Imaginative Playtime for Kids and Families

Imaginative Playtime for Kids and Families is at Tacony Library on Friday, October 23, from 10:30 to 11:30 AM. It's a session that pairs a story time with imaginative play, and it's part of the Free Library of Philadelphia's storytime and playtime programming, so it's one of the many kids' activities the library system runs across the city.

If you haven't spent much time there, the Tacony Library has a history that goes back further than most of us realize. It started with the Keystone Scientific and Literary Association, founded in 1876 by M. Louise Thomas. She wanted a library where people could find books for all tastes and a room where they could sit with the books ranged around the walls. The Association held spelling bees and hosted speakers like Susan B. Anthony and P.T. Barnum. By 1885 it became the Disston Library and Free Reading Room. In 1906, the Disston family gave the land at Torresdale Avenue and Knorr Street, and with $43,380 from the Carnegie Foundation, the Tacony Branch opened on November 27, 1906. It hit 70,000 circulations in its first year and celebrated its centenary in 2006. Even the neighborhood's name comes from 'Taokanink,' an Indian word for 'woods' or 'small creek.'

The session itself is straightforward: a story time followed by imaginative play, designed for kids and families to do together. It's one of the storytime and playtime programs the Free Library of Philadelphia offers throughout the city. You'll find it at Tacony Library, 6742 Torresdale Avenue (at Torresdale Ave. & Knorr St.), Philadelphia, PA 19135-2416, on Friday, October 23, from 10:30 to 11:30 AM.