View Finders Beanstack Challenge!

This April School Holidays, take part in our View Finders Photography Challenge! 

We have a holiday challenge for you on our Beanstack platform!

This Beanstack challenge will guide you down the path of learning about photography so that you can get your submissions in before the deadline of the 1st of May — and there are some cool spot prizes for people who complete book reviews and take part in activities. We’re choosing a random book reviewer or challenge completer EVERY DAY to win a spot prize, so don’t miss out!

To jump right into Beanstack, click here! 🎞

Our Beanstack challenge is full of tips and activities to help you take great portraits of people, find flora and fauna in our wonderful city, and get inspired by excellent object photography!

Beanstack challenges

Some of the digital badges you can earn on our Beanstack!


For our photo competition, we’re taking submissions in three categories: Nature, Whānau, and Objects/Books, and in two age groups, 5-12 and 13-18.

The first prize for each category is a reusable Kodak film camera, some black-and-white film roll, and free development with Splendid Photo!

The Beanstack activities lead to a link to enter your own photos.

We look forward to seeing your photos and hearing the story behind them! You may want to display your photo at your local branch library at the end of the competition.

View Finders 1st Place Category Prizes

Our 1st place category prizes! You could win your very own film camera!


Special thanks to our friends at Splendid Photo, who are helping us to judge the competition, and Ben & Jerry’s Wellington, Light House Cinema, and Unity Books, who are kindly providing us with spot prizes to give away. Ka rawe!

Christmas Storytimes – Start today!

Ho ho ho!

Take a sleigh ride into your local library for our annual festival family storytimes. These popular events are back for 2019, with more opportunities to join in with the fun.

Suitable for families with children of all ages, these storytimes are free and bookings are not required.

Come along for stories, songs and carols, crafts and activities with a festive Christmas theme:

Thursday 12th December

Karori Library, 6 – 7pm

Mervyn Kemp (Tawa) Library, 6.30 – 7.30pm

Friday 13th December

He Matapihi (Molesworth St) Library, 10 – 10.45am, Bilingual Storytime

Saturday 14th December

Arapaki (Manners St) Library, 10.30 – 11.15am

Monday 16th December

Cummings Park (Ngaio) Library, 6 – 7pm

Miramar Library, 6 – 6.45pm

Brooklyn Library, 6.30 – 7.15pm

Thursday 19th December

Island Bay Community Centre, 4.30 – 5.30pm, Christmas Crafts

Island Bay Library, 6 – 6.45pm

Ruth Gotlieb (Kilbirnie) Library, 6 – 6.45pm

Khandallah Library, 6 – 7pm

Wadestown Library, 6.30 – 7.15pm

Friday 20th December

Newtown Library, 6 – 6.45pm Multicultural Storytime

Saturday 21st December

Johnsonville Library at Waitohi Hub, 2 – 3pm

Special Christmas Storytimes and Craft

Our popular annual Christmas Storytimes are back for 2019. Grab the family and head along to your nearest location for some festive fun.

There will be fun crafts, carols, stories and activities. Have a bilingual or multicultural christmas experience with two special events.

The storytimes are free, everyone is welcome, and suitable for preschoolers and children or all ages with their caregivers.

 

Here’s the where and when:

12th December:

Karori Library 6 – 7 pm
Mervyn Kemp (Tawa) Library  6.30 – 7.30 pm

____

13th December:

He Matapihi Library 10 – 10.45 am

Special bilingual session

____

14th December:

Arapaki Library 10.30 – 11.15 am

____

16th December:

Cummings Park (Ngaio) Library 6 – 7 pm
Miramar Library 6 – 6.45 pm
Brooklyn Library 6.30 – 7.15 pm

____

19th December:

Island Bay Library 6 – 6.45 pm

Ruth Gotlieb (Kilbirnie) Library 6 – 6.45 pm

Khandallah Library 6 – 7 pm

Wadestown Library 6.30 -7.15 pm

and

Island Bay Community Centre 4.30 – 5.30 pm

Special Christmas crafts event

____

20th December:

Newtown Library 6 – 6.45 pm

special multicultural storytime

____

21st December:

Johnsonville Library at Waitohi Hub 2 – 3 pm

Summer Reading Challenge

You can even read a book at the beach!

The 2019 – 2020 Summer Reading Challenge is here!

We challenge you! How many can you read? From 1 December to 31 January you can pick up a challenge booklet from your local library, or download and print, and get Reading, Reviewing and Winning!

An extra special treat for this year… Win more prizes by doing the Book Bingo!

Find out more and get started at the Summer Reading Challenge page.

A Very Welly Christmas 2019!

Tis the season for festive fun… and it’s all free in Lambton Quay!image courtesy of averywellychristmas.co.nz

A Very Welly Christmas comes to town… again during the weekend and is jam packed full of Christmas cheer and fun for the whole family!

What is A Very Welly Christmas? It is an annual 2 day Christmas festival in the Wellington CBD. Each day starts with Santa’s Arrival a short walking parade, so you can still line the footpaths and wave to Santa – just like the old days!

This year is will be held on:

Saturday 23 November, 12 noon–6pm
Sunday 24 November, 12 noon–5pm

and followed by…

Carols in Midland Park – Saturday 23 November, 6pm–8pm

Click here to find out more about the history of the event.

Click here for the schedule of events.

Click here to find out how to get there.

While you’re in town that weekend, why don’t you call into Arapaki Manners Library and He Matapihi Molesworth Library and borrow a book or two… or a dozen. 😉

Arapaki Manners Library will be open Saturday and Sunday from 9:30am until 5pm and He Matapihi will be open from 9am until 1pm on Saturday and closed on Sunday.

 

 

 

Free movie night at Johnsonville Library!

Come along to our free movie night on Friday 8th November at Johnsonville Library. 

This month we have a double feature.

First up at 4pm.  For spooky Halloween we have a vampire with a hotel hidden away for tired monsters to visit. He is horrified when a human stumbles in and books a room. What’s worse is that the hotel is full of monsters there to celebrate his daughter’s birthday! He has to keep the human away from the monsters, and also away from his daughter who seems to like the human much more than her father thinks she should.

This film is rated PG and runs for 88 minutes.

At 6pm. A disgruntled girl and her family move into a new house, full of weird and eccentric other tenants. She finds a secret door hidden in her new home and discovers a new world on the other side, one just like her own world only much better! But the world on the other side of the door isn’t all it seems to be and it’s up to the girl and her new feline friend to get back home and save her family.

This movie is rated PG and runs for 96 minutes. Note: Scary scenes may upset younger viewers.

Can’t guess what films we’re talking about? You can call the library or talk to a librarian to find out what is playing each month.

Bring your own cushion for a comfy night in. Movies will play in the Children’s section of the library.

Experience BLOOM during the school holidays!

BLOOM: A creative experience for children and their families.

Is it a dinosaur, a spaceship, a chandelier, a cloud?

 

 

Bloom consists of thousands of identical pink pieces that let children and big kids connect, construct and deconstruct 3D installations with no boundaries or rules.

Creating installations with Bloom is like growing an alien garden, cultivating surreal landscapes that are truly one of a kind. Imagination and interaction are the fuel for this organic and collaborative sculpture experience, which is a great way to introduce children to sculpture and design.

 

There are two opportunities in the October School Holidays to experience Bloom:

Cummings Park Library, 7 October, 11am – 4pm

Newtown Library, 8 October, 11am – 4pm

 

Families can drop in to either session anytime.

Bloom is proudly supported by Capital E

Free Movie Night at Johnsonville Library!

It’s the school holidays so come along to our free movie night on Friday 4th October at Johnsonville Library. 

This month we have a double feature.

First up at 4pm.  A little girl living with an awful family who just don’t appreciate books decides that sometimes her parents need to be taught a lesson. When she starts school her teacher is wonderful, but the headmistress is even more awful than her parents. But then this little girl discovers that she has magical mind powers! How can she use these powers to teach the headmistress to be nicer to everyone?

This movie is rated PG and runs for 95 minutes.

At 6pm. A family of foxes are living happily in their new home, but when father fox starts filching fowl from the nearby farms they get in trouble! The three farmers vow revenge and try to dig the foxes out of their burrow. How will the foxes and their friends outsmart these horrible humans?

This movie is rated PG and runs for 87 minutes.

Can’t guess what films we’re talking about? You can call the library or talk to a librarian to find out what is playing each month.

Bring your own cushion for a comfy night in. Movies will play in the Children’s section of the library.

Get creative at the library during the October school holidays!

Let your creative side out to play during the school holidays at Wellington City Libraries. Have a go, learn a new skill, or make something amazing! Don’t miss us as we present special robot storytimes and creative, interactive Tech Time sessions at Capital E during these holidays too — head to their website for more details.

Beeswax Wraps
Celebrate the end of Bee Aware Month and make a beeswax wrap — a perfect alternative to plastic food wrap and a great way to reuse a by-product of honey production! Places are limited, so email Tawa Community Centre to secure your place. Suitable for ages 5+ with their caregivers.

Monday 30 September, 10am – 12pm at Tawa Community Centre

BLOOM
Is it a dinosaur, a spaceship, a chandelier, a cloud? Bloom consists of thousands of identical pink pieces that let children and big kids connect, construct and deconstruct 3D installations with no boundaries or rules. Families are welcome to drop in at any time during these sessions. BLOOM is proudly supported by Capital E.

Monday 7 October, 11am – 4pm at Cummings Park (Ngaio) Library
Tuesday 8 October, 11am – 4pm at Newtown Library

Bookworms!
Join us for a fun afternoon of bookish crafts and create your very own sock puppet bookworm to take home! Suitable for ages 4+ with their caregivers.

Saturday 5 October, 2 – 3pm at Johnsonville Library

CodeQuest
Come along to these free coding workshops and learn how to create your own video game in Scratch! No prior coding knowledge is necessary. Places are limited, so register at the event venue to secure your place. Suitable for ages 9+ with their caregivers.

Monday 30 September, 2 – 3.30pm at Mervyn Kemp (Tawa) Library
Saturday 12 October, 2 – 3.30pm at Johnsonville Library

Family Movies
Bring a blanket and pillow and relax at our fun family movies. A different G-rated film from the library collection will be showing each time, and are appropriate for the whole family. Suitable for ages 4+ with their caregivers.

Friday 4 October, 5.30 – 7pm at Johnsonville Library and 6 – 8pm at Newtown Library
Thursday 10 October, 5.30 – 7pm at Karori Library

The Great North Literature Quiz!
Come and test your knowledge of books at the Great North Literature Quiz. Grab your mates, siblings, cousins and make a team of up to four people. Register your team name by contacting Johnsonville or Tawa Libraries, or just turn up 10 minutes prior to the start to register your team. Suitable for ages 5-12 with their caregivers.

There will be prizes and lots of fun to be had!

Wednesday 2 October, 2 – 3pm at Johnsonville Library
Monday 7 October, 2 – 3pm at Mervyn Kemp (Tawa) Library

Halloween Crafts Workshop
Join us at Churton Park Community Centre for a special pre-Halloween crafts session! We will be making creepy paper lanterns and scary hats, ready for your Halloween celebrations! Suitable for ages 5-13 with their caregivers.

Friday 11 October, 10 – 11am at Churton Park Community Centre

Holiday Games
Come along and have a go at a bunch of different board and card games, and learn how to play! Bring your friends and family and challenge them — who will win? Suitable for ages 5+ with their caregivers.

Wednesday 2 October, 2 – 3pm at Brooklyn Library (card games)
Wednesday 9 October, 2 – 3pm at Brooklyn Library (board games)

In the Beginning: Yoga Storytimes
Want to try something new while being active and having lots of fun? Join our kid-friendly yoga instructor librarians at these yoga taster classes and storytelling sessions for children. Suitable for ages 5+ with their caregivers.

Monday 30 September, 2 – 3pm at Island Bay Community Centre
Friday 4 October, 2 – 3pm at Ruth Gotlieb (Kilbirnie) Library

Let’s Go Lego
At Let’s Go Lego, your creative skills will be put to the test as your use our Lego collections to design and build your masterpiece. Each session will have a different theme that will inspire you to hone your skills and become a true Lego Legend! Suitable for ages 5+ with their caregivers.

Wednesday 2 October, 10am – 12pm at Tawa Community Centre
Thursday 3 October, 2 – 3pm at Wadestown Library
Friday 4 October, 3.30 – 4.30pm at Khandallah Library
Monday 7 October, 2 – 3pm at Wadestown Library
Tuesday 8 October, 2 – 3.30pm at Newlands Community Centre
Thursday 10 October, 3.30 – 4.30pm at Cummings Park (Ngaio) Library and Mervyn Kemp (Tawa) Library
Friday 11 October, 3.30 – 4.30pm at Johnsonville Library

Minotaur vs. Mini-Robots
Ancient myths + Robots = awesome time! Come along and decode one of the most fascinating myths of Greek Mythology, the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. Code Ozobots and navigate them in a dark labyrinth. Can you escape the Minotaur? Let’s find out. Suitable for ages 6+ with their caregivers.

Monday 30 September, 11am – 12pm at Cummings Park (Ngaio) Library
Friday 11 October, 11am – 12pm at Khandallah Library
Saturday 12 October, 11am – 12pm at Karori Library

Spring Scribblers
Have something to say, but not quite sure how to say it? Want to write a novel, but not sure where to start? These interactive creative writing workshops will help you find your unique voice in writing. Suitable for ages 11+ with their caregivers.

Thursday 3 October, 12 – 1.30pm at Churton Park Community Centre
Friday 4 October, 2 – 3.30pm at Johnsonville Library
Wednesday 9 October, 2 – 3.30pm at Mervyn Kemp (Tawa) Library

Storm the Castle! – Writing Workshops
Traverse the path of the Hero’s Journey — take part in this interactive writing workshop as we go through all the main beats that make up nearly every great book and movie. Suitable for ages 11+ with their caregivers.

Tuesday 1 October, 2 – 3pm at Karori Library
Tuesday 8 October, 2 – 3pm at Cummings Park (Ngaio) Library

TechTime
Join us for these highly interactive adventures through the worlds of robotics and electronics. Hang out and play with robots, give the Makey Makey banana piano a go, and check out Scratch programming in these tech savvy and fun-filled sessions. Suitable for ages 6 – 13 with their caregivers.

Thursday 3 October, 2 – 3.30pm at Newlands Community Centre
Monday 7 October, 12 – 1.30pm at Churton Park Community Centre

Zine Machine
Do you want to print a story, some drawings, a comic, a collage, your thoughts … anything at all? Join us at Karori Library to create a zine with the Zine Machine and publish your own work! Suitable for ages 8+ with their caregivers.

Thursday 10 October, 11am – 12pm at Karori Library