Keys to Kenosha will be taking place on Saturday November, 7 from 10 AM - 4 PM. Kenosha Public Library is excited to feature three sites including KPL Kids @ Uptown Lofts.
KPL Kids @ Uptown Lofts
When KPL Kids @ Uptown Lofts opened its doors on July 13, 2024, Kenosha gained something truly special: a public library designed exclusively for children ages 0–11 and their caregivers. It’s the Kenosha Public Library’s fifth branch (or sixth, if you count the beloved Discovery Buses), but it stands alone in purpose, design, and spirit. This is a place built for childhood, curiosity, mess-making, noise, and wonder.
Funded through the City of Kenosha, ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) dollars, grants, and generous community donations through the Kenosha Public Library Foundation, the branch represents a collective investment in the city’s youngest learners. Its design, created by Engberg Anderson, reflects deep expertise in public libraries and K–12 learning environments. Working hand‑in‑hand with library staff, the architectural team shaped a space that is bright, modern, flexible, durable, and above all, safe—a place where children can explore freely, and caregivers can breathe easy.
A Space Unlike Any Other
KPL Kids @ Uptown Lofts is part children’s library, part children’s museum, and entirely rooted in the belief that learning happens best through play. Every corner is intentional designed to spark imagination throughout the library.
The Discovery Area: STEAM Comes Alive
Each month, the Discovery Area transforms under a new STEAM theme, offering hands‑on, open‑ended activities that invite children to experiment, build, test, and try again.
Some favorites so far:
- Wisconsin Farms featuring a “cranberry bog” made of red ping‑pong balls suspended in water. Children could scoop them out, “dry” them with a lamp and fan, and explore how materials change.
- Over the Rainbow is a celebration of color and light, filled with reflective objects, prisms, electric tea lights, and flashlights that kids combined in endless ways to explore brightness, shadow, and hue.
Staff members float throughout the space, not to direct, but to encourage deeper thinking, asking questions, cheering on big ideas, and helping children persist through trial and error.
The Art Room: Creativity Without Limits
Open during all library hours, the Art Room is a haven for makers. While pre‑planned crafts are available, children can create whatever they want with the materials on hand. Glue, paper, tape, paint, cardboard—if it’s there, it’s fair game.
The philosophy mirrors the Discovery Area: children lead, adults support, and creativity unfolds in real time.
Designed for Children — and the Adults Who Love Them
We built everything about KPL Kids @ Uptown Lofts with families in mind.
- Wipeable surfaces everywhere — because mess is part of learning.
- Height‑adjustable tables and two sizes of chairs for accessibility and comfort.
- A private Wellness Room for infant feeding, reservable in 30‑minute increments.
- A Calming Room, also reservable, to support sensory regulation and provide a quiet reset.
This is a space where all children and all caregivers can feel welcome, supported, and seen.
A Community Asset Unlike Any Other
Children’s libraries are rare in the United States, and Kenosha is one of the few communities that can proudly say it has one. Though Kenosha has had children’s libraries in the past, this is the only one that exists today, and it has had a significant impact on the community.
Located in the heart of Uptown, the branch welcomed 34,795 visitors in its first year, doubling library usage in the neighborhood. Families come from across the city and beyond, but many visitors live right upstairs or nearby. With apartments above and a grocery store and restaurant soon joining the building, KPL Kids @ Uptown Lofts is becoming part of a walkable, vibrant community hub.
Why KPL Kids @ Uptown Lofts Belongs on Every Keys to Kenosha Itinerary
Simply put: this place is joy.
It’s bright, beautiful, and full of children learning through play, discovering books, and making new friends. Because the branch is designed for children and caregivers, many adults have never stepped inside so Keys to Kenosha offers a rare chance to experience it firsthand.
Visitors will see a library that looks and functions differently from others. They’ll see how design shapes learning, how play fuels curiosity, and how a community’s investment in children becomes visible, tangible, and inspiring.
Why We Joined Keys to Kenosha
Many adults in Kenosha have never had a reason to visit KPL Kids @ Uptown Lofts and we want to change that. Keys to Kenosha gives us the perfect opportunity to welcome the broader community inside, to show how this space supports children from across the city, and to celebrate the creativity, resilience, and brilliance of Kenosha’s youngest residents.
KPL Kids @ Uptown Lofts is more than a library.
It’s a promise that Kenosha believes in its children, invests in their futures, and celebrates their joy.
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