Kleckner: Hinsdale Public Library offers something for everyone in busy summer months

A friend from Texas once explained that moving slowly was the only way to survive the sun: "Hustle too much down in San Antonio and you’d give yourself heat stroke."

But with only 100 days of summer in Chicago, we tend to pack as much in as fast as we can, knowing that we’ll soon have months to cool off.

The Hinsdale Public Library is no exception. Our summer schedule is jam-packed with everything from sewing lessons to steel drums – I’m not exaggerating just for the sake of alliteration, we really are doing both of those things in July.

Some of the most rewarding parts of our summer activities is still the chance to talk to the summer reading program participants about their interests, progress and what they are reading. Youth participants receive credit for every minute they read, earning points towards fun prizes. Adults get to set their own reading goals and are entered in a drawing for an Amazon Fire TV device.

But even the most inveterate bookworm needs to get up and stretch every now and then, and we have programs that cater to every taste.

Bring a picnic dinner to the library’s back patio from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. July 27 and enjoy the tropical sounds of Kent Arnsbarger’s steel drum. Or come watch Chef Michael Maddox prepare decadent French desserts at 7 p.m. July 31.

Children continue to enjoy our popular storytime sessions, "stay and play" and toddler art programs. We also added new events like "family science Saturday." Join us from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Aug. 2 for a sightseeing tour of the cosmos with giant images, fun facts and family activities to inspire aspiring astronomers.

Tech-loving tweens will love our "fab lab" programs. Sign up for a slot in our July 29 class for your chance to create and print something truly unique on the library’s 3D printer.

Want something more low tech? How about sew tech? Yes, we’ve got sewing machines, and we’re not afraid to use them.

• July 24: quick sewing projects for busy adults

• July 15: Sew what? Tote bags for grades six and up

• Aug. 12: Sew busy. Learn sewing basics for third through fifth graders

Summer’s fleeting, but the things you’ll learn and the memories you and your family create at the Hinsdale Public Library can last a lifetime.

Karen Kleckner Keefe executive director of the Hinsdale Public Library.