore More Illinois with your Rock Island Public Library card. This service from the Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS) allows our cardholders to take advantage of great passes and discounts to statewide attractions. To explore what's available, log in to Explore More Illinois from the link on the library website. 

For more fun ways to spend time together, try any of these events offered at Rock Island Public Library locations during the week of March 18 to 23, 2024:

Events for School Ages and Teens: 

Flex Foam Painting Craft: Join your friends at the library to decorate flex foam cupcakes. For grades kindergarten through 6th.

• Monday, March 18, 10:30 am to 11:30 am, Downtown Library Community Room, 401 19th Street
• Wednesday, March 20: 3pm to 4pm, Watts-Midtown Branch, 2715 30th Street. 
• Friday, March 22: 1 pm to 2 pm, Southwest Branch Community Room, 9010 Ridgewood Road 

3D Printing Pen Try-It Sessions: Our 3-D print pens are a great way to try 3D printing and they're available for checkout! Teens, stop by to start a project of your own and try out our different pens. (This event is part of our Project Next Generation Your Future in Steam grant-funded series for ages 12 through 18.)

• Tuesday, March 19, 4 pm to 6 pm, Downtown Library 
• Thursday, March 21, also 4pm to 6pm, Watts-Midtown Branch 

Events for All Ages: 

Monday, March 18, Quad City Arts Visiting Artists: Grosse Isle, The Sounds of Quebec and Ireland, 1pm to 2pm, Monday, March 18, Watts-Midtown Branch Auditorium. 

The traditional music trio Grosse Isle was born out of the “absolutely magical” collaboration between three exceptional musicians from Quebec and Ireland (The Irish Music Magazine). Together, Sophie Lavoie du Lac-St-Jean (fiddle, piano, vocal), André Marchand (guitar, vocal), and Fiachra O’Regan, (uilleann pipes, whistle, banjo) shine with their rich and enveloping music. The band name refers to the story of the mass arrival of the Irish in the 19th century, on Grosse Île in the St. Lawrence River, as they fled the Great Famine. It is a striking encounter between two peoples and two cultures

Events for Adults

• Monday, March 18, Adult Knitting Circle, 2 pm to 4pm, Downtown Library. Open work sessions for crafters in the fiber arts. Bring a project or start one here. 
• Tuesday, March 19, Drop-in Computer Skills & Job Search Assistance w/ Goodwill of the Heartland, 4:30pm - 6:00pm, Downtown Library. Drop in help from Goodwill representatives, handling a wide variety of computer skills and job search questions.  Also on March 19, Midtown Readers Book Club meeting, 6:30pm - 7:30pm, Watts-Midtown Branch Conference Room, discussing The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce.
• Wednesday, March 20, Ruth E. Carter: Interweaving Tradition and Imagination Through Costume Design, 7pm - 8pm online only. Special Illinois Libraries Present author event with Ruth E. Carter, two-time Academy Award-winning costume designer. Carter made history as the first Black person to win the Costume Design category, winning an Academy Award for Black Panther. She received a second Academy Award for her work on Black Panther, Wakanda Forever. Register at library website to receive the participation link by email. 
• Thursday, March 21, Vintage Jewelry Seminar, 1pm - 3pm, Watts-Midtown Branch Community Room auditorium. Unique Repeats presents a seminar for fans of vintage or antique jewelry. Beautiful vintage pieces will be on display. Topics include the history of jewelry eras, material identification, authentication methods, craftsmanship and hallmarks, care and preservation and more. 
• Saturday, March 23, Native Plant Gardening in Your Yard, 10:30 am to 11:30 am, Watts-Midtown Branch Community Room. Learn more about native plants, and how to build them into your garden and landscapes, with Ken Wellnitz, member of the Quad Cities Chapter of Wild Ones. 

Events for Preschoolers and Little Ones: 

• Bluey Party, Saturday, March 23, 10:30 am to 11:30 am, Downtown Library. Drop in for fun from the world of Bluey, everyone’s favorite blue heeler puppy. Event features fun Bluey games and activities, a dance mode, and crafts. Free Bluey book for each child while supplies last. This free early-learning event is presented with funding from the Merrill Harris Hug-A-Book memorial fund of the Rock Island Public Library. 
• Toddler Tales at the Watts-Midtown Branch: 10:30 am on Tuesday, March 19, and again on Friday, March 22. Read aloud storytimes in our children’s section, featuring short books, action rhymes, and songs. For ages birth to 5 with a caregiver present. 
• Toddler Tales at the Southwest Branch, 11am on Wednesday, March 20, Southwest Branch Community Room. 
• Evening Family Storytime at the Watts-Midtown Branch, Wednesday, March 20, 6:00pm - 7:00pm, Watts-Midtown Branch. Families can enjoy an evening storytime full of books, action rhymes, songs, and a simple craft. 
• Spring Toddler Playgroup, Thursday, March 21, 10 am to noon, Downtown Library Children’s Room. Relaxing and casual fun for kids 5 and younger with their caregiver. Toys and activities available for unstructured playtime

All events are free and open to the public. For other questions, contact the Library at 309-732-READ, visit the library website,  or follow Rock Island Library on Facebook and Instagram.