Do you ever wish the library’s summer reading program would never end? Well, for teens and tweens in grades 4–8, it doesn’t have to! With the library’s new 100 Books Before High School program, readers can keep reading books, earning awesome prizes along the way and keep the fun (and learning) going all year long. Sign up and log books at ahml.beanstack.org.

Just for signing up, you’ll get a cool drawstring backpack to begin your journey. Keep logging every book you read. For every 20 books logged, you’ll earn a badge and a free book. Stop by the Kids’ World or Hub Desks to choose from our awesome selection of prize books, and get a real-life badge to wear proudly. Library staff will even help you figure out the perfect book for you to read next on your path to 100!

Once you reach the summit of Mount 100 Books, you’ll earn a High School Survival Kit. The tools in the kit were selected by our Teen Advisory Board, and include a USB power bank, mechanical pencil, a super-pack of sticky notes and so much more.  All prize books and High School Survival Kits were generously funded by the Friends of the Library.

Check out the Tween Gaming Cart! If you're in grades 4-6, come join the fun and play Nintendo Switch, PS4, or Xbox One X.

You must have a library card to check out controllers. Be sure to bring it along! Everyone has 30 minutes of gameplay.  If no one is waiting, you can play for an additional 30 minutes.

Gaming hours start at the time listed below and end 30 minutes before the library closes.

• Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday - starts at 5 p.m.
• Weekends - starts at noon
• Days off of school starts at 11 a.m.

Here's a list of games you can play; you can check these out to play at home too! 

Gather these supplies from home to try a dancing ghost experiment.

Supplies:

• Balloon
• Tissue
• Pen, pencil, or marker
• Tape

Directions: 

1. Use a pen or pencil to draw a ghost on the tissue. 
2. Cut out the ghost. 
3. Tape the bottom edge of the ghost to a table. 
4. Blow up the balloon. 
5. Touch the balloon to the ghost. Does anything happen? 
6. Now, rub the balloon on your hair or shirt for a few seconds. You are transferring negatively charged electrons to the balloon. The ghosts have a positive charge. 
7. Predict: what do you think will happen when you touch the balloon to the ghost? 
8. Test: touch the balloon to the ghost and see if you can make it dance!