TUESDAY
27
OCTOBER
The Ember ListDC area
Arts & crafts for kids in the DC area this week
We reviewed 6,000+ Washington-area events and found 154 craft & maker events in the DC area between October 27 and November 2. Last updated October 27, 2026.
All craft & maker events in the DC area — October 27 – November 2
Spooky-season storytime with Halloween costumes and a haunted craft at Lamond‑Riggs/Lillian J. Huff Neighborhood Library, ages 5 and under.
Free Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets screening on a big screen at the Beltsville library, with a craft activity, for ages 5 and up.
Interactive story followed by themed art crafting at Hyattsville, engaging children in creative play, ages 5 and under.
Build, test, and play with airplane models while learning flight science at Rust Library, Leesburg, for ages 5–10.
Pokemon cards are traded, library decks borrowed, and monthly Pokémon crafts made in the Chantilly Regional Library meeting room, for ages 5–10.
Paint and decorate a pumpkin with supplied paints, decorations and snacks, pumpkins handed out first‑come, first‑served at Chevy Chase Neighborhood Library, for ages 5–12.
Crafty Kids at Glencarlyn Library offers arts exploration, seasonal Hispanic, Native American, and winter crafts with all materials provided, no registration, first‑come, first‑served seating, ages 5–10.
Socialize, play games, and create windchimes or other STEM projects at New Carrollton, changing activities each session, for ages 5–12.
Sip and Paint: Monster Paintings (New Carrollton) — Paint a silly monster while sipping a kid‑friendly drink, no experience required, for ages 5 and up.
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Students design superhero identities and build gear using cardboard, circuits, textiles, and laser cutting at the KID Museum, for ages 7–9.
Make bracelets and necklaces while meeting new friends at the Charles E. Beatley Jr. Central Library, Alexandria, for ages 3–12.
Pumpkin Decorating Contest (Parklands‑Turner Neighborhood Library) — participants receive pumpkins to paint and craft into favorite book characters, displayed for community voting, ages 5+.
Pumpkin painting at Long Branch Library lets participants paint and decorate their own pumpkin with supplied materials, taking it home afterward, ages 5–13.
Make sock puppets with assorted materials at Benning Dorothy I. Height Neighborhood Library, ages 5 and up.
Building fun with LEGOs, KEVA planks, and other materials in the Campbell Room at Shirlington Library for all ages.
LEGO bricks, KEVA planks and other building materials spark creativity in the Birch Conference Room, Courthouse Library, Arlington, for ages 5–10.
Freestyle lego building session at Fairmount Heights offers abundant pieces for imaginative construction, letting participants design freely, for ages 5–12.
Ghost hunt through Hirshhorn galleries solving the mystery of footprints in Annette Lemieux’s 1988 Nomad, followed by read‑aloud, felt play and art project, for ages 6 and under.
Doodle, sketch, and watch comics projected on the big screen in the Library Program Room, hosted by librarian/artist Dave Burbank, all ages.
Sketchbook Club: Cecilia Beaux’s Sita and Sarita (National Gallery of Art) — Hands‑on activities exploring the artwork.
Ashburn Library hosts Diwali Crafts where participants make diyas, rangoli, and other holiday crafts while learning about the Festival of Lights, ages 5–10.
Hands‑on crocheting workshop at Oxon Hill lets beginners and seasoned stitchers explore techniques and create projects, for ages 5 and up.
WEDNESDAY
28
OCTOBER
Fall Festival on Woodrow Wilson Plaza (Ronald Reagan Building) — pumpkin decorating, hay bale maze, face painting, balloon twisting, stilt walkers, live DJ music, complimentary cider, all ages, free.
Spooky-season storytime with Halloween costumes and a haunted craft at Lamond‑Riggs/Lillian J. Huff Neighborhood Library, ages 5 and under.
Inventors workshop at the American History Museum’s Spark!Lab invites ages 6–12 to create, collaborate, test, and experiment using STEM, art, and history.
Adults and toddlers explore nature with arts‑and‑crafts, hikes, story times, messy moments and animal warm‑up stretches at Brookside Nature Center, ages 3–4.
LEGO Construction and Duplo Too! (Connie Morella Library) — Building sessions with supplied LEGO and Duplo pieces, imagination encouraged, ages 3–10, adult accompaniment required for under 8.
Pumpkin painting at Rosedale Neighborhood Library, Washington, with 11 a.m. session for ages 5‑8 and 4:30 p.m. session for ages 9‑12, for ages 5–12.
LEGO Construction Crew and Duplos Too (Marilyn J. Praisner Library) — Build with supplied LEGO and Duplo pieces in the meeting room, imagination required, ages 3–10.
Decorate a paper cape, drop it into the Hero or Villain bowl, and watch the battle unfold at Ashburn Library, ages 10 and under.
LEGO Club at Northeast Neighborhood Library lets kids 5–12 build cars, candy, custom houses and test designs in the large meeting room.
Drop‑in after school, create and build with library‑provided LEGO bricks in the Kingstowne Regional Library meeting room, for ages 5–10.
Music and cotton‑ball ghost crafting in the Lower Level Conference Room at Mary Riley Styles Public Library, Falls Church, for ages 5–11.
Grind corn, shape clay pots, craft corn darts, and tour Huntley Meadows through a Virginia Indian perspective.
Weekly STEM Challenge at Parklands‑Turner Neighborhood Library offers hands‑on LEGO, building cubes, circuits and craft projects for ages 5–12.
Seasonal crafts created weekly with varied methods and materials in the Meeting Room (Ground Floor) at Southeast Neighborhood Library, for ages 5–12.
Pumpkin Decorating Contest (Parklands‑Turner Neighborhood Library) — participants receive pumpkins to paint and craft into favorite book characters, displayed for community voting, ages 5+.
Freestyle lego building session offers plenty of pieces and endless possibilities for imagination to lead, held in Beltsville, for ages 5–12.
Freestyle lego building session with abundant pieces lets imaginations lead at Baden in Brandywine, for ages 5–12.
LEGO Club in the Children's room offers creativity and building amazing LEGO creations, ages 5–12.
Build, create, and explore with legos, using plenty of pieces and endless possibilities, letting imaginations lead in a freestyle building session for ages 5–12.
Sketchbook Club: Cecilia Beaux’s Sita and Sarita (National Gallery of Art) — Hands‑on activities exploring the artwork.
Explore arts and make crafts with library‑provided materials in the Quincy Room, first‑come, first‑served seating, no registration required, ages 5–10.
Learn to knit with experienced knitters, all supplies provided, meeting weekly on Wednesdays, participants may start any week, for ages 3–18.
THURSDAY
29
OCTOBER
Pumpkin decoration craft with spooky music and snacks in the Large Meeting Room at Southwest Neighborhood Library, for ages 5–12.
Spooky stories, crafts, games, music and contests fill the Monster Mash Party at Parklands‑Turner Neighborhood Library, ages 19 and under.
Treats, snacks, games and crafts on the library’s patio, moving indoors if it rains, optional costumes encouraged, for ages 12 and under.
Music, a movie, crafts, a photobooth, and snacks fill the Bellevue Library’s Main Meeting Room for the Annual Harvest Festival, ages 5–12.
Halloween party on the library’s fifth floor features storytime, crafts, snacks, a movie, and a costume parade beginning at 4:30 PM, for ages 13 and under.
Trick-or-Treat at Ashburn Library offers candy, activities, and crafts for kids in Halloween costumes, ages 10 and under.
Costumed Halloween skating with a parade, plus crafts and treats in party rooms at Wheaton Ice Arena, for ages 5 and under.
Monster Mash at Capitol View Neighborhood Library offers music, Evil Laugh Winners announcement, Art Vote, teen “Thriller” dance‑off and 4:30 pm story‑time, costumes encouraged, for ages 19 and under.
Hands‑on nature exploration, stories, songs, and crafts themed around monarch butterflies and Día de los Muertos at Mount Rainier Nature Center, for ages 2–5.
Inventors workshop at the American History Museum’s Spark!Lab invites ages 6–12 to create, collaborate, test, and experiment using STEM, art, and history.
Creepy crafts and ghoulish games fill the Halloween Spooktacular at Brambleton Library, with a YouTube channel subscription option for more programs, for ages 5–10.
LEGO Construction Crew and Duplo Too! (Olney Library) — Build with supplied LEGO and Duplo pieces in the meeting room Thursday afternoons, imagination required, ages 3–13.
Toddlers dip fingers and toes into art, exploring shapes, color, and texture with simple, messy projects; wear play clothes or bring a smock, for ages 1–5.
Halloween fun in the library’s large meeting room includes mini pumpkin decorating on a first‑come, first‑served basis, with costumes encouraged, for ages 19 and under.
Spooky Halloween craft hour at Petworth Neighborhood Library features pumpkin decorating and bookmark making, for ages 19 and under.
Arts, books, and crafts explored through themed activities in the Aurora Hills Library Eads Room, featuring seasonal topics like Hispanic Heritage Month and Banned Books Week, for ages 5–10.
LEGO Creators (Purcellville Library) — Building challenges encourage imagination with friends and a caregiver, for ages 10 and under.
Participants use tempra paint and brushes to mark recycled cardboard panels on a drop‑clothed floor, collaborating with an instructor in meeting room #2, for ages 12 and under.
A new weekly craft project unfolds in the Children’s Reading Room (2nd floor) at Northeast Neighborhood Library, using varied methods and materials, for ages 3‑10.
Decorate a paper cape, drop it into the Hero or Villain bowl, and watch the battle unfold at Ashburn Library, ages 10 and under.
Participants build a Peacock Fiber‑Optic Lamp using a STEM kit, exploring light transmission, fiber optics and engineering while creating a colorful light‑up tail, supplies limited for ages 5–10.
Create a custom Halloween candy bag using sublimation prints and a heat press at Gum Spring Library, limit one bag per person, supplies limited, ages 5 and up.
LEGO Lab at Anacostia Neighborhood Library offers hands‑on building, designing and testing LEGO creations that encourage science exploration, for ages 5–12.
Teens lead projects at the Charles E. Beatley Jr. Central Library, building batteries, shaking robots, Play‑Doh circuits, homopolar motors, wire games, light‑up bugs, materials provided for ages 3–12.
The Art of Illusion (Cascades Library) — Test perceptions with optical illusion stations, craft straight‑line curves, and assemble a kaleidoscope, ages 5–10.
Studio A hosts a Halloween costume craft session at Adele H. Stamp Student Union where participants bring ideas and use supplies to make masks, outfits, or costume elements.
Hand sewing basics taught by a local sewist and children librarian, with lessons on stitches, mending, and button repair at Chevy Chase Neighborhood Library, for ages 8–12.
A 45‑minute reading of W.W. Jacobs’ eerie classic “The Monkey’s Paw” followed by a DIY spooky terrarium you can take home at Laurel Leaf; tickets required.
Kings Park Library hosts a Halloween paper quilling class where participants shape paper, select wooden backgrounds, and optionally turn creations into magnets, ages 8+.
FRIDAY
30
OCTOBER
Boo-Fest at Charles Houston Recreation Center features a costume parade, carnival games, moon bounce, arts and crafts, and spooky stories, all ages.
Costumed participants enjoy themed read‑aloud stories, songs, rhymes, fingerplays, flannel boards and a craft activity at Aurora Hills Senior Center for all ages.
Costumes, crafts, games, candy, and a spooky sensory challenge await at Lovettsville Library, for ages 10 and under.
Halloween Pop-up Fun at Thomas Jefferson Library offers a creepy bat craft, monster scavenger hunt, and costume treat, for ages 3–10 and 13–18.
Exciting games, a spooky haunted house, arts and crafts, snacks, and prize draws await at the Family October Fest, Patrick Henry Recreation Center, for all ages.
Inventors workshop at the American History Museum’s Spark!Lab invites ages 6–12 to create, collaborate, test, and experiment using STEM, art, and history.
Whip up witch's brew, vampire bloodbath, or creepy‑crawly slime, customizing colors and adding eyeballs or insects, at Sherwood Regional Library’s Meeting Room, for ages 5–10.
Family Fun Fridays at Riverbend Park’s Nature Center offers books, crafts, games, microscope exploration, puzzles, sandbox digging, and hourly naturalist read‑alouds, all ages.
LEGO Construction Crew and Duplos Too! (Quince Orchard Library) — Building with supplied LEGO and Duplo pieces in the meeting room each Friday afternoon, for ages 1–10.
Diwali story followed by diyas decorating and rangoli sand art at Germantown Library, free for ages 3–10.
Astronaut Karen Nyberg and co‑author Ann McCallum Staats present a story time with interactive reading and star‑making, followed by a book signing at the museum store.
Mini Makers (Purcellville Library) — Self‑directed activity stations let children explore, build, and learn at their own pace, ages 5 and under.
Family Storytime at Maggie Nightingale Library — diverse stories, language‑building activities, and a craft project for children ten and under.
Building, making, playing games, and winning prizes after school at Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch Library for ages 8–13.
Builders Free Play (Middleburg Library) — Practice construction skills and imagination using LEGO bricks and other building kits, ages 10 and under.
Decorate a paper cape, drop it into the Hero or Villain bowl, and watch the battle unfold at Ashburn Library, ages 10 and under.
Bat Walk at the Bend (Riverbend Park) — Educational scavenger hunt through woods about bats, ending with a handcrafted bat decoration, ages 5 and up.
A 45‑minute reading of Bram Stoker’s eerie classic “Dracula’s Guest” followed by a hands‑on spooky terrarium design to take home at Laurel Leaf.
SATURDAY
31
OCTOBER
Trick or Treat at Tudor Place offers treats, costumes, coffee, cider, crafts, games and face‑painting outdoors, rain or shine; Member child $15, child $20, adult $10, for ages 3–13.
Halloween fun at Glen Echo Park features Trick‑or‑Treat bag decorating, crafts, a fall photo‑op, costume contest, studio Trick‑or‑Treating, music by the Washington Conservatory of Music, and free admission.
Halloween bingo sessions, games, crafts and other activities fill Oakton Library’s conference and meeting rooms, with costumes encouraged, ages 10 and under and 13 and up.
Storytelling, spooky crafts, and a sneak peek of The Woodsman by West Springfield High School at Pohick Regional Library, for ages 10 and under and 13 and up.
Pick a pumpkin from the water, craft a project, and receive a festive goodie bag at Chinquapin Park Recreation Center, with 45‑minute slots, all ages.
Wheaton Library hosts a Not-So-Spooky Storytime with Halloween songs, stories, a craft activity, and a costume parade for ages 5 and under.
Make a Halloween craft, trick‑or‑treat, and enjoy refreshments at Middleburg Library, for all ages.
Dia de los Muertos Festival at Cielo Rojo features flash tattoos, tarot readings, face painting, papel picado making, local vendors, and an ofrenda where attendees bring labeled photos.
Bingo sessions at 1:00 and 2:00, plus games, crafts, and other activities throughout Oakton Library, with costumes encouraged, for ages 10 and under and 13 and up.
Spooky stamps, hands‑on art, a museum‑wide costume parade, and a Wizard of Oz stamp station where participants design a Toto costume at the National Postal Museum.
Story time with spacesuit technician and author Sharon McDougle at the Air and Space Museum includes a spacesuit craft activity and a book signing.
Inventors workshop at the American History Museum’s Spark!Lab invites ages 6–12 to create, collaborate, test, and experiment using STEM, art, and history.
Halloween crafts, candy, and face painting fill an afternoon at Pinstripes, with kids encouraged to wear costumes.
Music, face painting, and sugar‑skull crafting stations teach Día de los Muertos traditions at Germantown Library, free for ages 1–17.
Artist Playground: Halloween Edition (Herndon Fortnightly Maker Lab) — Themed Halloween craft and coloring page session, materials provided, for ages 3–10.
Pumpkin Decorating Workshop at Anacostia Community Museum’s Program Room offers painting pumpkins with bold patterns, whimsical characters, abstract designs, or dried‑flower adornments; all materials provided, all ages.
Hands‑on art‑making projects at Moonshot Studio, The REACH, Kennedy Center, celebrate creativity, for all ages.
Craft and experiment with a naturalist, exploring new pumpkin uses and getting messy at Burke Lake Park, for ages 4–18.
Dance performances, live Catrinas, paper marigold making, papel picado demos, pan de muerto baking, and a butterfly memorial arch fill the American Indian Museum, Washington, for all ages.
Legos and blocks are available for building creative creations at Capitol View Neighborhood Library, ages 12 and under.
At Temple Hall Farm, participants pick a pumpkin in the field, decorate it with crafters using acrylic paint pens, and leave with their finished pumpkin; $5 fee.
Decorate a paper cape, drop it into the Hero or Villain bowl, and watch the battle unfold at Ashburn Library, ages 10 and under.
Pumpkin painting at Shepherd Park Neighborhood Library offers pumpkin decorating and Fall celebration for ages 5–12.
Free drop-in art program at the Portrait Gallery’s Education Center explores rotating mediums and occasional guest‑artist workshops, for all ages.
Pumpkins are explored with treats and a take‑home craft at Long Branch Nature Center.
Monthly LEGO challenge at Little Falls Library invites ages 5–10 to build and display a masterpiece in the children’s room; siblings welcome, adults must accompany a child.
Hike through fall foliage, identify trees, then craft a keepsake from a perfect leaf at Riverbend Park for ages 5 and up.
Pumpkin Flower Decorating class at McLean Community Center lets families arrange fall flowers inside pumpkins for a take‑home centerpiece, $10 (district $8), ages 4+, registration required.
Museum educator leads an interactive tour of Truman Lowe’s Water’s Edge exhibition, followed by a water‑inspired art‑making session in the imagiNATIONS Activity Center, all ages.
34 more events through Monday, November 23.