Lutz Branch Library

Amateur Egyptologists at the Lutz Branch Library were screaming for their mummies during the recent Mummy Pyramid program!

These kids were all wound up, learning about ancient Egypt, building pyramids, and mummifying each other. Or possibly becoming bath tissue mascots.

That may be a . . . wrap . . . on this adventure, but our summer programs are just getting started. Find more at HCPLC.org/Summer.

See sparks fly and explore scientific principles with MOSI, drum and dance in an interactive drum circle with Giving Tree Music, learn from The Florida Aquarium about staying safe around the scaley reptiles that call our state their home, and participate in a "Choose Your Own Adventure" story revolving around the cryptids that may or may not inhabit the United States at our libraries next week!

See what's happening at a library near you this summer at HCPLC.org/Summer.

Future calligraphers learned how to write in the Gothic minuscule script, popularly used in print for fairy tales and newspaper logos, at the Lutz Branch Library in our recent easy-going and fun beginner's class provided by Inky Fingers.

Write, create, and learn in our many programs happening this summer all around the county. Discover more at HCPLC.org/Summer.

Watch a story and inanimate objects come to life with storyteller Windell Campbell, learn about the stars and constellations with MOSI and their portable planetarium, laugh alongside Tony the Balloon Guy as he creates characters out of balloons, or be enthralled by Bits N Pieces Puppet Theatre as they perform their version of Rumpelstiltskin at our libraries next week!

See what's happening at a library near you this summer at HCPLC.org/Summer.

April is Earth Month and what better way to celebrate what the planet has to offer than enjoying nature! These 1960s photographs from the Elizabeth Riegler MacManus Collection of Lutz Area Pioneer History depict a variety of wildflowers growing along Dale Mabry Highway around current day Lake Park. Wildflowers are essential to a thriving ecosystem as they provide habitats for insects and pollinators, prevent erosion, and can benefit local soil health. The UF IFAS Extension Hillsborough County also notes that wildflowers are hardy and thrive in our subtropical climate and enhance biodiversity where they are planted.

If you want to see more from this collection of local history, check out the Elizabeth Riegler MacManus Collection of Lutz Area Pioneer History at DigitalCollections.HCPLC.org.

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. The library has partnered with the Children's Board of Hillsborough County to bring awareness of the importance of providing safe and secure environments for children by creating pinwheel gardens outside our library branches throughout the county. Learn more at ChildrensBoard.org.

Do you ever wonder how the streets around Tampa and Lutz were originally created? This 1921 photograph shows L.B. Smith using a horse-drawn earthmover called a wheel scraper to grade the dirt bed before asphalt brick was laid on S.R. 5, now known as U.S. 41. Specifically, he was driving the wheel scraper at the intersection of Bearss Avenue and Florida Avenue!

View more historical photographs of Hillsborough and Pasco counties in our Elizabeth Riegler MacManus Collection of Lutz Area Pioneer History at the DigitalCollections.HCPLC.org. You can also visit the Lutz Branch Library to see items from the collection in person.

Using the same principle ingredients made to create science fair volcanoes, our artists at the Lutz Branch Library created fizzy, colorful heart art just in time for Valentine's Day in a recent STEAM Time program.

Discover more programs happening at our libraries at HCPLC.org/Events.

Fresh for fall, these festive and fun pumpkins were decorated in lavishly literary style by library staff.

Library patrons became library painters at the Lutz Branch Library where they created watercolor masterpieces in the last day of a 5-week program in partnership with the Tampa Museum of Art, Inc.

Find more creative programs at HCPLC.org/Events.