Libraries warm up winter with holiday initiatives

Hamilton parents needing to keep their children occupied during the July school holidays should look no further than Hamilton City Libraries.

The libraries' Children's and Teen's Team has planned a School Holidays Programme which features a range of activities at every Hamilton City Libraries branch.

Lisa Pritchard, Hamilton City Libraries' Service Development Team Supervisor, says school holiday programmes are an important part of the libraries service.

"We know that children can get a little bored during school holidays, and for parents, that can be a real challenge," she says.

"Our school holiday programmes offer a variety of activities which keep learning going, but in a really fun-focussed and entertaining way."

Activities in the School Holidays Programme include:

• Stop motion animation workshop
• 'Zine creation
• Lego
• Creation of a bouncy ball

The schedule for the School Holidays Programme is:

• 12 July – Glenview Library
• 13 July – Dinsdale Library
• 14 July  - Central Library
• 19 July  - St Andrews Library
• 20 July – Hillcrest Library
• 21 July – Chartwell Library

The sessions are held from 11am to 1pm.

Hamilton City Libraries is also rolling out its Winter Reading Programme – The Big Chill. The programme runs across all libraries and includes eight activities. Children participating in the programme will receive a free beanie featuring Honu, the libraries' mascot. That programme launches on 11 July and runs until 5 August.

Participants will need to register via the Hamilton City Libraries website – hamiltonlibraries.co.nz