Programs

Wednesday, June 17th, 4:00 p.m.
McNabb Branch

Chicago once reigned as the "Candy Capital of the World" — this program explores how the city that gave us Cracker Jack, Snickers, and Lemon Heads built a confectionery empire powered by immigrant labor and ingenuity, with companies like Wrigley, Mars, and Ferrara producing a third of all American candy at their peak. 

Thursday, June 18th, 4:00 p.m.
Condit Branch

Obsessed with finding a legendary treasure, Benjamin Franklin Gates follows ancient riddles straight to America's most sacred document — the Declaration of Independence — in a race against a ruthless rival and the FBI.

Tuesday, June 23rd, 1:00 p.m.
Granville Branch

Hosted by Judge Douglas Ginsburg, this documentary traces the Declaration of Independence's extraordinary global reach, from Frederick Douglass and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to the more than 100 nations it inspired, through character-driven stories and unfiltered voices reflecting on America's promise. 

Wednesday, June 24th, 4:00 p.m.
McNabb Branch

This documentary tells the story of the Pack Horse Librarians — women hired by the WPA during the Great Depression to deliver books and magazines on horseback to the most remote corners of Eastern Kentucky, braving rugged trails and swollen creeks to bring reading to isolated mountain communities. 

Saturday, June 27th, 10:00 a.m.
Condit Branch

Watch local blacksmith Doug Eichert transform raw steel in real time — from forge to hammer — in a live demonstration that explores the history, tools, and enduring craft of one of America's oldest trades. 

Tuesday, June 30th, 1:00 p.m.
Granville Branch

Drawing from the letters and memoirs of the Founding Fathers, this Tony Award-winning musical follows John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson as they navigate political discord and personal sacrifice to unite the Continental Congress behind independence.

Tuesday, June 30th, 4:00 p.m.
Granville Branch

Celebrate the Fourth of July with a hands-on chalk pastel art project — using star templates and red, white, and blue pastels to create a stunning piece of patriotic artwork to take home. All materials provided, plus a glow stick bracelet for each participant. 

Tuesday, June 30th, 6:00 p.m.
Granville Branch

The Illinois Valley Flute Ensemble and Bloomington-Normal Flute Club join forces for a musical road trip tracing Route 66 state by state, from Chicago to California, with each piece evoking the landscapes and spirit of the communities along the way. 

Wednesday, July 1st, 4:00 p.m.
McNabb Branch

Create your own dazzling fireworks display on paper using salt, glue, and watercolors in this hands-on Fourth of July art workshop. All materials provided, plus a glow stick bracelet for each participant. 

Wednesday, July 1st, 5:00 p.m.
McNabb Branch

This documentary traces the fierce competition between John Deere, Ford, and International Harvester to build the first reliable all-purpose tractor, and how that race to mechanize agriculture transformed farming forever.

Thursday, July 2nd, 3:00 p.m.
Condit Branch

Get ready for the Fourth of July by crafting a colorful patriotic windsock using ribbon, tulle, and a few simple materials. All materials provided, plus a glow stick bracelet for each participant.

Thursday, July 2nd, 5:00 p.m.
Condit Branch

Narrated by Stephen Lang, this PBS documentary recounts the pivotal events and intimate human stories behind Gettysburg — the bloodiest battle ever fought on American soil — using sweeping cinematography to bring the full scale of the legendary battlefield to life. 

Tuesday, July 7th, 1:00 p.m.
Granville Branch

Lin-Manuel Miranda's groundbreaking Hamilton follows the meteoric rise and tragic fall of Alexander Hamilton, blending hip-hop, jazz, and show tunes to tell one of history's most fascinating stories in a way you've never quite seen before. 

Tuesday, July 7th, 4:00 p.m.
Granville Branch

Mark the nation's 250th by creating a small, meaningful work of art on a 3x3-inch canvas inspired by prompts like Then, Now, Next, What Freedom Looks Like, or My America — with the option to leave your piece on display as part of a community gallery throughout July.

Before keyboards, young girls in colonial America practiced their letters and stitches through needlework samplers, and in this hands-on America250 program, you'll explore that history and create your own burlap sampler using traditional embroidery techniques to take home. 

Before screens and video games, children found joy in games requiring nothing more than skill and friendly competition. Join us for a free two-hour colonial game day featuring five pastimes popular in 18th century America, including Hoops & Sticks, Graces, Hopscotch, Cup and Ball, and Checkers.

Thursday, July 9th, 5:00 p.m.
Condit Branch

Before Madison Avenue, there was Chicago — this documentary reveals how a remarkable mix of immigrant entrepreneurs and creative mavericks gave the world fast food chains, soap operas, Kleenex, Tony the Tiger, and the very concept of modern branding. 

Tuesday, July 14th, 1:00 p.m.
Granville Branch

Through the eyes of archaeologists and historians, this documentary uncovers the weapons — from the Brown Bess musket to the world's first military submarine — that helped a ragtag army of farmers and tradesmen defeat the most powerful military force in the world. 

Tuesday, July 14th, 5:00 p.m.
Granville Branch

Step into history with this interactive program featuring a screening from Ken Burns' The American Revolution, followed by hands-on virtual transcription of real historical documents through the Library of Congress's By the People program — bring a laptop or tablet.

Wednesday, July 15th, 4:00 p.m.
McNabb Branch

This PBS centennial documentary celebrates Route 66 through Oklahoma, home to more surviving miles of the Mother Road than any other state, tracing the landmarks, neon signs, and stories that made the highway a symbol of American freedom and adventure. 

Thursday, July 16th, 11:00 a.m.
Granville Branch

Celebrate the anniversary of the 1969 Moon Landing with a morning of stories, art, and science, featuring a reading of Max Goes to the Moon, a Moon Masterpiece craft, and a NASA-inspired activity demonstrating how lunar craters are formed. All materials provided. 

Thursday, July 16th, 3:00 p.m.
Condit Branch

WTTW host Geoffrey Baer peels back 14,000 years of Chicago history in Chicago Time Machine — from prehistoric giant beavers in Wicker Park to a WWII aircraft plant that now makes Tootsie Rolls, uncovering stories stranger than fiction at every turn. 

Thursday, July 16th, 4:30 p.m.
Condit Branch

Celebrate the anniversary of the 1969 Moon Landing with a morning of stories, art, and science, featuring a reading of Max Goes to the Moon, a Moon Masterpiece craft, and a NASA-inspired activity demonstrating how lunar craters are formed. All materials provided. 

Tuesday, July 21st, 1:00 p.m.
Granville Branch

This documentary tells the emotional, decades-long story of the fight for disability rights — through the voices of the determined men and women who put their bodies on the line to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, one of the great civil rights achievements in American history. 

Wednesday, July 22nd, 5:00 p.m.
McNabb Branch

This PBS documentary recounts Freedom Summer — the daring 1964 voter registration campaign that sent hundreds of volunteers into Mississippi, turned the nation's attention to legalized injustice across the South, and permanently changed America. 

Thursday, July 23rd, 3:00 p.m.
Condit Branch

Set on Virginia's Chincoteague Island, this heartwarming adaptation of Marguerite Henry's Misty of Chincoteague follows siblings Paul and Maureen on their quest to catch the legendary Phantom, screened in celebration of the annual Pony Swim, with a take-home wooden horse craft to make while you watch.

Thursday, July 23rd, 5:00 p.m.
Condit Branch

This PBS documentary traces the 60-year struggle behind America's 26,000 miles of rail-trails — from small-town showdowns to Supreme Court cases — and the community activists and visionary leaders who transformed defunct railways into vibrant public spaces. 

Tuesday, July 28th, 1:00 p.m.
Granville Branch

Historian Lucy Worsley investigates the tensions and turning points behind America's break from Britain — traveling from New York to London to Paris to ask whether the Revolutionary War was truly inevitable, and uncovering the radical ideas, secret missions, and mounting pressures on both sides that made it so. 

Wednesday, July 29th, 4:00 p.m.
McNabb Branch

Celebrate the annual Chincoteague Pony Swim with a reading of Misty, the Wonder Pony and a hands-on craft — paint a wooden horse cutout and add a yarn mane to take home. 

Thursday, July 30th, 11:00 a.m.
Granville Branch

In honor of Route 66's 100th anniversary and Granville Cruise Night, join us for a screening of the heartwarming story of hotshot racer Lightning McQueen, whose unexpected detour to a sleepy Route 66 town teaches him what really matters. 

Wednesday, August 5th, 5:00 p.m.
McNabb Branch

In this episode of Iconic America, David Rubenstein explores how Fenway Park and the Boston Red Sox reveal the deeper threads of community, identity, and resilience woven into baseball, and into America itself. 

Tuesday, August 11th, 1:00 p.m.
Granville Branch

Through interviews with performers, organizers, and historians, this documentary explores how Woodstock's singular mix of music and idealism gave youth a voice and permanently shaped both the music industry and the social movements that followed.

Wednesday, August 12th, 5:00 p.m.
McNabb Branch

This documentary traces Illinois's prairies from their glacial origins 8,000 years ago through the near-total loss of 22 million acres by 1900, examining what remains and what is being done to preserve it. 

Thursday, August 13th, 4:00 p.m.
Condit Branch

This documentary chronicles how George Washington and the founding fathers gathered in Philadelphia in 1787 to debate, disagree, and ultimately compromise their way to the United States Constitution, a document that has shaped American government for nearly 250 years.