Thursday 20 February 2pm to 3pm

Marco Cardoso is a master magician who has been mesmerizing audiences across the UK for over a decade. He joins us for a free half-term children’s performance suitable for ages 5-16. 

Tickets are free but must be booked online in advance as places are limited. Please only book tickets for the children who are attending and not any accompanying adults.

• THIS EVENT IS NOW FULL.

Please ensure you arrive by 1.45pm for a 2pm start.

Children must be accompanied by an adult who should remain with them throughout the performance.

Learn more about Marco and his magic by visiting Marco’s website or Marco Cardoso Magic on Instagram.

21 February – 2pm to 3pm

International Polar Bear Day on 27 February is dedicated to raising awareness about the conservation status of the polar bear. 

Woburn Sands Town Council is funding a workshop where children aged 5 to 9 years can learn about polar bears, make polar bear badges and create a snow dome decorated with polar bear pictures.

Places are limited and must be booked in advance by clicking the link below:

• THIS EVENT IS NOW FULL.

Parents/carers must remain in the library during the session.

Join Adey from Drum United Academy for positive mindset drumming and body-beats with upbeat rhythms and mantra for mindset development. Sessions are great fun with body-tapping, air-drumming and drumsticks!

Sessions are FREE but require booking in advance as places are limited. You can register via the Drum United Academy website using the relevant links below to book your sessions. Each registration allows for one adult with up to 3 children.

Kingston Library on Tuesday 18 February

• 10.30-11am for the Under 5s
• 11.15-11.45am for ages 5 to 12 years

Stony Stratford Library on Wednesday 19 February

• 10.30-11am for the Under 5s
• 11.15-11.45am for ages 5 to 12 years

Central MK Library on Thursday 20 February

• 10.30-11am for the Under 5s
• 11.15-11.45am for ages 5 to 12 years

Parents/carers must stay with their children throughout the session.

If you need to cancel your booking, please contact Drum United directly using the Drum United contact form.

Friday 21 February 2025 - free activities for ages 8 to 14 years.

Join The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) for two fantastic workshops with hands-on Magnetic Moments activities. Participants will receive STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths) kits from IET to take home.

Sessions are FREE but require booking in advance as places are limited. Use the links below to book the session you’d like to attend.

Please note that both sessions are identical, so please do not book multiple sessions, as we’d like as many families as possible to be able to attend.

• Central Library at 11am to 12pm - FULL
• Bletchley Library at 2pm-3pm) - FULL

There will be time at the end of each workshop for a Q&A session.

Parents/carers must remain with their children throughout the sessions but you only need to book tickets for the children attending.

If your child has any additional needs you’d like us to know about, please email library.promotions@milton-keynes.gov.uk as we hope to make the experience fun for everyone.

We would appreciate you letting us know if you’ve booked a place but cannot attend so that we can release it to another family. You can contact us about your booking by emailing library.promotions@milton-keynes.gov.uk.

Join Explore Learning for their tailor-made activities for fun English and Maths adventures. 

The sessions encourage creativity while delivering specific numeracy and literacy objectives. They actively promote maths and English in the community and support the younger generation in developing lifelong skills.

Sessions are FREE but require booking in advance as places are limited. Use the links below to book the session you’d like to attend.

Please note that the sessions are all the same so please don’t book multiple sessions, as we’d like as many families as possible to be able to attend.

• Wednesday 19 February (11.15am-12.15pm) at Central Library - FULL
• Wednesday 19 February (1pm-2pm) at Wolverton Library
• Thursday 20 February (11.15am-12.15pm) at Newport Pagnell Library
• Thursday 20 February (1pm-2pm) at Kingston Library

Parents/carers must remain in the library throughout the sessions.

If your child has any additional needs you’d like us to know about, please email library.promotions@milton-keynes.gov.uk as we hope to make the experience fun for everyone.

We would appreciate you letting us know if you’ve booked a place but cannot attend so that we can release it to another family. You can contact us about your booking by emailing library.promotions@milton-keynes.gov.uk.

• CHESS at Woburn Sands Library (adults and children) - Friday 3.30-4.30pm
• COMPUTER HELP SESSIONS WITH OUR IT BUDDIES
  • Sessions are held at several libraries and offer one-to-one help with your devices (phones, laptops, tablets) and online processes like setting up an email or shopping. Visit the Digital Help web page for full details.
• GAMES CLUB - (all ages) at Stony Stratford Library - Thursday 3.45-4.45pm (drop-in)
• GARDENING CLUB - Stony Stratford Library (contact Stony Stratford Library for dates)
• KNIT AND NATTER sessions at various libraries
• LIBRARY COFFEE MORNINGS at Stony Stratford Library with FoSSL on the first and third Wednesdays each month 10-11am. Free to attend, just stop by for tea, coffee, homemade cake and conversation.
• LIBRARY READING GROUPS at various libraries
• MK NANOWRITERS meet on the second Saturday each month at Central Library 2pm to 4pm. It's a social group for writers although they do discuss writing as that's their shared hobby. If you'd like to know more or are interested in joining the group, please email mknanowriters@gmail.com.
• SOCIAL SCRABBLE at Bletchley Library on Tuesdays 10.30-11.30am.
• STONY LAST THURSDAY HISTORY SOCIETY - Drop-in any time between 2-5pm on the last Thursday of each month upstairs at Stony Stratford Library to chat with like-minded people about the history of Stony Stratford. If you'd like to know more, ask at Stony Stratford Library.

Please note that some activities are term time only.

• CHESS at Woburn Sands Library (adults and children) - Friday 3.30-4.30pm
• CODE CLUB (ages 9-13) at Central Library - Monday 4-5pm
• CRAFT CLUB (ages 3-9) at Olney Library - third Saturday each month 10.30-11.30am
• GAMES CLUB - (all ages) at Stony Stratford Library - Thursday 3.45-4.45pm (drop-in)
• LEGO AND DUPLO CLUBS at various libraries
• Q:HUB (ages 13-19) at Central Library - Tuesday 4-5.30pm
• READ AND PLAY sessions at Olney Library - Thursday 2.30-4.30pm
• STAY AND PLAY sessions at Bletchley Library - Tuesday 10.30-11.30am (term time only)
• STAY AND PLAY sessions at Central Library - Wednesday 1.30-2.30pm (term time only)
• STONY MUSIC MAKERS at Stony Stratford Library - Wednesday 9.30-10.15am
• STORIES, SONGS AND RHYMES at various libraries

English conversation club is for anyone who would like to practise and improve their English as a second language, gain better skills for study or employment, or just get on in everyday life.

Sessions at Central Library

• Everyone is welcome to join us on the day and you don't need to register.
• Conversation club sessions are held at Central Library on Thursday mornings 11am-12pm.
• If you'd like to know more you can phone 01908 254050 or speak to library staff.

The library offers many resources to help those who speak other languages and are looking to learn English as a second language (ESOL). The library also provides a range of material to help you improve your basic language and reading skills.

Discover MK

The Discover MK Showcase area is on the first floor at Central Library. It is the primary showcase for the archive, museum and heritage of Milton Keynes and the surrounding area. It has a regularly changing series of exhibitions throughout the year and more information can be found on the Discover MK website.

Urban Narratives of Central MK - Sabre Majid

29 January to 27 February 2025

This exhibition showcases the city's identity through architecture with a series of impressive photographs by local photographer, Sabre Majid.

Private viewings:

• Thursday 6 February 5-7pm
• Saturday 22 February 1-4pm

Sabre Majid online :

• Website: www.sabremajid.com
• Email: hellosabremajid@gmail.com
• Instagram: @sabre_majid

This is another fantastic exhibition brought to you by Living Archive MK.

JOIN ME: Our 2020 Events - Memorial Quilt at Stony Stratford Library

Visit Stony Stratford Library to see this lockdown memorial quilt on display. It’s a community quilt project by Thread Thread Wine to memorialise the events that we most missed in 2020, whether cancelled, lost or postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Soraya Tate, founder of Thread Thread Wine

At Christmas 2020 I decided to make a memorial quilt, dedicated to acknowledging the events and opportunities that we lost in 2020.

• I would create a quilt square about my own losses.
• I would invite others to do the same about their losses.
• I would join the pieces to make a quilt.
• I would display the quilt in December 2021 at an event for the makers.

This is the project so far; I hope you enjoy viewing it and reading about it. We have 42 submissions and the quilt is 3m long.

We have made some of the squares into cards for sale, to raise money for the mental health charity MIND.

If you would like to contribute your artwork to this project, please email Soraya or visit the Thread Thread Wine (TTW) Facebook page.

Read more about the background to this project, the inspiration and the artists who have contributed by visiting the Memorial quilt project page.

We offer Family History support from our volunteers:

FIRST STEPS

Get started with your family tree or research and have a beginner's guide to ancestry.com at Olney Library.

• Friday 1 November 2024 - 2pm to 4pm
• Friday 6 December 2024 - 2pm to 4pm

Book your free session by emailing library.enquiries@milton-keynes.gov.uk.

EXPERT ADVICE

If you’re having difficulties with your research and need some advice, John will use his years of experience to help you at Central Library.

• Thursday 28 November 2024 - 1pm to 3pm

Book your free 30-minute session by emailing library.enquiries@milton-keynes.gov.uk or calling 01908 254050.

Friends Groups work in partnership with us and closely with local library teams to help support and enhance libraries in our local communities.

They provide an important contribution to support and maintain awareness of a library in a local community.

Folio - Olney Library

Folio (The Friends of the Library in Olney) run a programme of talks which are held 7.30-8.30pm at The Olney Centre, Room 4 and they request that you arrive at 7pm for a 7.30pm start. Refreshments are served after each talk.

• 3 February - Inclusive Education in Indonesia: Natural Disasters and Young Children - Kieron Sheehy
• 3 March - Idiotic and Eccentric: The Things We Say! - Jean Yates
• 7 April - A History of Olney - Tom Jones
• 12 May - Retail Revealed! - Jane and Faith from Allens of Olney
• 2 June - Podington Aerodrome During WW2 - Mike Meade
• 1 September - Women Poets of the 100s/1800s - Vicki Shakeshaft and Stony Stratford Friends
• 6 October - The Olney Newton Link - Past and Present - Anne McCallum
• 3 November - Sink the Bismarck! - Michael Kushner
• 1 December - Magic with David Pibworth - David Pibworth

Tickets are £6 in advance and can be booked online at Ticketsource or by phoning Ticketsource on 0333 666 3366.

If you are no longer able to attend or have any questions, please email olneyfoliofriends@gmail.com.

You can download a printable schedule of Folio talks here.

FoSSL - Stony Stratford Library

FoSSL (The Friends of Stony Stratford Library) run regular talks at the library and details for booking tickets for these events will be released closer to the time. If you'd like to join the mailing list to receive news and updates from FoSSL, email fosslmk@gmail.com.

• Tuesday 21 January 7pm - 'Philanderer or Philosopher? The Literary Legacy of Giacomo Casanova' by Joe Laredo.

Tickets are available from Stony Stratford Library (01908 562562).

The FoSSL AGM will be held on Thursday 16 January 2025 at 4pm at the library.

• Several libraries host Knit and Natter groups.
• Beginners and experts are all welcome.
• Admission is free.

• Free all-round fun with Lego/Duplo clubs at several of our libraries.
• We provide the bricks and you provide the imagination.
• Everyone regardless of age is invited to join the fun.
• Parents and carers are responsible for their child's safety.
• Parents and carers must remain with their children throughout the sessions.

Click on the session links to see the dates when clubs are running.

Tuesday

• 3.30-4.30pm at Wolverton Library
• 4-5pm at Central Library

Wednesday

• 3.30-4.30pm at Newport Pagnell Library

Thursday

• 3.30-4.30pm at Bletchley Library
• 3.30-4.30pm at Westcroft Library

Friday

• 3.30-4.30pm at Kingston Library
• 3.30-4.30pm at Olney Library
• 3.30-4.30pm at Woburn Sands Library
• 3.30-4.30pm at Stony Stratford Library

Saturday 

• 10am-12pm at Central Library
• 11-12pm at Stony Stratford Library
• First Saturday of each month - 10.30-11.30am at Olney Library

You can subscribe to library newsletters to hear the latest news or follow us on our various social media pages.

• Facebook (MiltonKeynesLibraries)
• X - Twitter (MKLibraries)
• Instagram (MKLibraries)
• Pinterest (MKLibraries)
• YouTube (Milton Keynes Libraries)

Do you enjoy reading? Would you like to talk about what you have read? Would you like to share your views with an informal group? Then why not join a reading group.

• Several libraries hold storytime sessions.
• We also have many online stories, songs, poems and signed stories on our YouTube Channel.
• Be sure to browse our unlisted stories playlist.

We're excited to bring you the Summer Reading Challenge each year during the summer holidays.

We hope you'll consider joining our team here at the Milton Keynes Libraries. You'll find details of any current vacancies across our libraries on the library vacancies webpage.

• We welcome volunteers at all ten of our libraries.
• There are many interesting opportunities for volunteers within the Milton Keynes libraries and there's bound to be something that suits you.
• Volunteers need to be at least 13 years old.