Fall Preschool Programs at the Banneker Center

With the end of our busy summer camp, it's time to start the late summer/fall programming season at Banneker!


Beginning Monday, July 31st 

Building Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday


Preschool Toy Time: Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to noon; Free

Enjoy our spacious third floor play area. Kids love all the toys, while adults appreciate the free indoor play space and a chance to socialize with other grownups.

Physical Fridays Gym Play: Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to noon; Free

Balls, hula hoops, riding toys, and more appear in the Banneker gym on Friday mornings. Let's run around and burn off some energy!



Preschool Storytime: Mondays from 10-11 a.m. on the 3rd floor
Free; for kids ages 2-5 with an adult

Stories, rhymes, music, and movement make up our 30 minute circle time, followed by a craft and other extension activities.

BabyTime Songs and Stories: Wednesdays from 11-11:30 a.m. on the 3rd floor
Free; for kids under 2 with an adult

Tickles, bounces, and rhymes with baby on your lap. We'll explore books with all our senses, make music, and end with bubbles and a parachute.

Coming Soon

NEW! Preschool Picassos 
Young artists explore the joy of creativity with colors, shapes, and different artistic media. Each meeting includes a short circle time and a story related to the theme.
For kids ages 3-5 with an adult
Thursdays, October 12th - November 16th from 10-11 a.m.
$30 in city/ $35 outside city; register online at bloomington.in.gov/parks



Monthly Evening Family Events
For kids ages 2-7 with adult 
Games, crafts, storytime, and a snack in the Banneker gym.
$5 per family; register online at bloomington.in.gov/parks

Friday, September 8th: Banneker Drive-In
Help your youngster build a cardboard car and enjoy a real live drive-in movie, complete with snacks. Kids may take their cars home with them!

Friday, October 27th: Not-So-Scary Halloween Party
Dress in costume for a howling good time! Hear kid-friendly scary stories, make creepy crafts, play ghoulish games, jam to monster music, and of course, get a Halloween treat!

Friday, November 17th: Mad Scientist Extravaganza
Sensory activities turn the Banneker gym into a science laboratory! Help your little one become a mad scientist with fun experiments, games, and learning more about states of matter.

Friday, December 15th: Candy Cane Hunt
It's cold outside, but it's nice and warm inside the Banneker Community Center. Bring your little ones to celebrate the winter season with candy cane crafts, fun winter games, and snacks.

Banneker Summer Schedule Changes

If you are a regular user of the Banneker Community Center, please note the summer schedule information below. I also want to share a little about why these changes are necessary during the summer.

Starting June 5th, the Banneker Center will be instituting summer hours. The facility hours will be shortened, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Please also note that the building will be closed entirely on Memorial Day (May 30) and Independence Day (July 4).

The 3rd floor play space hours will also be shortened, with drop-in preschool playtime from 9-11 a.m. and from 5-7 p.m. Monday-Friday. Outside of those hours, the 3rd floor will not be available.

School year programs such as storytimes and Physical Fridays open gym are not available during the summer.

Why the changes? During June and July, Banneker operates a summer day camp and food service program for low-income families. Most days there are between 60 and 85 school-aged kids attending the camp. Both space and staff are stretched to the limit. At certain points during the day, camp staff must utilize the 3rd floor space.

It can be challenging when very young children and their parents have to share space with older, more energetic campers. The intention with the new hours is for there to be no overlap between these two groups of users in the 3rd floor space.

Why are there no storytimes? I'll be serving as librarian to the school-aged campers. Part of their schedule every day is a Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) time. As part of that, I will be planning and presenting a storytime or literature-based program to different groups of campers every day, as well as handling all book selection and circulation duties. I simply can't fit any other programs into my schedule.

Regular hours and preschool programming will resume Monday, July 31st.

As you begin to plan your summer, here are some special summertime offerings from Banneker and Bloomington Parks & Recreation.


At Banneker:

Backyard Beach Parties! (FREE, drop-in, ages 5 and under)

• Friday, June 16th, 10:00-11:30 a.m. 
• Friday, July 14th, 10:00-11:30 a.m.

Put bathing suits on the kids and bring a towel, because they'll be getting wet and sandy!

At other Parks facilities:

Turf Time for Toddlers ($5/child or free for Twin Lakes members, for ages 1-6 w/parent)

• Ongoing, Tuesdays & Thursdays, 9:30-10:30 a.m. at Twin Lakes Recreation Center

Summer Sampler (FREE, drop-in, all ages)

Celebrate the official start of summer! Visit with a whole slew of community organizations about the fabulous events they have cooked up for the community to enjoy. Food will be available.

• Friday, May 26th, 5:30-9:00 p.m. at Bryan Park
• 5:30 - live kids' music with Kid Kazooey
• 6:00-8:00 - active games at Play Day celebration
• 7:15 - live Blues music with Kari Ray
• 9:00 - Movie Finding Dory in Bryan Park Pool ($2 admission to the pool)

Bike Rodeo (FREE, drop-in, ages 4-12 w/parent)

• Saturday, June 3rd, 10:00 a.m. - 12 noon at Fairview Elementary Playground
• Please bring your own bike, as only a few extra bikes will be available

Touch a Truck ($1/person, drop-in, geared toward ages 1-10)

• Wednesday, June 14th, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at Winslow Sports Complex
• Rain date June 15th, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Messy Mania ($5/child, drop-in, ages 1-8 w/parent)

• Tuesday, July 11th, 9:00 a.m. - 12 noon at Bryan Park Henderson Shelter
• Wear old clothes and prepare to get messy while enjoying ooey, gooey fun!

Other Parks & Rec activities for children include swimming and other sports lessons; summer camps; arts camps; nature hikes and more. See the Parks and Recreation Program Guide for more information.