[photo credit; Kidspace Children’s Museum]
The Altadena Library District’s Curiosity Connection Vol. 2 mobile library has been making the weekly trip to the Pasadena museum since April as part of a yearlong collaboration between the two institutions. The August 14 stop — from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. — is included with museum admission and gives museum-going families access to library services they might not otherwise encounter.
Visitors can sign up for a library card, check out or return books, browse flyers for upcoming library programs, and settle into an outdoor reading space set up near the van, according to the two organizations. Families who open a new library card receive $3 off Kidspace admission for up to four guests.
The collaboration places an Altadena institution inside a Pasadena landmark at a moment when the library district’s main branch is closed for renovation. The district’s main library at 600 East Mariposa Street in Altadena has been closed since February 1 for an approximately 18-month renovation — the first major overhaul of the building since architect Boyd Georgi designed it in 1967. The Bob Lucas Memorial Library and Literacy Center at 2659 Lincoln Avenue in Altadena is currently the district’s primary in-person location.
The Altadena Library District launched its first mobile library, the Curiosity Connection, in 2021 with funding from the Altadena Library Foundation. The Vol. 2 van now operating at Kidspace is equipped with a roaming Wi-Fi hotspot and a collection that includes books and items from the Library of Things, according to the library district.
The mobile library’s outreach has taken on new significance since the Eaton Fire on January 7, 2025, which destroyed more than 9,000 structures across Altadena. The main library survived and reopened less than two months later, serving as a community hub for recovery resources. The district has since partnered with hundreds of organizations to share resources and support recovery efforts, according to the library district.
Kidspace, a nonprofit children’s museum founded in 1979, sits on 3.5 acres within Brookside Park near the Rose Bowl. The museum features more than 40 hands-on exhibits and outdoor play spaces designed for children ages one through 10. General admission is $17 for adults and children, $15 for seniors 62 and older, and free for infants under one.
The Altadena Libraries’ Mobile Library at Kidspace takes place on Friday, August 14, from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Kidspace Children’s Museum, 480 North Arroyo Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91103. The mobile library visit is included with museum admission. Free parking is available in Rose Bowl Lot I, and the museum is also accessible via Metro and Pasadena Transit. For more information, call Kidspace at (626) 449-9144 or visit kidspacemuseum.org/calendar. For Altadena Library District information, call (626) 798-0833 or visit altadenalibrary.org.
While the main library on Mariposa Street sits closed for renovation, its books are still finding their way to children — one Friday at a time, one museum parking lot at a time.
