View the schedule of regular events
The events schedule shows regular events across the libraries and can be searched and filtered by location, audience and keywords.
The Summer Reading Challenge this year is all about creativity - from dance to drawing, junk modelling to music, there's something for everyone! Sign up at any of the Milton Keynes Libraries from Friday 19 July.
Welcome to our programme of children’s activities for the summer holidays. All events are FREE but some require booking in advance as places are limited.
Download the full programme here.
If you have booked a place for an activity and are unable to attend, please let us know by emailing: library.promotions@milton-keynes.gov.uk to allow your tickets to be reallocated.
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.
Parents and carers must remain in the library throughout the sessions.
These summer activities require booking online in advance. Click on the link for the relevant activity and you’ll be taken to the booking form.
Join Adey from Drum United Academy this Summer for positive mindful drumming with upbeat rhythms and mantra for mindset development. Sessions are great fun with body-tapping, air-drumming, box-drums 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.
Stony Stratford Library on Wednesday 24 July
Central MK Library on Thursday 25 July
Join Explore Learning for their tailor-made Marvellous Makers Summer Reading Challenge 2024 activities. Please note that the sessions are all the same so please do not book multiple sessions, as we’d like as many families as possible to be able to attend.
Members of the Woburn Sands Brass Band will introduce you to the instruments and entertain you with a mini performance. Interactive and engaging, this will inspire your musical creativity and maybe even encourage a new hobby! Funded by Woburn Sands Town Council
Create Horrible Histories characters with Studio 43: from Rotten Romans to Vile Victorians and many more!
Use reclaimed wood to make a driftwood-style seaside hut. Paint and assemble your model hut then accessorise with nautical paraphernalia! Old clothes are recommended. Funded by Woburn Sands Town Council.
Join Julie and explore life under the sea through music and crafts. With an aquatic themed soundtrack as background music, you’ll explore creatures found under the sea and get creative decorating a colourful sun-catcher and mobile to take home. If you can come dressed in blue or green it’ll make the ideal seascape! Funded by Woburn Sands Town Council.
Become a Marvellous Maker with crafts following the creativity theme of the Summer Reading Challenge 2024.
If you need support with English as a second language for this activity, please let us know in advance by emailing library.promotions@milton-keynes.gov.uk
A fabulous workshop to have a go at the tactile craft of felting. All the materials will be provided for you to create a beautiful seascape picture to take home. Apron or old clothes advisable. Funded by Woburn Sands Town Council.
Learn to create your printing template by scoring in this popular printing workshop and then use rollers and colourful inks to repeat the print. Create reverse lettering for text sections. Funded by Woburn Sands Town Council.
Join local musicians for an interactive group session at Stony Stratford Library. Parents/carers must remain in the library throughout the session. Supported by FoSSL volunteers.
FOLIO bring you three fantastic craft sessions at Olney Library over the summer. Places are limited and must be booked in advance by emailing olneyfoliofriends@gmail.com and stating clearly which session you would like to book. You can also book by visiting Olney Library in person or phoning 01234 711474.
These summer activities are drop-in and require no booking:
We offer stories, songs and rhymes at various libraries over the summer and these sessions are all drop-in with no booking necessary.
These sessions are aimed at SEND children/young people in a non-judgmental setting.
Sessions at Central Library are held in a quiet, spacious area, closed to the public, and available specifically for these events.
The session at Kingston Library is held while the library is closed to the public and is open specifically for this event.
Support staff are welcome. Please only book places for the children attending and not any accompanying adults or siblings (who are welcome to come along).
Regular events and services for each library are also listed on the individual library information pages. New and one-off events are shown in the section above.
Please note that some activities are term time only.
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.
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.
As Milton Keynes entered its teenage years, the eighties became the decade for live music. The City blossomed with new bands along with an array of music venues to host them. The punk ethic of “anyone can be in a band” spilled over from the 1970s and youth clubs in particular became a breeding ground for young musical talent.
The eighties also saw Milton Keynes put on the map by the biggest acts in the world visiting the National Bowl. David Bowie, Michael Jackson and Queen – to name but a few – brought a buzz to the City that inspired local bands to raise their game and shoot for the stars.
This is another fantastic exhibition brought to you by Living Archive MK.
ZIMBABWE HERITAGE - Central Library 1-30 July 2024
Discovering Zimbabwe: A Journey Through Heritage and Traditions
This exhibition is brought to you by The Zimbabwean Heritage Festival. This exhibition aims to celebrate and raise awareness of the rich cultural traditions and history of Zimbabwe and its main objectives are:
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.
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.
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.
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.
These are the summer holiday club times and some sessions will change in September so please visit the website for the regular days and times.
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
You can subscribe to library newsletters to hear the latest news or follow us on our various social media pages.
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.
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.
Have you discovered the world of Geocaching? It's one of the fastest-growing hobbies in the UK and a fantastic way to get the whole family outdoors. After all, who doesn't love a treasure hunt?
Geocaching is a bit like a treasure hunt with a modern technological twist if you will! Read the beginner's guide to Geocaching and then download the app to start 'playing' and see what treasures you can find around Milton Keynes.
Milton Keynes Central Library, 555 Silbury Boulevard, Milton Keynes MK9 3HL