Have an adventure with your Library during the 50th anniversary of our 2024 Summer Adventure presented by Children's Hospital Colorado! This year, anyone of any age can participate and win prizes through reading, creating, and exploring. You can read, participate in one of our programs, or use one of our activity ideas!
Survey
Finished with the program? Please take our survey and answer a few questions to make next year’s program even better!
Click here for group registration information. Group registration is NOT recommended for families. A group must be five or more participants. Have more questions about Beanstack? Email beanstackhelp@ppld.org.
Receive a reminder email at the start of Summer Adventure and throughout June and July for summer programs, activities, and more. You can unsubscribe at any time.
You can track your progress on the Beanstack app, pick up a game card at any Library location, or click here to download and print a physical game card from home!
How to play
Register on Beanstack at ppld.beanstack.org, on the app, or in person at your favorite Library location!
Complete 30 days of activities (either Read, Explore, or Create) from Fri., May 31 – Wed., July 31.
Track your progress on the game card tracker or by logging a day in Beanstack for each day you complete an activity.
Complete the program after 30 days of activities and challenge yourself to complete the bonus round! Keep reading to earn additional entries into the grand prize drawing. Receive one extra entry (up to four) for each additional five days of activities you complete. See below for a list of grand prizes!
If you need assistance, call (719) 531-6333 or visit ppld.org/ask
Prizes
Participants receive an age-appropriate prize upon registration and another after completing 30 days of Read, Explore, and/or Create activities. Prizes are available until Wed., July 31 or while supplies last. Earn up to four additional entries into the grand prize drawings by completing bonus rounds of five extra days of activities each.
Registration Prize:
Ages 0 - 11: A choice of book
Ages 12 - 18: A choice of book or journal
Ages 19+: An entry into the grand prize drawing
Completion Prize:
Ages 0 - 3: A bath toy & entry into the grand prize drawing
Ages 4 - 11: A reading award medal and entry into the grand prize drawing
Ages 12 - 18: A choice of book or journal and entry into the grand prize drawing
You can pick up your prizes at your favorite Library location. Prize options may vary as supplies last. Open hours and specific services may vary by Library location, so please check in advance.
Grand Prize Drawing
Thanks to our generous sponsors, we have some exciting grand prizes that will be awarded to our lucky winners this year!
Enjoy a private movie theater screening party for up to 30 people at Roadhouse Cinemas, complete with free drinks and popcorn.
Four premium seats to see the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC along with a cool goodie bag of Switchbacks gear!
In addition to the private movie screening and Switchbacks tickets, we have lots of excellent prizes you could win, including:
One-year family membership for the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum
$50 SCHEELS gift card
Win a 10-pack of free skate passes to Skate City
Family four-pack tickets to Pikes Peak – America’s Mountain (peak season passes)
Pass for laser tag/arcade games at Main Event
One-hour of bowling, plus shoes at Main Event
One-year membership for the Fine Arts Center at Colorado College
Date night movie pass for two, popcorn, and $10 to spend in the arcade at Roadhouse Cinemas
Light Victorian Tea for two guests at Miramont Castle
Tour for four guests at Miramont Castle
Chuckwagon Supper and Original Western Stage Show for four guests at Flying W Ranch
A cool waterproof outdoor adventure backpack with swag from Pikes Peak Regional Attractions
Family four-pack tickets to ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum
Thanks to our generous prize sponsors
More Fun: Zoom Backgrounds
Enliven your Zoom or other virtual conversations with Summer Adventure digital backgrounds: Download below!
Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD) is excited to announce the call for submissions for All Pikes Peak Writes! All Pikes Peak Writes is PPLD’s annual fiction writing contest for ages 12 and older+ and seeks to highlight writers in our community through one competition. There are three categories, based on age group: Ages 12 - 18, Ages 19 - 24, and Ages 25 and up. Please see the guidelines, rules for entry, and submission form for each category below.
Submissions will be accepted from June 3 through 9 p.m. on July 26, 2024.
Eligibility:
All Pikes Peak Writes is open to El Paso County residents ages 12 and older.
Judging:
Entries will be judged on following category guidelines, quality of writing, use of language, plot development and resolution, believable characters, and correct punctuation, grammar, and spelling.
Awards:
Prizes will be awarded for first, second, and third place entries in each category. Winners will be announced in late August.
We will notify participants in late August if they have won an award.
Are you publishing the digital anthology again?
Yes! We will be publishing the top three stories in all categories (ages 12 - 18, ages 19 - 24, and ages 25 and up).
Will I get feedback for my work?
Yes! You will receive a copy of the judges’ comments after the competition has concluded.
Do I have to submit my story online?
Yes. To better facilitate the process, we are requiring all stories be submitted digitally. You can stop by any PPLD location to use one of our computers to submit your story ahead of the deadline.
Ages 12 - 18
The Challenge: Write a story, up to 2,500 words, starting with the opening line: “And... go!”
Guidelines:
Ages 12 - 18 only.
Must be a resident of El Paso County, Colorado.
Word count must not exceed 2,500 words, not including title. Word count will be established using Microsoft Word. Points will be automatically deducted from the total score of the piece if the word count exceeds 2,500 words.
Stories must be original, previously unpublished works.
Stories must include a title page with the title and author’s name. The author’s name should not appear anywhere else on the document.
Stories must be typed. Formatting should be double-spaced and in 12-point Times New Roman or Calibri font with the title and page number in the upper right-hand corner of each page.
Only one entry per person.
Participants must fill out the form and submit their story below by July 26, 2024 at 9 p.m. The file format should be PDF, .doc, or.docx. If you need help converting a file to one of these formats, please visit a Library location for assistance ahead of the deadline.
Failure to follow the guidelines will result in disqualification.
Write a story, up to 3,500 words, starting with the opening line: “And... go!”
Guidelines:
Ages 19 - 24 only
Must be a resident of El Paso County, Colorado.
Word count must not exceed 3,500 words, not including title. Word count will be established using Microsoft Word. Points will be automatically deducted from the total score of the piece if the word count exceeds 3,500 words.
Stories must be original, previously unpublished works.
Stories must include a title page with title and author’s name. The author’s name should not appear anywhere else on the document.
Stories must be typed. Formatting should be double-spaced and in 12-point Times New Roman or Calibri font with the title and page number in the upper right-hand corner of each page.
Only one entry per person.
Participants must fill out the form and submit their story below by July 26, 2024 at 9 p.m. The file format should be PDF, .doc, or.docx. If you need help converting a file, please visit a Library location for assistance ahead of the deadline.
Failure to follow the guidelines will result in disqualification.
Write an original fiction story of up to 3,500 words. Entries in this category do not need to use the assigned opening line from the other categories.
Guidelines for entry:
Ages 25 and older.
Must be a resident of El Paso County, Colorado .
Word count must not exceed 3,500 words. Word count will be established using Microsoft Word. Points will automatically be deducted from the total score of the piece if the word count exceeds 3,500 words.
Stories must be original, previously unpublished works.
Stories must include a title page with title and author’s name. The author’s name should not appear anywhere else on the document.
Stories must be typed. Formatting should be double-spaced and in 12-point Times New Roman or Calibri font with the title and page number in the upper right-hand corner of each page.
Only one entry per person.
Participants must fill out the form and submit their story by July 26, 2024 at 9 p.m. The file format should be PDF, .doc, or .docx. If you need help converting a file, please visit a Library location for assistance ahead of the deadline.
Failure to follow the guidelines will result in disqualification.
Caribbean American Heritage Month in June celebrates the rich culture and heritage of Caribbean Americans. Learn more about their many contributions and influences on the United States of America with the resources, booklists, and websites on this page. (You must have a library card that starts with a 4 to access databases on this page outside of a Library location.)
Use this guide as a starting place for finding information about countries and cultures from around the world within our collection at Pikes Peak Library District.
A compilation of current information on cultural, geographic, and political conditions in 193 countries and their cities covering six continents, based on the Department of State's Post Reports. Maps and photos of many cities included.
Celebrate the rich diversity of languages spoken throughout the Caribbean by learning a new language using Mango Languages. From Haitian Creole, Dutch, French, Spanish, and more! There are more than 70 languages to choose from including English as a Second Language (ESL).
Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers provides an as-it-happened window to events, culture, and daily life in nineteenth-century America. With 1.8 million pages available, the collection features publications of all kinds, from the political party newspapers at the beginning of the nineteenth century to the mammoth dailies that shaped the nation at the century's end.
This comprehensive news collection covers issues and events at the local, regional, national, and international level. Its diverse source types include print and online-only newspapers, blogs, newswires, journals, broadcast transcripts, and videos.
Newspaper Archive contains tens of millions of newspaper pages from 1607 to present. Every newspaper in the archive is fully searchable by keyword and date, making it easy for you to quickly explore historical content.
U.S. Major Dailies provides access to The New York Times, Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and Chicago Tribune. The current day’s content is available by 8 a.m. each day.
In this engaging resource, scroll to explore some of the notable contributions and influences of Caribbean people on Black history and culture in America.
The National Archives has a wide variety of records relating to the history of Caribbean Americans. Explore these records through the National Archives Catalog and additional resources on Archives.gov.
