Seeds and summer reading are the big news at the Cosmos Library this month.

Want to try growing something this summer? A seed library is now available, thanks to support from the Lake Elizabeth Green Thumb Garden Club and Hope Blooms Flower Farm. It’s small, just a binder at the front desk. You’ll get a few seeds so that you can try gardening as a beginner even with only a container or a small patch of ground, or so that you can try some new varieties of plants if you are an experienced gardener. It’s a chance to learn something new for free.

Anyone can take seeds from the seed library, even if they don’t have a library card. Each library visitor may take up to 4 small packets of seeds per week, while supplies last. They’re not full-sized seed packets; you’ll take only a few seeds or a pinch of tiny seeds per envelope. The seed library is intended to give people a chance to try gardening, try a new type of plant, or expand the variety in their garden.

You aren’t required to save seeds from your plants and return them. But if you grow an heirloom or open-pollinated variety and you do save the seeds, it would be wonderful if you bring some back to the library in a labeled envelope at the end of the season. The envelope should be sealed and labeled with the plant name, the variety, and the year of harvest, and the seeds should be thoroughly dried. We accept donations of opened or unopened seed packets you have purchased, and envelopes of saved seeds from your open-pollinated plants, labeled with the contents. No potatoes or live plants, please.

This summer, kids are invited to Level Up at Your Library – the theme of this year’s summer reading program! “Level Up at Your Library” is a summer reading program based around games and puzzles.

At Cosmos Public Library, the program has begun as of May 27. Kids ages 3-18 can sign up any day throughout the summer. The program runs through August 30^th.

The summer reading program is something kids do on their own time, working their way through the reading game sheets by reading or being read to and doing other fun activities. The reading log for children looks like a board game. The teen reading log is a chart to simply record hours spent reading.

When they sign up, kids get book bag filled with a few freebies, including a small word find book. When they turn in a completed reading sheet, they will earn “library loot,” play money that they can turn in for a choice of small prizes.

The goal of the summer reading program is to encourage kids to read all summer long so that they keep up their reading skills and return to school in the fall ready to learn. Because of that, kids can do one reading sheet after another all summer until late August and keep earning prizes.

So many fun activities are happening for kids at the library this summer:

Pokémon gaming: most Mondays June 2–August 18, 10:30 am—noon. For kids ages 7 and up

LEGO Time: 3rd Monday of the month, 2-3 pm. Ages 5-18

Storytimes: Saturdays June 7, July 5, and August 23, 10:30 am

Science Heroes: Adventure of the Missing Color: Friday June 6, 4 pm

CLIMB Theatre: Babe the Blue Ox: Friday June 13, 2 pm

Science Museum: Engineering: Monday June 23, 3 pm

Princess Kay storytime: Friday June 27, 3 pm

Space Fest mini golf: Friday July 18, 5-8 pm. All ages.

DNR Naturalist: Bats: Thursday July 24, 3 pm

Button making: August 11-16 all day

Take-home crafts and activities for a variety of ages will be available from time to time throughout the summer.

Cosmos Library is located in city hall. The phone number is 320-440-1012, and the website is www.cosmos.lib.mn.us. The library’s hours are Mondays 10-5, Tuesdays 2-5, Thursdays 2-6, Fridays 2-5, and Saturdays 10-1. Pioneerland libraries will be closed on Juneteenth, June 19.