Teen & Adult Program
Summer Library BINGO Instructions
- Starting June 1, pick up a printed Library BINGO card at the library (or download a copy to print).
- Complete horizontal, vertical, or diagonal lines. Each line you complete gets you one entry in the prize drawing, up to six entries. Complete every square for a bonus seventh drawing entry! The more BINGOs you complete the more chances you have to win.
- You have until 5PM on August 31 to complete your BINGO card to be entered into a drawing for 1 of 5 literary prize bags.
- Return completed BINGO cards to a public service desk to be entered in the drawing.
- Our 5 prize drawing winners will be notified on September 8.
Don’t forget to check out our events below, happening all summer long! Click here for info about Youth programs.
June
HOW TO BE AN AUTHOR
Have you been dreaming about writing your own book—but don’t know where to begin? Maybe you’ve always wanted to capture your memories, yet the blank page feels overwhelming. Now’s your chance to turn that dream into reality. Join award-winning author Dr. T.K. Cassidy at MPL for an inspiring and relaxed conversation about bringing your story to life. Discover how to spark your ideas, map out a plan, and confidently craft a compelling fiction story or heartfelt memoir. Your story matters—come learn how to tell it.
ALTERED BOOKS & GIVEAWAY
Show off your creativity (and sustainability!) by turning discarded books into art. All ages welcome. Materials and enthusiastic support provided. Free book giveaway!
THE STORY OF KIMJANG & KIMCHI CULTURE
Discover kimchi and kimjang as cultural traditions through stories, tasting, and conversation. The program will also touch on: Is kimchi always fermented? Why do people make it together? What does fresh kimchi taste like?
July
ALTERED BOOKS & GIVEAWAY
Show off your creativity (and sustainability!) by turning discarded books into art. All ages welcome. Materials and enthusiastic support provided. Free book giveaway!
HOW TO BE AN AUTHOR
Have you been dreaming about writing your own book—but don’t know where to begin? Maybe you’ve always wanted to capture your memories, yet the blank page feels overwhelming. Now’s your chance to turn that dream into reality. Join award-winning author Dr. T.K. Cassidy at MPL for an inspiring and relaxed conversation about bringing your story to life. Discover how to spark your ideas, map out a plan, and confidently craft a compelling fiction story or heartfelt memoir. Your story matters—come learn how to tell it.
PLANTING RESILIENCE: TERRARIUM WORKSHOP WITH CLIMATE SMART MISSOULA
Join us for this informative DIY event! Make your own take-home succulent terrarium and learn tips for building climate resilience during hotter, drier summers. Climate Smart Missoula will discuss why green infrastructure is so important in helping us stay cool, safe and healthy as our climate warms, along with other ways you can get involved in local climate solutions.
RAPTORS OF THE ROCKIES
Come learn about dinosaur descendants, the Raptors of the Rockies! Author and educator Kate Davis will teach us all about these amazing birds and demonstrate what they can do.
August
POETRY WORKSHOP: ANTI-POETRY, SURREALISM, AND THE HYBRID FORM
Looking through the lenses of antipoems, this workshop will explore poetic practices that resist clarity, lyricism, and convention. We will explore the hybrid form to use disruption, humor, collage, and contradiction to challenge meaning and authority in language—emphasizing process over polish—inviting participants to create work that embraces uncertainty, fragmentation, and surprise as generative forces.
TEEN TUESDAY OWL PELLET EXCAVATION
Put your excavating skills to the test as we explore owl pellets!
FIRST FRIDAY WITH THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS’S CHIEF OF RARE BOOKS AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
Join the Montana Institute for the Book Arts for a lecture and an art market with local Missoula artists.
5:30 PM – Stephanie Stillo, Chief of Rare Books and Special Collections at the Library of Congress will speak about her work at the Library of Congress, how she engages artistic books in historic collections.
6:00 PM – Cristina Favretto is a curator of Rare and Special Collections at University of Miama libraries. There’s an artist’s book for every topic (from food to coding to maps to…dumpster diving), and to know them is to love them. Learn about the work Cristina does in learning about this fascinating topic!
UNEARTH A MUSICAL STORY: STRING ORCHESTRA OF THE ROCKIES CONCERT
Enjoy a free, hour-long concert performed by the award-winning String Orchestra of the Rockies! This critically acclaimed string ensemble draws its musicians from an exclusive rotating roster of top-level string players from across Montana and the Northwest. The program features works by Mozart, Beethoven, Philip Glass and Copland, along with informal musical talks by our performers—an immersive and appealing event for all ages!
HOW TO BE AN AUTHOR
Have you been dreaming about writing your own book—but don’t know where to begin? Maybe you’ve always wanted to capture your memories, yet the blank page feels overwhelming. Now’s your chance to turn that dream into reality. Join award-winning author Dr. T.K. Cassidy at MPL for an inspiring and relaxed conversation about bringing your story to life. Discover how to spark your ideas, map out a plan, and confidently craft a compelling fiction story or heartfelt memoir. Your story matters—come learn how to tell it.
PEOPLE’S ARCHAEOLOGY WITH ARCHAEOLOGIST KEVIN O’BRIANT
Archaeologists have a nuanced understanding of the past that desperately needs to be communicated with the broader public. Good public archaeology is good storytelling. Kevin O’Briant will talk about why archaeology in your community is important, how the land around us tells us so much about who we are, and why stories keep us connected.
POETRY WORKSHOP: ANTI-POETRY, SURREALISM, AND THE HYBRID FORM
Looking through the lenses of antipoems, this workshop will explore poetic practices that resist clarity, lyricism, and convention. We will explore the hybrid form to use disruption, humor, collage, and contradiction to challenge meaning and authority in language—emphasizing process over polish—inviting participants to create work that embraces uncertainty, fragmentation, and surprise as generative forces.