About us
The City of Menlo Park's libraries offer a variety of programs, including art events, author talks, info sessions, craft sessions, music events, and more. To make the most of our programming efforts and this meetup page, we’d love for you to get involved. If you come to a program, say hi and let us know you saw it on meetup. If you have an idea for something you’d like to see at the library, send us a message. The library is a great space for community meetups and we’d love to play a role in making those connections!
See more events at our calendar, and check our hours and holiday closures.
Upcoming events
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Wildmind Science Learning: Bay Area Wild
Menlo Park Library, 800 Alma St, Menlo Park, CA, USJoin us for a wild time outside the library!
Science educators from Wildmind Science Learning are bringing some of their resident animal ambassadors for a very special assembly.
Beautiful and fascinating wildlife live in the fields and forests surrounding our cities and suburbs. We'll gain insights into the secret lives of these intelligent and ecologically-important animals.
Our Teachers:
- Grey Fox
- Kingsnake
- Red-Tailed Hawk
- Skunk
Animals are subject to change. Wildmind’s educational programs are designed to be flexible to prioritize animal welfare.
This free event received funding support from the Friends of the Menlo Park Library.
Thursday, July 16, 2026 | 10:15 AM - 11:00 AM
Menlo Park Library, 800 Alma St., Menlo Park, CA
Event will be held outside, on the library lawn.More free events with Menlo Park Library
Menlo Park Library on social media:
@menloparklibrary on Instagram & Facebook
@menlolibrary on Twitter/X2 attendees
Create: Shadow Puppets
Belle Haven Library, Belle Haven Community Campus, 100 Terminal Ave., Menlo Park, ca, USAdults and youth (ages 8+): As our Summer Puppetry Festival continues, learn about the art of shadow puppetry—and create your own shadow puppet!
During this 90-minute workshop, you’ll make a shadow puppet using repurposed card stock, scissors, hole punches, and your imagination. With only your puppet and a light source, you can transform a sheet, wall, or a ceiling into a puppet theater.
Best for ages 8 years to adult; 6-7 years okay with adult help.
There is no preregistration for this event, but supplies are limited.About the Summer Puppetry Festival:
We’re presenting our 9th Annual Summer Puppetry Festival! Menlo Park celebrates the art of puppetry in its many forms, with a series of puppet shows and related events featuring beloved performers from throughout the Bay Area and beyond. Drop in for one event, or join us for the entire series.
Performances:
- June 28 | Pop & Go Puppets | Belle Haven Library
- July 9 | The Puppet Company | Menlo Park Library
- July 26 | Fratello Marionettes | Belle Haven Library
- July 30 | Puppet Art Theater | Menlo Park Library
- Aug. 23 | Possibly Puppets | Belle Haven Library
Other events:
- June 9 | The Science & Psychology of Muppet Design | Menlo Park Library
- July 18 | Shadow Puppet Workshop (Ages 8-Adult) | Belle Haven Library
- Aug. 12 | A Visit with Mallory Lewis (and Lamb Chop) | Zoom
- Aug. 26 | Film: Shari & Lamb Chop | Menlo Park Library
This free event received funding support from the Friends of the Menlo Park Library.
More free events with Menlo Park Library
Menlo Park Library on social media:
@menloparklibrary on Instagram & Facebook
@menlolibrary on Twitter/X1 attendee
Tea and Tarot
Menlo Park Library, 800 Alma St, Menlo Park, CA, USJoin us for tea and conversation around the tarot deck!
Socialize and practice your skills reading the tarot. Although this isn’t an instructional course, meet like-minded people who can share their tarot experiences.
Decks won’t be provided, but tea and tarot-themed book recommendations will, so prepare to get cozy and pull some cards.
Tea & Tarot takes place on the 3rd Sunday afternoon of each month.
This free event received funding support from the Friends of the Menlo Park Library.
More free events with Menlo Park Library
Menlo Park Library on social media:
@menloparklibrary on Instagram & Facebook
@menlolibrary on Twitter/X3 attendees
Mystery Readers Group: Dark Academia
·OnlineOnlineLet’s explore the shadowy (mysterious) side of academia!
Menlo Park Library’s Mystery Readers Group is a different kind of book group: rather than all reading the same book, we share our reading of different books surrounding a particular theme: Dark Academia, for instance.
This subgenre is full of twisty mysteries that take place in elite boarding schools, universities, libraries, or museums. Dark Academia mysteries are rife with strange (and sometimes magical) happenings, unsolved murders, secret societies, and gothic vibes.
Mystified as to where to start? Allow us to present—
A Few Leads:
If We Were Villains, by M.L. Rio: The seven young actors studying Shakespeare at an elite arts college play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress. But when the casting changes, and the secondary characters usurp the stars, the plays spill dangerously over into life.
The Maidens, by Alex Michaelides: A handsome and charismatic Greek tragedy professor at Cambridge University, Edward Fosca is adored by staff and students alike—particularly by the members of a secret society known as The Maidens. When one member is found murdered, Fosca is implicated.
Magic for Liars, by Sarah Gailey: When a gruesome murder takes place at The Osthorne Academy of Young Mages, where her estranged twin sister teaches Theoretical Magic, reluctant detective Ivy Gamble is pulled into the world of untold power and dangerous secrets.
Ninth House, by Leigh Bardugo: Part murder mystery and part supernatural horror. Alex, a woman who sees ghosts, is recruited to monitor the activities of Yale University's secret societies. But their occult activities are more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.
The Secret Place, by Tana French: The investigation into the murder of a teenage boy at a girls’ boarding school is reopened when someone posts an anonymous message: I KNOW WHO KILLED HIM. The Dublin Murder Squad learns that the underworld of teenage girls can be more mysterious and dangerous than they had imagined.
So many possibilities—and that’s just a starting point! Check out any Dark Academia mystery you like, and join us online to exchange book recommendations and discover new favorites with fellow mystery lovers.
Menlo Park’s Mystery Readers Group meets online on the third Tuesday of each month.
Tuesday, July 21, 2026 | 06:00 PM - 07:15 PM
Zoom webinar (register for link)More free events with Menlo Park Library
Menlo Park Library on social media:
@menloparklibrary on Instagram & Facebook
@menlolibrary on Twitter/X1 attendee
Past events
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