Wicked Curious: science, art and other excuses to get out of the house

Monday, October 12

9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

History
All ages
Free
New

Free Admission on Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Harvard Museum of Natural History, Cambridge Indoor

Free museum admission on Indigenous Peoples' Day, with the museum open to all visitors.

English

At the venue Listed by Harvard Museums of Science & Culture

Tuesday, October 13

All day

Arts
Ages 9–17
New

Teen Crafternoon - Painting Miniatures (gr 6-12)

Cary Memorial Library, Lexington Indoor

A teen craft session where participants paint small figurines at their own pace, with supplies available into the evening.

English

At the venue Listed by Cary Memorial Library

9:30 AM to 11:30 AM

Math
Ages 3–12
New

Making Shapes

Harvard Museum of Natural History, Cambridge Indoor

A hands-on activity exploring shapes, suited to young children and early elementary students.

English

At the venue Listed by Harvard Museums of Science & Culture

3:30 PM to 4:30 PM

Reading
Ages 5+
New

Robbins - Kids' Read to Dogs

Robbins Library, Arlington Indoor

Short reading sessions where children read aloud to therapy dogs, suited to both reluctant and eager young readers.

English

At the venue Listed by Robbins Library

5:00 PM 45 min

Reading
Ages 9–12
New

Kids Graphic Novel Book Club

Winchester Public Library, Winchester Indoor

A monthly book club where children in grades 3 to 5 discuss a graphic novel together. Registration is required.

English

At the venue Listed by Winchester Public Library

Wednesday, October 14

All day

Reading
Ages 9–17
New

Teen Library Leadership Council (Grades 6-12)

Cary Memorial Library, Lexington Indoor

A monthly council for teens in grades 6 to 12 that advises the library and works on occasional projects.

English

At the venue Listed by Cary Memorial Library

Thursday, October 15

All day

Engineering
Ages 6–12
New

Air for Energy (grades 3 - 5)

Cary Memorial Library, Lexington Indoor

A hands-on session introducing Newton's Third Law, where small teams build balloon-powered cars and customize them to travel as far as possible.

English

At the venue Listed by Cary Memorial Library

All day

History
Ages 9+
New

Belmont Historical Society: Open Hours

Belmont Public Library, Belmont Indoor

A drop-in visit to the Belmont Historical Society collection in the library's Claflin Room, with a volunteer available to answer questions.

English

At the venue Listed by Belmont Public Library

All day

Math
Ages 6–17
New

Chess Club for Kids (please sign up)

Belmont Public Library, Belmont Indoor

An informal club where young people learn and play chess at all levels, led by the children's librarian.

English

At the venue Listed by Belmont Public Library

All day

Science
Ages 9+
New

Grow Your Own Mushrooms

Belmont Public Library, Belmont Indoor

A hands-on workshop where participants learn the mushroom growing process, make a grow bag, and take home two mushroom types to grow.

English

At the venue Listed by Belmont Public Library

All day

Reading
Ages 9–17
New

Middle School Book Club (Grades 6-8)

Cary Memorial Library, Lexington Indoor

A book club for middle school readers in grades 6 to 8 discussing a fantasy novel, with copies available from the Teen Room.

English

At the venue Listed by Cary Memorial Library

2:00 PM to 3:30 PM

Arts
Ages 3+
Free
New

Free Little Art Gallery Craft Day

Community Center, Lexington Indoor

A free drop-in craft session at the community center. Open to people of all ages.

English

At the venue Listed by Town of Lexington calendar

3:30 PM 45 min

Arts
Ages 9–12
New

Bracelet Buddies

Winchester Public Library, Winchester Indoor

A monthly drop-in bracelet-making club for children in grades 3 to 5, with no registration required.

English

At the venue Listed by Winchester Public Library

4:30 PM to 6:30 PM

Math
Ages 3+
New

Robbins - Kids' Family Game Night

Robbins Library, Arlington Indoor

A drop-in evening of board games and floor puzzles for kids of all ages and their grown-ups.

English

At the venue Listed by Robbins Library

Friday, October 16

3:30 PM to 4:30 PM

Reading
Ages 9–17
New

Robbins - Kids' Graphic Novel Book Club

Robbins Library, Arlington Indoor

A monthly graphic novel book club for third to fifth graders that ends with a craft.

English

At the venue Listed by Robbins Library

Saturday, October 17

9:30 AM to 11:30 AM

Science
Ages 6+
New

Drawing Shells

Harvard Museum of Natural History, Cambridge Indoor

A drawing session focused on shells from the museum's natural history collections.

English

At the venue Listed by Harvard Museums of Science & Culture

10:30 AM to 11:30 AM

Arts
All ages
New

Robbins - Kids' Musifiesta

Robbins Library, Arlington Indoor

A live Latin American music concert with percussion instruments for children to play along with.

English and Spanish

At the venue Listed by Robbins Library

2:00 PM 30 min

Science
Kids and adults
New

Science Spotlights: An Intergenerational Game of Telephone

Harvard Museum of Natural History, Cambridge Indoor

An intergenerational science activity in which participants of different ages play a game of telephone around science topics.

English

At the venue Listed by Harvard Museums of Science & Culture

3:30 PM 45 min

Technology
Ages 6–12
New

Scratch in the Sandbox

Winchester Public Library, Winchester Indoor

A block-coding session using Scratch and similar tools for children in grades 1 to 5, open to all experience levels.

English

At the venue Listed by Winchester Public Library

Sunday, October 18

1:00 PM to 3:30 PM

History
Ages 3–12
New

Family Activities at the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East

Harvard Museum of Natural History, Cambridge Indoor

Family activities inspired by ancient Near Eastern collections at the museum.

English

At the venue Listed by Harvard Museums of Science & Culture

2:00 PM to 4:00 PM

Reading
Ages 4–10
New

Robbins - Kids' Reading Buddies

Robbins Library, Arlington Indoor

A drop-in session where older kids and teens read with younger children or listen to stories.

English

At the venue Listed by Robbins Library

Monday, October 19

All day

History
Ages 9+
New

Belmont Historical Society: Open Hours

Belmont Public Library, Belmont Indoor

A drop-in visit to the Belmont Historical Society collection in the library's Claflin Room, with a volunteer available to answer questions.

English

At the venue Listed by Belmont Public Library

All day

Math
Ages 6–12
New

Simultaneous Chess (grades 3 - 6)

Cary Memorial Library, Lexington Indoor

Students who already know chess play simultaneous games against a local champion who faces several opponents at once.

English

At the venue Listed by Cary Memorial Library

4:30 PM to 5:30 PM

Engineering
Ages 3–12
New

LEGO Building Challenge

Winchester Public Library, Winchester Indoor

Children build creations from LEGO bricks in response to a building challenge, open to children in preschool through fifth grade.

English

At the venue Listed by Winchester Public Library

Tuesday, October 20

All day

Reading
Ages 6–12
New

OFFSITE: Meet the Author: Kelly Yang

Cary Memorial Library, Lexington Indoor

An author visit at a middle school celebrating the graphic novel adaptation of Front Desk, with seating first come, first served.

English

At the venue Listed by Cary Memorial Library

All day

Reading
Ages 9–12
New

Page Turners Book Club (grades 4–5)

Cary Memorial Library, Lexington Indoor

A monthly book discussion group for fourth and fifth graders to read varied genres and talk about the books.

English

At the venue Listed by Cary Memorial Library

All day

Arts
Ages 7–10
New

Theater Club for Kids Ages 7-10

Belmont Public Library, Belmont Indoor

A monthly club where children explore a different area of theater each meeting, such as character work, improvisation and stage direction.

English

At the venue Listed by Belmont Public Library

4:00 PM to 5:00 PM

Arts
Ages 9–12
New

Creepy Clay Crafts

Winchester Public Library, Winchester Indoor

Children in grades 3 to 5 shape clay into creepy critters in a registered craft workshop.

English

At the venue Listed by Winchester Public Library

Wednesday, October 21

All day

Science
Ages 9–17
New

Kids Cooking Green Presents Pumpkin Waffles (Grades 6-12)

Winchester Public Library, Winchester Indoor

An in-person cooking session in which grades 6 to 12 students make pumpkin waffles while learning multi-step instructions and kitchen safety.

English

At the venue Listed by Cary Memorial Library

Thursday, October 22

All day

Reading
Ages 5+
New

Read to a Dog -- Meet Sky!

Belmont Public Library, Belmont Indoor

Short reading sessions where children practice reading aloud to a certified reading dog, booked first come first served.

English

At the venue Listed by Belmont Public Library

All day

Reading
Ages 6–12
New

Read to Lyric (grades K - 5)

Cary Memorial Library, Lexington Indoor

A reading practice session where emerging readers read aloud to a therapy dog as a nonjudgmental listener.

English

At the venue Listed by Cary Memorial Library

All day

Reading
Ages 6–12
New

Read to Lyric (grades K - 5)

Cary Memorial Library, Lexington Indoor

A reading practice session where emerging readers read aloud to a therapy dog as a nonjudgmental listener.

English

At the venue Listed by Cary Memorial Library

All day

Reading
Ages 6–12
New

Read to Lyric (grades K - 5)

Cary Memorial Library, Lexington Indoor

A reading practice session where emerging readers read aloud to a therapy dog as a nonjudgmental listener.

English

At the venue Listed by Cary Memorial Library

All day

Reading
Ages 6–12
New

Read to Lyric (grades K–5)

Cary Memorial Library, Lexington Indoor

A reading practice session where emerging readers read aloud to a therapy dog as a nonjudgmental listener.

English

At the venue Listed by Cary Memorial Library

4:30 PM to 5:30 PM

Arts
Ages 6–12
New

Pom Pom Monsters

Winchester Public Library, Winchester Indoor

Children make their own pom poms and turn them into monsters in a registered craft workshop for grades K-3.

English

At the venue Listed by Winchester Public Library

Friday, October 23

7:00 PM to 10:00 PM

Arts
Ages 3–18
New

Haunted House

Community Center, Lexington Indoor

A Halloween haunted house at the community center with costume tours, crafts, pumpkin painting, games and a family movie. Sensory-friendly tour times are offered.

Sensory-friendly (as reported by the venue) English

At the venue Listed by Town of Lexington calendar

Saturday, October 24

All day

Arts
Ages 6+
New

Cardboard Costume-Making

Belmont Public Library, Belmont Indoor

Participants make a mask or hat from recycled cardboard for a costume, using a Chompsaw that is described as safe for younger crafters.

English

At the venue Listed by Belmont Public Library

12:00 PM to 4:00 PM

History
All ages
New

Day of the Dead Celebration

Harvard Museum of Natural History, Cambridge Indoor

A celebration of Día de los Muertos with cultural activities for all ages.

English and Spanish

At the venue Listed by Harvard Museums of Science & Culture

Science, art and other excuses to get out of the house.

Monday, October 12

Free Admission on Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Tuesday, October 13

Teen Crafternoon - Painting Miniatures (gr 6-12)

Making Shapes

Robbins - Kids' Read to Dogs

Kids Graphic Novel Book Club

Wednesday, October 14

Teen Library Leadership Council (Grades 6-12)

Thursday, October 15

Air for Energy (grades 3 - 5)

Belmont Historical Society: Open Hours

Chess Club for Kids (please sign up)

Grow Your Own Mushrooms

Middle School Book Club (Grades 6-8)

Free Little Art Gallery Craft Day

Bracelet Buddies

Robbins - Kids' Family Game Night

Friday, October 16

Robbins - Kids' Graphic Novel Book Club

Saturday, October 17

Drawing Shells

Robbins - Kids' Musifiesta

Science Spotlights: An Intergenerational Game of Telephone

Scratch in the Sandbox

Sunday, October 18

Family Activities at the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East

Robbins - Kids' Reading Buddies

Monday, October 19

Belmont Historical Society: Open Hours

Simultaneous Chess (grades 3 - 6)

LEGO Building Challenge

Tuesday, October 20

OFFSITE: Meet the Author: Kelly Yang

Page Turners Book Club (grades 4–5)

Theater Club for Kids Ages 7-10

Creepy Clay Crafts

Wednesday, October 21

Kids Cooking Green Presents Pumpkin Waffles (Grades 6-12)

Thursday, October 22

Read to a Dog -- Meet Sky!

Read to Lyric (grades K - 5)

Read to Lyric (grades K - 5)

Read to Lyric (grades K - 5)

Read to Lyric (grades K–5)

Pom Pom Monsters

Friday, October 23

Haunted House

Saturday, October 24

Cardboard Costume-Making

Day of the Dead Celebration