Free Blood Pressure Screening at Thomas Library
NorthShore Health Center will provide blood pressure screening free to walk-in patrons at Westchester Public Library on Wednesday, February 18. Patrons may come to the Bertha Wood meeting room on the second floor of Thomas Library, 200 W. Indiana Avenue, Chesterton, between the hours of 10 am - 1 pm. Blood pressure screenings will be offered each month on the third Wednesday. Screenings are also offered at Hageman Library, 100 Francis Street, Porter, on the second Wednesday of each month from 1-4 pm.
In addition to the free blood pressure screenings, interested patrons will receive help calculating their Body Mass Index (BMI).
Blood pressure is the pressure of the blood in the circulatory system, often measured for diagnosis since it is closely related to the force and rate of the heartbeat and diameter and elasticity of the arterial walls.
For more information, call Maysha Carlson, NorthShore Outreach Coordinator, at 742-8145.
Introduction to Web Design Class at Thomas Library
Bits and Bytes will continue at Westchester Public Library with an Intro to Web Design class. Intro to Web Design will take place in the computer classroom located in the Serials/Automation Department on the second floor of Thomas Library, 200 W. Indiana Ave., Chesterton. The same class will be offered twice. An evening class will be offered on Tuesday, March 3, from 6-8 pm, and an afternoon class will be held on Thursday, March 5, from 1-3 pm. Classes are free but registration is necessary and will begin February 17.
To reserve your spot, visit or call the Serials Department or register online at http://www.wpl.lib.in.us/. Click on the Bits and Bytes link. The class is free of charge.
In this class, attendees will learn the basics of creating a web page, starting with HTML and moving up to CSS. Even if you do not know the difference between Hypertext and Hyperlink, or think CSS stands for Cups Stack Swiftly, there will be something to lean about how all websites get the look they have.
For more information or to reserve your spot in the Intro to Web Design class, please call the Serials/Automation Department at 926-7696, extension 1125.
Maker Mondays at Thomas Library
Children age 8-11 years old are invited to register for Maker Monday, a fun, creative program at Westchester Public Library. Maker Monday will be held each Monday evening during March in the Children’s Department at Thomas Library, 200 W. Indiana Avenue, Chesterton, at 6:30 pm, beginning March 9. Registration for each session of Maker Monday is necessary.
“Makerism” is learning-through-doing in a social environment. Attendees will be presented with a craft, skill, or new technology to tinker with in collaboration with other children. The emphasis is often new or unique applications of technology. Innovation and Invention are encouraged.
A new project will be offered each Monday evening. The first project will be marble mazes, followed on March 16 with catapults. On March 23, children will enjoy creating Perler bead projects. The final session on March 30 will be on open build.
For more information or to register, contact the Children’s Department at Thomas Library, 926-7696.
Intro to Crochet for Adults and YA at Thomas Library
Adults and teens are invited to Get Hooked, Westchester Public Library’s introduction to crochet series. The series will take place on four Thursdays, March 5, 12, 19, and 26, from 4-5:30 pm in the Bertha Wood meeting room at Thomas Library, 200 W. Indiana Avenue, Chesterton. Space is limited so registration is required.
Join Amber Erazo to learn the basics of crochet. Attendees will need to bring a size H hook and a skein of light colored worsted weight yarn.
Register via phone or in person at the Reference desk at Thomas Library. Call Julia Bowersox at 926-7696 for more information.
100 Book Party at Thomas Library
Children are invited to the 100 Great Books Party at Thomas Library, Westchester Public Library’s main branch located at 200 W. Indiana Avenue, Chesterton, on Saturday, February 21, from 1-2 pm. No registration is necessary – just come to the Children’s Department.
Kids, join Miss Heather for a short and fun story time. Listen as she reads a few good books. Make 100 glasses. Make and eat trail mix with 100 pieces in it.
This event is the opening reception for a new mini reading room in the Children’s Department, featuring a bookshelf of 100 Great Books to Read before You Grow Up. Chosen by children’s librarians, these 100 inspiring tales have thrilled generations of children and their parents – and are still flying off library shelves.
Attendees may take home a list of all 100 books and use their library cards to discover new worlds of wonder and adventure!
For more information or to register call the library at 926-7696.
Bookmarks at the Museum presents Station Eleven
Join Susan Swarner for Bookmarks at the Museum on Thursday, February 19, at 2 pm at the Westchester Township History Museum, 700 W. Porter Avenue, Chesterton. Swarner will review Emily St. John Mandel’s book Station Eleven. Refreshments will be served.
An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization’s collapse, Station Eleven tells the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity.
Spanning decades, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after a pandemic, this suspenseful, elegiac novel is rife with beauty. Station Eleven was a finalist for the 2014 National Book Award for Fiction.
Bookmarks takes place on the third Thursday of the month at the museum and on the third Friday of the month at Michigan City Public Library, 100 E. 4th St., Michigan City.
It is not necessary to read the book before attending. Books are available at both Thomas and Hageman Libraries.
The museum, a free cultural and educational service of Westchester Public Library, is open to the public Wednesday-Sunday from 1-5 p.m. or by appointment. Call 983-9715 for more information.
Trivia Night at the Museum
If you like trivia, you’ll love the Westchester Township History Museum’s monthly trivia program. Join your friends at the museum, 700 W. Porter Avenue, Cheserton, for Trivia Night on Tuesday, February 24, at 7 pm. No registration is necessary.
Do you know what 70s pop artist topped the Billboard charts with his one-hit wonder Kung Fu Fighting in 1974? Teams of 1-4 will test their knowledge of one-hit wonders from the 1970s and 1980s, including Kung Fu Fighting. The prize will be a $20 gift certificate from Santiago’s Restaurant in Porter.
Space is limited, so come early!
The Westchester Township History Museum is a free educational and cultural service of Westchester Public Library and is open to the public free of charge Wednesday-Sunday from 1-5 p.m. or by appointment. For more information please call the museum at 983-9715.
Saturday Movie at Hageman: The BoxTrolls
Westchester Public Library’s monthly film series, Saturday Movies at Hageman, will continue on Saturday, February 21, with The BoxTrolls. Come to Hageman Library, 100 Francis Street, Porter, at 2 pm. Library films are free of charge and open to the public.
The BoxTrolls are a community of mischievous creatures who have lovingly raised an orphaned human boy named Eggs in the cavernous home they’ve built beneath the streets of Cheesebridge. Archibald Snatcher, town villain, comes up with a plot to get rid of The BoxTrolls. Eggs ventures above ground where he meets up with feisty Winnie. Together, they devise a daring plan to save his friends.
Enjoy free popcorn while watching the movie.
The BoxTrolls is rated PG and has a running time of 96 minutes. Copies of the movie will be available for check out at Hageman Library and Thomas Library, 200 W. Indiana Avenue, Chesterton, after the showing.
For more information, call Hageman Library at 926-9080.