Whiterock Library
ENTRY
Free
WHERE
Belfast
What it’s like
Free rhyme time, storytime and a chess club run out of a local library with a lot more going on than shelves.
This is a library that actually puts on a proper programme rather than just letting kids loose on the picture books. Under-fours get Rhythm and Rhyme sessions with songs and stories, while four to eight-year-olds get their own storytime with different authors and books each time. Older kids have chess club to get their teeth into, or drama games and yoga if they'd rather move about, and there's a Junior Reading Group for the ones who like talking about what they've just read as much as reading it.
The one to save for a rainy afternoon is Kubo Club, where four to ten-year-olds pick up basic coding through an interactive game, no screens-are-bad lecture involved. There's also a Homework Club after school if Maths or a school project is the actual problem that day, and outdoor learning sessions for the over-eights covering things like growing plants and saving bees, which is a nice change from being sat at a desk.
Everything runs free, which for a library ought to go without saying but is still worth being glad about when you're comparing it to soft play prices. There's wifi and toilets on site. Book Week NI brings extra activities like felt-covered book making for the over-eights, and there's a monster hunt puzzle trail around the shelves for anyone who fancies solving clues rather than sitting still.
Outside normal hours, the building also runs a self-service Out of Hours Service for adults 18 and over, covering wifi, printing, study space and book borrowing on your own steam.
Facilities
Need to know
- Best for
- 0 to 11, with something different at nearly every age in between
- Kubo Club is a coding session, not a screen-time free-for-all, aimed at 4 to 10 year olds
- Homework Club runs after school for help with Maths, English and projects
- Book Week NI brings extra activities like felt-covered book making for over-eights
- The building offers an 18 plus self-service Out of Hours Service with wifi and printing
Plan your visit
Is it free to get in and join the activities?
Yes, everything through Libraries NI is free, including the events and clubs.
What's on for a toddler?
Rhythm and Rhyme sessions for 0 to 4 year olds, with songs, rhymes and stories.
Do older kids get anything to do?
Chess club for 8 plus, a Junior Reading Group for 6 plus, and drama games and yoga for 6 to 11 year olds.
Is there a coding club?
Kubo Club teaches basic coding to 4 to 10 year olds through an interactive game.
Do we need to book anything in advance?
There's no booking link listed, so it looks like these run as regular drop-in sessions.
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