ImaginOn: The Joe & Joan Martin Center

ImaginOn: The Joe & Joan Martin Center ImaginOn is a collaborative venture of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library and the Children's Theatre of Charlotte. www.imaginon.org
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ImaginOn brings stories to life through extraordinary experiences that challenge, inspire and excite young minds.

See what's happening for ages 0-12 @ ImaginOn in August!
07/30/2026

See what's happening for ages 0-12 @ ImaginOn in August!

07/30/2026

Summer Movie Fridays Are Back at the Teen Loft!

Every Friday starting 7/31 until the end of August, teens 12-18 can join us for a chill afternoon of movies, popcorn, and nostalgia. Each week, you get to vote for which movie we watch for the following decade. This Friday's screening is 1976's Freaky Friday for its 50th Anniversary! Make sure to vote for the next four movies we'll watch for 1986, 1996, 2006, and 2016. Visit the loft every Friday at 2 pm to see if your vote won!

Every week, you can vote for the next film we'll watch in our weekly poll!
VOTE HERE: Summer Movie Fridays @ the Teen Loft! https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/1bwvRkwFjX

Freaky Friday (1976): Annabel Andrews (Jodie Foster) and her mother, Ellen (Barbara Harris), don't always see eye to eye. After a particularly frustrating argument on Friday the 13th, the two simultaneously wish they could switch places -- and suddenly their wish is granted. Each discovers how difficult it is to be in the other's shoes, with Ellen causing chaos at Annabel's school, and Annabel unable to deal with her mother's domestic duties. The two learn a lot about themselves and their relationship in the process.

Dates:
July 31st - 1976: Freaky Friday
August 7th - 1986 Movie: ???
August 14th - 1996 Movie:???
August 21st- 2006 Movie:???
August 28th - 2016 Movie:???

The films selected will be rated G, PG, or PG-13 and are suitable and intended for teen audiences 12-18.

#1976

07/30/2026

Join us this Saturday, August 1st from 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM @ ImaginOn for our Summer Reading Showcase: DinoShakes!

"Thrust back in time to when dinosaurs ruled the Earth, Will Shakespeare must survive using only his sharp wit and vast imagination. Are his stories enough to save him, or will he end up as a T-Rex's dinner? DinoShakes is a riotous Jurassic romp through some of Shakespeare's incredible stories!"

This performance is FREE and open to the public. No registration required. Performances will take place in the McColl Family Theatre at ImaginOn. Seating will be available on a first come, first served basis. Theatre doors will open 20 minutes before each show. All Summer Reading Showcase performances are intended for ages 3+. Shows may vary in length. https://bit.ly/3RfrNjN

07/28/2026

A face... a shelf... a book... a patron... a thought... a library...🌊 🏹 🐴 ⛏️ 💠

You can't ignore the siren song of summer reading. If you loved Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey (2026), we've got dozens of Odyssey translations, retellings, adaptations, books, ebooks, audiobooks, shows, and movies waiting for you at CMLibrary!

Journey into a new adventure with your library card to access and for free!

You can always come home to the library✨

Shoutout to Teen Services Library Associate, Tiana, for creating this post!

(No AI was used in the creation of this video)

Here is our 3rd week of Staff Spotlight. This week we are shining the light on Tobias Deen.🎭 Role: Library Associate in ...
07/27/2026

Here is our 3rd week of Staff Spotlight. This week we are shining the light on Tobias Deen.

🎭 Role: Library Associate in Teen Loft
📚 Favorite Book: Kindred, by Octavia Butler
🎬 If I could bring any book to life on the stage what would it be: When Aidan Became a Brother, by Kyle Lukoff

💙 Favorite Part of the Job: I get to play, make memories, create art and mentor teens and preteens for a living! Not only is this everything I naturally love to do, but I also have the opportunity to use these interests and talents to make a difference in the lives of young people every day.

✨ Fun Fact: I have a total of 15 siblings- six by my mom (all boys) and nine by my dad (including two sets of twins)!

Happy Disability Pride Month from CMLibrary!Today marks the 36th anniversary of the passing of the Americans with Disabi...
07/26/2026

Happy Disability Pride Month from CMLibrary!

Today marks the 36th anniversary of the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This month and every month, we celebrate the brilliance, dignity, and the endless work of individuals with disabilities everywhere.

Thanks to Teen Library staff member Ashton for designing and creating this post. Check out Ashton's full disability pride reading list here: https://cmlibrary.bibliocommons.com/v2/list/display/2852707107/3050882577

Check out our YA picks for Disability Pride Month!♿
The First Thing About You by
Not If I See You First by
Every Time You Go Away by
Smash or Pass by
Ellie Haycock is Totally Normal by
The Unexpected Consequences of Bleeding on a Tuesday by
The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by
All The Noise at Once by
Five Feet Apart by and Tobias Laconis
Sixteen Souls by

Fun Fact: Each color of the disability flag (created by Ann Magill in 2021) has unique significance!
🖤 The faded black background represents "the anger and mourning over the eugenics and the neglect that disabled people have to fight against."
❤️ Red represents physical disabilities.
💛 Gold is for neurodiversity.
🩶 White represents invisible disabilities and disabilities that haven't yet been diagnosed.
🩵 Blue stands for emotional and psychiatric disabilities, including mental illness, anxiety, and depression.
💚 Green is for sensory disabilities, including deafness, blindness, lack of smell, lack of taste, audio processing disorder, and all other sensory disabilities.

Continue to read and be kind all year long!

(No AI was used in the creation of this post)

🌟 Staff Spotlight🌟 Week 3 continues with our Intern/Volunteen highlight. This week, we're spotlighting Tarini KaKarla, o...
07/23/2026

🌟 Staff Spotlight🌟
Week 3 continues with our Intern/Volunteen highlight. This week, we're spotlighting Tarini KaKarla, our summer high school intern! Tarini is a bright and kind new face at ImaginOn who always lights up a room.

Hi everyone, my name is Tarini! A little bit about me is that I was born in Miami, Florida, but grew up here in Charlotte, NC. I'm an only child, so it's just me and my parents.

🎭 Role: High School Intern
📚 Favorite Book: My favorite book is "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini (highly recommend).
🎬 If I could bring any book to life on stage, it would definitely be "The Forbidden Wish" by Jessica Khoury.
💙 Favorite Part of the Job: How flexible and helpful the staff is with the personal project I am doing during my time at the library. I am very grateful to be in an internship that allows me to create a project that really aligns with my future goals.
✨ What I hope for the future: In the future, I aspire to do my MBA and start a business. The library is very special to me as an only child because whenever I felt lonely, I would look to the library and its endless collection of books to give me company and comfort.
🫧 Fun Fact: I love sketching, reading, and dancing.

07/21/2026

Join us on Saturday, August 1st from 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM @ ImaginOn for our Summer Reading Showcase: DinoShakes!

"Thrust back in time to when dinosaurs ruled the Earth, Will Shakespeare must survive using only his sharp wit and vast imagination. Are his stories enough to save him, or will he end up as a T-Rex's dinner? DinoShakes is a riotous Jurassic romp through some of Shakespeare's incredible stories!"

This performance is FREE and open to the public. No registration required. Performances will take place in the McColl Family Theatre at ImaginOn. Seating will be available on a first come, first served basis. Theatre doors will open 20 minutes before each show. All Summer Reading Showcase performances are intended for ages 3+. Shows may vary in length. https://bit.ly/3RfrNjN

🌟 Staff Spotlight 🌟It's Week 3, and we're excited to shine the spotlight on Mary Carter! One of the many friendly faces ...
07/20/2026

🌟 Staff Spotlight 🌟
It's Week 3, and we're excited to shine the spotlight on Mary Carter! One of the many friendly faces you'll find around ImaginOn. From shelving books to assisting at the Circulation Desk and so much more, Mary helps keep things running smoothly. Be sure to give her a wave the next time you visit!

🎭 Role: Library Assistant
📚 Favorite Book: The Hunger Games Trilogy
🎬 If I could bring any book to life on the stage what would it be: The song of Achilles :')
💙 Favorite Part of the Job: I love working for and with my community. I feel like I play an active part in providing patrons with a safe place to read, play, and imagine.
✨ Fun Fact: I convinced my 6th grade English teacher to make the Hunger Games book a required reading so that my whole class had to read it. I then made them all go see the movie with me in theatres. We even designed team Peeta and team Gale t-shirts.

Our weekly Summer School Age Program schedule! We offer them for ages 5-11 every weekday @ 11am & 2pm through August. *N...
07/19/2026

Our weekly Summer School Age Program schedule! We offer them for ages 5-11 every weekday @ 11am & 2pm through August.

*No registration required for families, space is limited. Groups must book through Imaginon.org/group-visit-information

Address

300 E 7th Street
Charlotte, NC
28202

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 8pm
Tuesday 9am - 8pm
Wednesday 9am - 8pm
Thursday 9am - 8pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+17044164600

Website

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