Image

Title

Library of Things

Body

What is it? The Library of Things is a collection of items you might not expect to find at a library, like museum passes, induction cooktops, microscopes, guitars, and more. Most of these items check out for three weeks, although there are some items that check out for only one week. After you are finished, please return them to an SBPL staff member. Do not use the book drop for returns (many of these items, like the musical instruments, will not fit in our book drops!).

Sections

[ expand/close all ]

Museum & Park Passes

Moxi Pass

Check out a Moxi membership card to cover the admission of two adults (18+) and up to three children (17 and under) at the museum. Pass checks out for one week. Visit moxi.org to plan your trip.

Reserve a Moxi Pass

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Pass

Check out a Santa Barbara Botanic Garden pass to cover the admission for two adults and any children under the age of 18 accompanying them. Pass checks out for one week. Plan your trip by visiting sbbg.org.

Reserve a Botanic Garden Pass

California State Park Pass

Check out a vehicle day-use California State Park Pass to visit 200+ state parks with family and friends. Pass checks out for one week. Visit California State Parks Library Pass to learn more!

Reserve a California State Park Pass

Science & Technology

Oculus Go

Virtual reality is an exciting way to explore and play. Explore space, play ping pong, meet lions, or ride a roller coaster. This kit includes hand held control and headset.Further information can be found at:

Oculus Website

Reserve Oculus Go

Cubelets

Use these robot blocks to learn "tactile coding" and "distributed coding". The black blocks are sensing blocks that control the clear action blocks. The red blocks are current blockers, green are neutral, and the grey blocks are the power. You can build all sorts of little robots with these cubes! Visit modrobotics.com to learn how to use Cubelets or find lesson plans.

Be sure to charge your power cube between uses! Have fun!

Reserve Cubelets

Brain Teaser Puzzles

Train your mind with this collection of fun puzzles! Kit includes 1 Rubik's cube, 2 Burr puzzles, 1 Star puzzle, 1 Barrel puzzle, 1 Sphere puzzle, 2 Cube puzzles, and 1 Globe puzzle.

Reserve Brain Teaser Puzzles

Laser & Circuit Mazes

Embark on a laser mission and also learn how circuits work in this pair of fun STEM games. These logic games have a variety of difficulty levels to sharpen your mind.

Reserve Laser & Circuit Mazes

Playaway Launchpads

These learning tablets are preloaded with learning apps and videos grouped by age level and are ready to play. These tablets do not connect to the internet, making the Playaway Launchpad the safest tablet experience for young learners.

Reserve a Launchpad

Birding Kit

Includes two sets of binoculars, one child size and one full size, as well as a book of North American birds. There are so many places to bird watch around Santa Barbara!

Reserve a Birding Kit

Telescope

Stargazing is an activity that the whole family can enjoy! The Celestron AstroMaster 114EQ is a newtonian telescope that is both powerful and user-friendly. It features fully-coated glass optics, a sturdy and lightweight frame, two eyepieces, a StarPointer red dot finderscope and an adjustable tripod. Setup is quick and easy, with no tools required.

Reserve a Telescope

Microscope

Includes microscope with light and multiple settings and a National Geographic slide pack of plant and animal tissues. Observe cells, practice your scientific method, and collect samples from your surroundings for inspection!

Reserve a Microscope

Cricut

Create your own designs digitally and upload them to the Cricut machine to make amazing projects! You’ll need some of your own supplies, such as cardstock, leather, or sticker paper to create things like pop up cards, personalized stickers, T-shirt iron-ons, wood signs and more. Navigate to Cricut.com to learn more and get started with designs.

Cricut Design Space is free online for you to upload and create your designs. You'll need to download it and create a Cricut ID. You can also buy premade designs or find Friday freebies on Cricut Access.

Reserve Cricut

Crafts, Cooking, & More

Music

Yes, you can borrow musical instruments from the library! SBPL has several different types of instruments to choose from, from ukuleles to acoustic or electric guitars.

Adventure Packs

[ expand/close all ]

Early Literacy Kits

Play Kits

Leveled Reading Kits

Alzheimer & Dementia Kits

Easy to use games and activities to promote memory recall during various stages of Alzheimer's and dementia. Funded by the California State Library.

Borrowing Policy

Library of Things is made up of items meant to be used in hands on STEAM learning. Discover a new skill, explore a concept, and engage in learning.

Library of Things items check out for 3 weeks subject to normal renewal periods. Patrons are responsible for damaged or lost items. This includes repair or replacement costs. By checking out and taking possession of any item in the Library of Things collection, the patron agrees to this policy, as follows:The Library of Things equipment may be used only for lawful purposes. Patrons are prohibited from using the equipment to create material that is:

a) Prohibited by local, state or federal law.

b) Unsafe, harmful, dangerous or poses an immediate threat to the well-being of self or others (such use may violate the terms of use of the manufacturer).

c) In violation of another’s intellectual property rights. For example, the equipment may not be used to reproduce material that is subject to copyright, patent, or trademark protection.

d) Patrons shall not modify the Maker Kit hardware or software (except open source), or install malware onto the equipment.

e) The Library is not responsible for any damage to a patron’s personal materials or files, or for any manufacturing defects.

f) Any work saved on Library equipment will be deleted and cannot be recovered. Patrons must save their files on an external storage device.

g) The Library is not responsible for any injuries and/or other losses caused by use of Library of Things equipment.

h) The Library reserves the right to deny access to Library of Things equipment if a patron violates any part of the Library of Things Policy, Library Rules of Conduct, or misuses the equipment as determined by the Library staff.

i) Users of Library of Things are responsible to pay charges or fees for damage or loss, which may be valued and billed to the User's Santa Barbara Public Library account.

j) By checking out and taking possession of any item in the Library of Things, the patron is certifying that s/he is capable of using that item in a safe and proper manner.

California State Parks Info

Library of Things

Kits

This is the prefooter section

Santa Barbara Public Library

Stay Connected