Join Ms. Debbie for an exciting playgroup emphasizing STEM principles.  Sponsored by the South Shore Family Network.  For ages three to five years.

 

We're sorry; registration for this program is closed.

Listen to a picture book, then do a simple craft. Three- and-four-year-olds are generally not accompanied by caregivers.

 

Miss Christine from Little Bee Yoga Co. is excited to share the magic of yoga with John Curtis Library families!!  Each class is 45 minutes. The class is geared toward children ages three to six years, but all ages are welcome to participate.  Please bring a yoga mat or towel.

 

 

Simple picture books, big books, finger plays, songs and movement for children 18-35 months with a parent/caregiver.

 

Drop-in, no registration needed.

Maps, directions, places to camp, weather, food sources, connection with family and friends, package delivery-what’s a cyclist to do in the pre-digital 1980s to ride a bicycle across the United States of America? Come along for the ride as Steve Parus shares his experience riding his bike solo 4500 miles from Sea to Shining Sea carrying all gear and camping along the way.

 

Please register.

 

RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

 

The best thing about tracking down the history of a house is that your research subject usually stays in one place! House history projects give us the opportunity to access local historical resources such as newspapers, deeds, city directories, and more. This avenue of research allows us to uncover architecture, neighborhoods, and people of the past.  

 

Please register.

 

RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

 

Visit amazing Christmas markets in Prague and four cities in Germany. With very few international tourists and mostly locals enjoying good food, good friends, and a festive atmosphere, December trips are quite different from summer visits. Led by Gene Flynn, an Illinois native, who has taught at the College of Lake County and Harper College, and serves on the board of the Institute for Continued Learning at Roosevelt University. 

 

Please register.

 

RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

 

Ever wonder how America chooses astronauts? Why did NASA select from military aviators? How are flight assignments made? Why did it take so long to incorporate women and minorities into the Astronaut Corps? Join NASA Solar System Ambassador David S. Ball as he discusses the tension between science and flight test, political considerations, and the luck of the draw that determines who gets to fly. Ball served 26 years in the US Air Force, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel, and is a now a volunteer educator with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

 

Please register.

 

NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

 

All supplies provided to build a seasonal mini garden or festive table centerpiece—beautiful as décor or a gift.  Come and enjoy some downtime while creating!  Please note that preference/priority will be given to Hanover residents on a first come/first serve basis.

 

Please register; registration opens December 1st.

We are super excited to be partnering with bookstore owners of Read My Lips Boston for this special series! Hear about the best ROMANCE book recommendations of BIPOC/LGBTQ+/Neurodivergent

/Disabled etc. characters or by representative authors. Join book store owners (and twin sisters!), Lily and Hannah Barrett, quarterly for 30 minutes of pure romance book recommendations - that are by diverse authors or have inclusive storylines! We're sure you'll find something to like from Lily and Hannah's many enthusiastic reviews.  You can sign up for one session or for all!

 

Please register. 

 

Run by twin sisters Lily and Hannah Barrett, Read My Lips Boston is a pop-up diverse romance bookshop based in the Boston area. Read My Lips partners with breweries and cafes to host mobile shops with love stories starring those identifying as BIPOC, disabled, queer, big-bodied, and members of other groups historically underrepresented in the romance genre.

To Lily and Hannah, elevating their community is paramount; The shop gives 10% of its proceeds to area nonprofits. Read My Lips' mission addresses a gap the sisters felt growing up. Born deaf, they received cochlear implants as toddlers. Their parents read to them, teaching them speech and fostering a love of reading. Growing up, Lily and Hannah loved romance novels but struggled to find characters they could relate to. They started Read My Lips because they believe everyone deserves to be seen as the hero — not typecast as a villain or sidekick based on white, cis, hetero, straight-bodied and abled standards.

 

We'll send out a list of all recommendations for those who register. 

 

Retired Massachusetts Superior Court Justice Dennis Curran is excited to continue his "Great American Unsung Heroes Who Changed The Course Of History" series.

 

This month, learn about Nikola Tesla. Called a genius by some, a madman by others, and an enigma by nearly everyone, Tesla was probably the greatest inventor the world has ever known. He was, without a doubt, a trail blazer who created astonishing, life-transforming devices. But he never received the credit he richly deserved. It was Tesla, not Edison, who harnessed the alternating electric current (AC) we rely upon today. It was arguably Tesla - not Marconi - who invented the radio. And it was Tesla who introduced the fundamentals of computers, robotry and missile science, which helped pave the way for satellites, microwaves and lasers. Tesla remains one of the least recognized scientific pioneers and never earned the household name recognition of an Edison, Westinghouse, Marconi or Einstein. He will get his proper due in this enlightening talk.

 

Dennis J. Curran served as a Massachusetts judge for 16 years, including in the Superior Court from 2006 to 2018. Prior to his time on the bench, Curran worked as an Assistant District Attorney and First Assistant Legal Counsel to the Governor, in addition to work in private practice. A graduate of Boston Latin School, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Virginia School of Law, Curran has taught law at Tufts University, Roger Williams University School of Law, and Brown University.

 

Please register.

 

RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

 

Love Mysteries and Thrillers but not sure what to read next? Join bestselling author, Hank Phillippi Ryan, for this quarterly session of her recommendations of some of the best of mystery/thrillers out there! We're sure you'll find something to like from Hank's many enthusiastic reviews.  You can sign up for one session or for all!

 

Please register.

 

Looking for the best books with BIPOC/LGBTQ+/ Neurodivergent/Disabled etc. characters or by representative authors but not sure what to read next? Join bookstagrammer, Leelynn Brady (aka @sometimesleelynnreads), monthly for 30 minutes of pure book recommendations - any genre as well as YA and Middle Grade books, as long as they are by diverse authors or have inclusive storylines! We're sure you'll find something to like from Leelynn's many enthusiastic reviews.

 

Register directly on Zoom HERE. You can sign up for one session or for all!

 

Leelynn (she/they) is a book blogger and bookstagrammer at @sometimeleelynnreads. Coming from the beautiful state of Hawaii, she is excited to continue to share her love of books and hopes to bring some new and amazing books to your radar.

 

Image credit: Graphics by Waffley Cute Designs

 

Voted the most inspirational movie ever made by the American Film Institute, Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life has been a beloved Christmas classic for many generations. The snowbound streets of Bedford Falls, the desperate travails of George Bailey, and the discovery of Zuzu’s petals have become traditional signatures of the holiday season. Yet when the film was released in 1946, it was a box-office flop, won no Academy Awards, and was largely forgotten—until it was rediscovered through endless airings on local TV stations beginning in the 1970s and on annual Christmas eve broadcasts on NBC starting in 1992. This talk will examine the fascinating story of It’s a Wonderful Life, looking at the challenges of how it was made, its surprisingly dark portrait of small-town life, and how it became the ultimate portrayal of holiday goodwill and cheer.

 

Please register.

 

RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded and the video will be available for two (2) weeks. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

 

Led by Brian Rose, a professor emeritus at Fordham University, where he taught for 38 years in the Department of Communication and Media Studies. Rose has written several books on television history and cultural programming, and conducted more than a hundred Q&A’s with leading directors, actors, and writers for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Screen Actors Guild, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and the Directors Guild of America.

 

Join us for the Out of This World Science Fiction / Fantasy Book Club! We meet on the last Monday of the month, and alternate between science fiction and fantasy titles.  In January, we will be moving this to a virtual platform!

 

The title for December is A Lot Like Christmas by Connie Willis