Spring into spring with the City of Santa Clarita Public Library as it hosts a variety of FREE educational events at each city library branch, including Canyon Country, Valencia and Old Town Newhall.  Community members of all ages are invited to participate in engaging, interactive programming, including:

• Coding Camp with MIT Scratch – These informative classes are designed for youth ages 10-17 and show them how to use computer programming language to create interactive stories, games and animation. Classes will be offered at the Valencia Library branch on Wednesday, March 5; at the Canyon Country Library branch on Wednesdays, March 12, March 19 and March 26, 2014; and at the Old Town Newhall Library on Fridays, April 4, April 11 and April 18, 2014.  Registration is required.
• Try Your Hand @ Henna – On Saturday, March 22, 2014 at 12:00 p.m. at the Canyon Country Library branch, the Cultural Landscape Initiative invites teens to learn about the history of ancient body art with Henna Caravan before picking a pattern to decorate their own hands.

READING ENRICHMENT FOR ELEMENTARY STUDENTS

• Elementary Story Time – Hosted every Tuesday at 6:15 p.m. at the Valencia Library branch, kindergarten through 3^rd grade students are invited to further their reading skills as librarians host storytime.  Each week will feature a new theme and include a combination of non-fiction and fiction books and interactive activities.
• Pajama Storytime – Hosted at the Old Town Newhall Library branch every Wednesday and Thursday at 6:00 p.m., school-aged children are invited to an old-fashioned bedtime storytime complete with flannel board stories for both early elementary students and their preschool siblings.
• Read To Dogs – Young readers are invited to practice their reading skills aloud to gentle therapy dogs, helping children to relax and read more fluently in a friendly environment.  The program will be offered at each Santa Clarita Public Library branch as follows: Valencia Library branch on the first Saturday of each month at 1:00 p.m.; the Old Town Newhall Library branch on the third Saturday of each month at 1:30 p.m.; and at the Canyon Country Library branch on the first and third Thursdays of each month at 3:30 p.m.

For more information about these events and other happenings at the Santa Clarita Public Library, visit SantaClaritaLibrary.com.