Clapp Memorial Library

Toddler Time (2 year olds) Spring 2025
2025-03-18 09:30 - 10:30, 2025-03-25 09:30 - 10:30, 2025-04-01 09:30 - 10:30, 2025-04-29 09:30 - 10:30, 2025-05-06 09:30 - 10:30 (America/New_York) | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Tuesday Toddler Time (2 years) Spring 2025
9:30-10:30 am, Tuesdays, Mar 11, 18, 25, Apr 1, 29 & May 6
Toddler Storytime is for children aged 2 years, and begins @ 9:30 AM. Registration is required. Our story times feature age-appropriate stories, songs, finger plays and art activities.
Registration and confirmation required, sign up here: https://forms.gle/kYNjbepNHCczoTdS9. Registration open until all slots are filled. If the program is full you will be placed on a wait list. Confirmations and program information will be sent out several days before the program starts.

Preschool Storytime (3-5 year olds) Spring 2025
2025-03-20 09:30 - 10:30, 2025-03-27 09:30 - 10:30, 2025-04-03 09:30 - 10:30, 2025-05-01 09:30 - 10:30, 2025-05-08 09:30 - 10:30 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Preschool Story Time (3-6 years) Spring 2025
9:30-10:30 am, Thursdays, Mar 13, 20, 27, Apr 3, May 1 & 8
Preschool Story Time is for ages 3-5 and begins @ 9:30 AM. Registration is required. Our story times feature age-appropriate stories, songs, finger plays and art activities.
Registration and confirmation required, sign up here: https://forms.gle/mYromqYwNvYb2gpNA. Registration open until all slots are filled. If the program is full you will be placed on a wait list. Confirmations and program information will be sent out several days before the program starts.

Magic: the Gathering
2025-03-22 11:00 - 13:30, 2025-03-29 11:00 - 13:30, 2025-04-19 11:00 - 13:30, 2025-04-26 10:30 - 12:30 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Magic: the Gathering
Saturdays in March and April
March 22nd, 29th, April 19th, 11 am to 1:30 pm
April 26th, 10:30 am to 12:30 pm
Come play Magic: the Gathering in the Activity Room. Bring your own deck (and mats and dice) or use one of our learning decks. Everyone is welcome, however players must be fluent readers. We will have two instructors to help get games started and assist with the rules of the game.
No registration required. Attend one session or all, that’s up to you. No food is allowed in the activity room but you may bring a nut-free snack to have in the hallway. Water bottles with tops are allowed everywhere.
If you have any questions please email Jennifer at jwhitehead@cwmars.org.

Babytime Story time (3-12 mo) Spring 2025
2025-03-24 09:00 - 09:45, 2025-03-31 09:00 - 09:45, 2025-04-28 09:00 - 09:45, 2025-05-05 09:00 - 09:45 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Babytime Story time (3-12 mo) Spring 2025
9:00-9:45 AM, Mondays, Mar 10, 17, 24, 31, Apr 28 & May 5
Babytime is for ages 3 – 12 months and begins @ 9:00 AM. Registration is required. Our story times feature age-appropriate stories, songs, finger plays and art activities.
Registration and confirmation required, sign up here: https://forms.gle/SMT6g9315DR9NVhVA. Registration open until all slots are filled.
If the program is full you will be placed on a wait list. Confirmations and program information will be sent out several days before the program starts.

First Steps Storytime (12-24 months) Spring 2025
2025-03-24 10:00 - 10:45, 2025-03-31 10:00 - 10:45, 2025-04-28 10:00 - 10:45, 2025-05-05 10:00 - 10:45 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Monday Firststeps (12-24 months) Spring 2025
10:00-10:45 AM, Mondays, Mar 10, 17, 24, 31, Apr 28 & May 5
Firststeps is for ages 12 – 24 months and begins @ 10:00 AM. Registration is required. Our story times feature age-appropriate stories, songs, finger plays and art activities.
Registration and confirmation required, sign up here: https://forms.gle/jdQiaTGikFYtMPVt7. Registration open until all slots are filled.
If the program is full you will be placed on a wait list. Confirmations and program information will be sent out several days before the program starts.

Intro to Nature Photography for Kids at Lake Wallace
2025-04-22 09:30 - 11:00 | Parks & Recreation, 66 State Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Learn how to capture beautiful images of nature in these photography workshops. Come for a short presentation and then go outside to explore for hands-on photography. You will gain an understanding of photography fundamentals, and then apply what you’ve learned. Attend one or both workshops.
Registration is required, sign up here: https://forms.gle/wjKvvdZCbqhHRxPh6
Geared towards photographers 5 & up. Children under the age of 10 must be accompanied by an adult caregiver. Dress for the weather. Bring a camera or smartphone or take turns borrowing one of the Library’s cameras. There will also be some phone microscope lenses to borrow that can be used with most smartphones. Holly Fields and Meru Causeway will be our instructors, and Louise Levy and Jennifer Whitehead will help when we break up into groups. Come take a different look at the beautiful nature Belchertown has to offer.
The ViewFinder workshop series is sponsored by the Clapp Memorial Library and the Town of Belchertown’s Creative Economy Committee, with support from the Belchertown Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. Additional funding is provided by the Friends of the Clapp Memorial Library.
Intro to Nature Photography for Kids at Lake Wallace on Tuesday, April 22 will meet at the Belchertown Recreation Department, 66 State Street, Belchertown. Intro to Nature Photography for Kids at the School Gardens on Saturday, May 3 will meet at the Swift River Elementary pavilion, 57 State Street, Belchertown
Workshop List

Tuesday, April 22: Intro to Nature Photography for Kids at Lake Wallace, 9:30am-11am
Saturday, May 3: Intro to Nature Photography for Kids at the School Gardens, 4pm-5:30pm

Outdoor Survival Skills Workshop
2025-04-25 10:00 - 12:00 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
PROGRAM FULL
Outdoor Survival Skills Workshop with Frank Grindrod, author and director of Earthwork Programs LLC
Students under the age of 10 must have a caregiver who is 14 years old or older on Library property during the workshop. Registration is required.
Learn how to make a Survival Shelter like in Hatchet, how to set a survival trap like Katniss from The Hunger Games, and how to tie Buck’s # 1 Call of the Wild Rescue Knot, and so much more. Students will get items during the course to start building their own outdoor survival kit.
The workshop starts indoors with a basic discussion of a few very popular outdoor themed books and then quickly moves outside to learn Outdoor & Survival Skills Hands-On. Students will build a primitive survival shelter, learn how to use an emergency survival blanket, signal for rescue, and learn what to do when lost!
Students are encouraged to read a survival themed book such as Hatchet, Hunger Games, The Wild Robot, My Side of the Mountain, The Last Beekeeper, Night of the Howling Dogs, Colonization and the Wampanoag Story and more.
This program is funded in part by a grant from the Belchertown Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

Fairy Seats & Future Sculpture: Creative Play at Lake Wallace
2025-05-02 16:30 - 17:30 | Parks & Recreation, 66 State Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Imagination and nature will come together at Lake Wallace on Friday, May 2, from 4:30–5:30 PM for Fairy Seats & Future Sculpture: Creative Play at Lake Wallace, a free, all-ages event inviting the community to spark creativity and collaboration in the outdoors.
Led by Kiran Jandu, a professor of fine arts and MFA candidate at UMass Amherst, this playful hour of making will blend the magic of tiny fairy chairs with STEAM/STEM-inspired thinking. Using clay and found natural materials — twigs, moss, flowers, and stones — participants will design and build miniature fairy-sized seats that celebrate curiosity, problem-solving, and the joy of creating something together.
This event is more than just an afternoon of fun — the designs crafted on May 2 will help inspire Kiran’s full-scale public bench sculpture, coming to Lake Wallace in Fall 2025. No experience is needed, and all materials will be provided. Just bring your imagination!
The upcoming bench sculpture is funded by the Belchertown Cultural Council (BCC), a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

CANCELLED: Intro to Nature Photography for Kids at the School Gardens
2025-05-03 16:00 - 17:30 | Chestnut Hill Community School, 59 State St, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Program cancelled due to weather forecast and low registration
Learn how to capture beautiful images of nature in these photography workshops. Come for a short presentation and then go outside to explore for hands-on photography. You will gain an understanding of photography fundamentals, and then apply what you’ve learned. Attend one or both workshops. If you attended the Lake Wallace program, you are welcome to join us at 4 pm for the presentation or meet us at the School Gardens around 4:15 pm.
Geared towards photographers 5 & up. Children under the age of 10 must be accompanied by an adult caregiver. Dress for the weather. Bring a camera or smartphone or take turns borrowing one of the Library’s cameras. There will also be some phone microscope lenses to borrow that can be used with most smartphones. Holly Fields and Meru Causeway will be our instructors, and Louise Levy and Jennifer Whitehead will help when we break up into groups. Come take a different look at the beautiful nature Belchertown has to offer.
The ViewFinder workshop series is sponsored by the Clapp Memorial Library and the Town of Belchertown’s Creative Economy Committee, with support from the Belchertown Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. Additional funding is provided by the Friends of the Clapp Memorial Library.
Intro to Nature Photography for Kids at Lake Wallace on Tuesday, April 22 will meet at the Belchertown Recreation Department, 66 State Street, Belchertown. Intro to Nature Photography for Kids at the School Gardens on Saturday, May 3 will meet at the Swift River Elementary pavilion, 57 State Street, Belchertown
Workshop List
Tuesday, April 22: Intro to Nature Photography for Kids at Lake Wallace, 9:30am-11am
Saturday, May 3: Intro to Nature Photography for Kids at the School Gardens, 4pm-5:30pm

Leveling Up: The Art of Scott M Fischer
2025-06-03 18:00 - 20:00 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2025, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Town Hall Auditorium (Lecture) and Clapp Memorial Library (Reception)
Join us for a very special evening with artist Scott M Fischer! Scott is a world-renowned fantasy artist known for (and this is the short list) Magic the Gathering card art, cover illustrations for Dark Horse Comics, mind blowing fantasy fine art, and being an amazing Belchertown community member. Scott has donated his time and talent to the Library’s Summer Reading Program – designing all of the logos – for the last 10 years!
Scott will give a lecture about his journey as an artist (and how he’s Leveled Up his artwork!) in the Town Hall Auditorium. His presentation will be followed by a reception at the Library where he’ll sign attendee’s Magic the Gathering cards and reveal the 2025 Summer Reading Program logo. You won’t want to miss this special event!
To read Scott’s article on the Muddy Colors website about his love for the Clapp Memorial Library, click here!
https://www.scottmfischer.com/

Food Truck Friday
2025-06-20 16:00 - 20:00 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
Join the Clapp Memorial Library on our beautiful Common for an evening of fun with live music and food trucks on June 20th, from 4-8PM. We will have crafts and activities for all to enjoy. Stop by to say hi and let us know if you need help registering for any of our summer reading programs.

Their Butt does WHAT?!??!
2025-06-27 10:00 - 11:00 | Clapp Memorial Library, 19 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA, 01007, United States
June 27th, 10 AM – 11 AM
Town Hall Auditorium
Susie Maguire, from the Poop Museum returns with another educational, funny, and sometimes gross, science presentation. No registration required. Program is geared towards children ages 4 and up.
Not every animal has a butt, but for those that do, there is an almost infinite variety of ways in which their butts can surprise! Yes … there is a remarkable number of super powers built into the butts of the world! And we’re going to discover some true wonders!
In this program you’ll learn about …

an inflating butt
a deflating butt
a butt with it’s own chemical lab
butts that can grow eyes and a brain
butts that talk
butts that attack
butts that breath
and so many more!

We humans are endlessly curious, and the world of animals butts is full of crazy curiosities. So bring your curiosity and join Susie for another fun, funny and fearlessly fact filled program, delivered with her trademark blend of science and silliness.
Program is funded by Friends of the Clapp Memorial Library and our Community sponsors
This event is part of our Summer Reading Program and attending is worth a Kids SRP Raffle Ticket! Make sure to sign your child up for Summer Reading at clapplibrary.beanstack.com or via the Beanstack app.

Ducks & Trucks
2025-06-29 11:30 - 13:30 | MA
At Farmers Market on the Town Common
Come meet live ducks and learn about their diet, habitat, behavior and more. Duckworld Rescue at Ripley Farm will bring ducks and give children a chance to hold them and watch them swim. And the Belchertown Fire Department will be visiting with a truck for kids to explore.
This event is part of our Summer Reading Program and attending is worth a Kids SRP Raffle Ticket! Make sure to sign your child up for Summer Reading at clapplibrary.beanstack.com or via the Beanstack app.
Made possible by the Friends of the Clapp Memorial Library and our Community Sponsors
