In NYC, you can major in fun without minoring in debt \u2014 and all it takes is a visit to the library.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the (whispered) word from New York\u2019s most bookish institutions, which will offer winter classes in subjects as varied as web coding, Mandarin, oil painting, crochet and even origami.<\/p>\n
The classes come after a record year for New York Public Library learners, which include 1.36 million visitors in Manhattan and over 843,000 in Brooklyn, according to the city.<\/p>\n
New York libraries are great for more than just reading. Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cI think people would be surprised by how specific the offerings get,\u201d Ariel Lee, 28, the creator behind Library Scout,<\/a> a platform for discovering free NYC library classes and events, told The Post.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can learn Arabic calligraphy, practice ceramics, figure out the manual settings on your camera or join a philosophy discussion\u2026 and you don\u2019t have to arrive with a serious goal or a hobby you\u2019re already good at. You can just find something interesting and try it.\u201d<\/p>\n If you feel like a college-worthy class for $0 in tuition, check out these upcoming options:<\/p>\n Ceramics in the Bronx<\/p>\n Mott Haven Library is hosting Ceramics for Adults on Thursday, Oct. 29, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. The program also recurs every other Thursday, giving would-be potters a chance to make creativity a regular habit rather than a one-and-done affair.<\/p>\n A Workout in Park Slope<\/p>\n Every Thursday from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Park Slope Library, you can break a sweat with cardio, strength and balance exercises led by NYC fitness professionals. Attendees are encouraged to bring a small towel and a water bottle, and please, wear sneakers instead of heels.<\/p>\n Ariel Lee created Library Scout, an online guide to free classes. Courtesy Ariel Lee<\/p>\n Chinese dough sculpture in Flushing<\/p>\n Head to the Mitchell-Linden Library in Flushing on Friday, Oct. 30, at 3:30 p.m. for a dough figurine-making workshop led by the award-winning artist Catherine Lau. The class explores the Chinese art of sculpting figures from dough, and will be taught in both Mandarin and English. Materials are limited, and spots are available on a first-come, first-served basis for the first 20 participants.<\/p>\n Needlepoint in Clinton Hill<\/p>\n Clinton Hill Library is offering \u201cNeedlepoint November: An Introductory Workshop\u201d on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Led by artist Margaret Colhoun of the Brooklyn needlepoint atelier Pierrepont<\/a>, the two-hour class introduces beginners to continental and basketweave stitches. All materials are included, and participants will leave with a canvas underway. The workshop is limited to 10 adults, with sign-ups available at the reference desk on the day of the program.<\/p>\n Birding in Ridgewood<\/p>\n Arlington Library is taking nature lovers out to Ridgewood Reservoir for a fall bird-watching excursion on Saturday, Nov. 7. Meet in the Upper Highland Park parking lot at 10 a.m. before heading to the reservoir at 10:15 a.m. to look for migrating warblers, thrushes, sparrows and other songbirds. Bring water and sunscreen, and leave the neon workout gear at home \u2014 neutral colors are recommended to blend in with the surroundings.<\/p>\n Arts and crafts are a staple of free library classes around the city. Materials are always provided. Courtesy Ariel Lee<\/p>\n \u2018The Aeneid\u2019 in Midtown<\/p>\n Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library\u2019s weekly online \u201cSunt Lacrimae Rerum\u201d philosophy lecture series meets every Monday from 6 to 8 p.m. and invites adults to explore Virgil\u2019s epic war poem, \u201cThe Aeneid\u201d \u2014 no term papers or final exams required.<\/p>\n Dramatic literature at Lincoln Center<\/p>\n Read \u201cThe Thanksgiving Play\u201d by Larissa Fasthorse, then show up to discuss it \u2014 and perhaps read some scenes out loud \u2014 at the Library for the Performing Arts, which hosts a monthly Play Club for theater fans and aspiring playwrights to dig into a key script that\u2019s been performed in New York. The next meeting takes place on Thursday, Nov. 19 at 6:30 p.m.<\/p>\n Plus: Find even more classes online<\/p>\n New Yorkers can browse free events and exhibitions through the New York Public Library<\/a>, Queens Public Library<\/a> and Brooklyn Public Library<\/a> websites, and by consulting Library Scou<\/a>t, which brings together listings from the New York Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library, and Queens Public Library. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In NYC, you can major in fun without minoring in debt \u2014 and all it takes is a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":386661,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[4479,67,26301,232,57,9,24,55,54,24621,56,25799],"class_list":["post-386660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-curriculum","tag-education","tag-libraries","tag-lifestyle","tag-metro","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-headlines","tag-new-york-city-news","tag-new-york-public-library","tag-ny","tag-queens-public-library"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=386660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386660\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/386661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=386660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=386660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=386660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}