First 5 Santa Cruz County

10/16/2026

10/05/2026

10/05/2026

The SCPA Santa Cruz is bringing a fun and engaging program to the Scotts Valley Branch Library! Children will discover animals from around the world, their habitats, adaptations and the challenges they face. This global adventure builds curiosity and awareness of how we can protect wildlife. https://loom.ly/X1q4Flo

10/01/2026

Join Aquarium staff for some bilingual, ocean-learning fun through stories, songs, and movement. Storytime will be followed by a Sea Otter puppet craft also led by the Aquarium staff.

Acompaña al personal del acuario y diviértete aprendiendo sobre el océano mediante cuentos, canciones y movimiento en este programa bilingüe. La hora de cuento será seguida por una manualidad de nutria marina guíada por personal del Acuario.

https://loom.ly/0Xq5tjg

10/01/2026

Join us for a special series of Toddler Time where local community resource professionals answer your questions relating to aspects of child development.

https://loom.ly/tahHCZ0

09/30/2026

To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we are hosting a special story time with stories and songs in English and Spanish!

Para celebrar el Mes de la Herencia Hispana, organizaremos una hora de cuentos especial con historias y canciones en inglés y español.
https://loom.ly/hEPbinI

09/29/2026

Join Librarian Laura as we learn together through songs, rhymes, fingerplays and stories thoughtfully curated to support early literacy and gross motor skill development.

Welcoming babies from birth to age two and their caregivers, this gentle program celebrates language, movement, and connection. Afterward, Stay & Play to continue learning through play and build community with other families.
https://loom.ly/KuQuf5g

09/25/2026

Give Like Dolly Day is here! September 25th is a day to celebrate Dolly’s incredible legacy of bringing books into the hands of children and inspiring them to dream big! As Dolly liked to say, "If you can read, you can do anything, dream anything and be anything."

Locally over 3,000 children receive free, high-quality books each month through our Imagination Library of Santa Cruz County, helping build a lifelong love of reading and early literacy skills. Since the program opened one year ago, that’s nearly 20,000 books!

✨Learn more about how to enroll a child in your life or support our local Imagination Library: https://bit.ly/DPILSantaCruzCounty

09/22/2026

During Child Passenger Safety Week, The Santa Cruz Police Department encourages all parents and caregivers to make sure their children are riding safely by using the correct car seats, booster seats and properly fitted seat belts. This annual campaign takes place from September 21-27 and aims to raise awareness about the importance of car seat safety and proper installation.

On Sept. 24 from 5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. , the Santa Cruz Police Department, Santa Cruz County Health Service Agency, Public Health Department of Santa Cruz County, and California Office of Traffic Safety are teaming up for a free presentation on child passenger safety, focusing on booster seat and car seat use at the Santa Cruz Police Department Community Room 155 Center St., Santa Cruz, CA 95060.

Current California law requires all children under 2 years old to ride in a rear-facing car seat, unless the child is 40 or more pounds or is 40 or more inches tall. Once a child reaches these milestones, all children under the age of 8 years old are still required to be secured in a car seat or booster seat, in the back seat. Children 8 and older, or who are at least 4 feet 9 inches tall, may be secured by a booster seat, but at a minimum must be secured by a safety belt.

As of January 1, 2027, AB 435 requires children ages 8 to 16 years old to pass all steps of the “Five-Step Test”` before they can safely use a seat belt without a booster seat. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to keep children in the proper rear or forward-facing seat as long as possible and use the Five-Step Test as a guide, before it becomes law in 2027, to determine if their child is big enough to safely use a seat belt without a booster seat.

Visit www.gosafelyca.org for more traffic safety information.

Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

You can read the full press release on SCPD's website.