"We want people to learn about the birds and the plants in their own back yard and to appreciate that you don't need a three-day camping trip in the mountains to experience nature." Anythink Libraries Executive Director Mark Fink said that to the Guardian this month, when the paper covered the new library. The building sits at 6811 E. 136th Ave. in Thornton.
Most of the coverage from opening day on August 8 focused on summer. Kids pumped water into the mud pit, families crowded the 15-acre campus, and visitors watered new magnolias in the learning garden, according to Outside. The gear it lends, the programs it schedules and the way its rooms are laid out all serve a different purpose. The library is built to get Thornton residents outside close to home: on the fields along Riverdale Road, at Eastlake Park, and eventually on the open space next door. That purpose matters most in the months when going outside takes a little more planning.
The rooms inside are designed to stand in for being outdoors
You don't need good weather to get something out of the building. Several of its main spaces recreate outdoor experiences indoors:
- The dark room. Star-like lights on the ceiling mimic being outside at night. The wood was finished with a Shou Sugi Ban treatment, which leaves a faint campfire smell.
- The boulder field. About a dozen boulders from a local quarry form a climbing path inside the building.
- The sun room. It's the bright counterpart to the dark room and the space where many story times and talks are held.
- The lobby. A curving living plant wall greets you, and the terrazzo floors have small Colorado animals set into them, which makes a ready-made scavenger hunt for kids.
- The kinship garden. This open-air garden sits in the middle of the building. Peepholes let you look out at the rocks and serviceberry trees without going outside.
The floor-to-ceiling windows use bird-safe glass, and Outside reports views that reach Pikes Peak and downtown Denver. Even the five meeting and study rooms, the spaces farthest from the windows, have wallpaper made from prairie flowers and herbs that you can actually smell. On a gray November afternoon, those rooms do most of the work.
The gear shelf is the part meant to leave the building
The rooms keep you engaged on a cold day. The TryIts collection is what sends you back outside. TryIts are equipment kits you check out like books, and they're free with an Anythink library card. Colorado residents can get a card at any branch by showing a photo ID. Anythink's card page says TryIts check out for three weeks, and most items renew automatically up to three times if no one is waiting for them.
What's on the shelf has changed quickly. At opening, Anythink counted about 550 items in 65 collections, including bird-watching kits, wildlife cameras, hiking gear, microscopes and weather tools. By August 20, Outside was reporting more than 650 outdoor items, with snowshoes, hammocks and camping equipment on the list. By early October, the Guardian put the count at 850 nature-focused kits, and its headline mentioned tents, night-vision goggles and bear tracking kits. The library's stated long-term goal is more than 1,500 items.
Several of those items fit this season well. Snowshoes are made for a snowy week. Night-vision goggles and wildlife cameras make the most sense when it gets dark before dinner. One family told the Guardian they borrowed a pollinator-garden planning kit and bird guides because they plan to replace a lawn that died over the summer. They also said they'd like to borrow a stargazing kit on their next visit. A three-week loan gives you enough time to plan a spring yard over the winter. RyAnne Scott, Anythink's director of external relations and brand strategy, told Outside the goal is to be "a little REI."
November's calendar points at Thornton's own wildlife
The events calendar follows the same idea. Take the description for "Talking Turkey with Bird Conservancy of the Rockies": "Have you seen flocks of wild turkeys near Eastlake Park or roaming the fields along Riverdale Road?" The talk isn't about wildlife somewhere far away. It's about birds that some Thornton residents may pass on the drive home.
Here is the Nature Library's November lineup as posted on Anythink's events calendar, with registration openings where the listing gives them:
- Saturday, November 7, 2 to 3:30 p.m. Neurodivergent in Nature. Registration opened October 24 at 2 p.m.
- Wednesday, November 11, 6 to 7 p.m. Nature Nerd Trivia Night, for adult teams of four, in the Nature Library Meeting Room. Space is limited. Registration is required and opened October 28 at 6 p.m.
- Thursday, November 12, 5 to 6 p.m. Roots & Rhythms: Stump Stomp, a percussive movement workshop for tweens and teens led by artists from the Alpine Artists Collective using foraged props.
- Friday, November 13, 10 to 11 a.m. Talking Turkey with Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, for adults, in the Sun Room. Registration opens Friday, October 30 at 10 a.m.
- Saturday, November 14, 2 to 3 p.m. Author Talk: "Exploring Colorado with Kids." Registration opens October 31 at 2 p.m.
- Thursday, November 19, 6 to 7 p.m. Author Talk: "Trail Therapy" with Jamie Siebrase. Registration opens November 5 at 6 p.m.
- Saturday, November 21, 1 to 3 p.m. Ecopoetry with Adams County Poet Laureate Aerik Francis.
The two author talks fit the same pattern. Both books are about getting outdoors in Colorado, and both talks are scheduled for the season when that's hardest to do. October's calendar did the same with Bats as Neighbors on October 24. If you're reading this on Thursday, October 29, the library lists Creatures of the Night from 5 to 7:30 p.m. tonight.
Registration timing matters here. Several of these events open sign-ups about two weeks ahead, and the trivia listing says space is limited, so it helps to put the Talking Turkey and author-talk registration times on your calendar now.
The open space next door won't open until late 2027
What you can use outside right now is a short walk. Outside describes the Roots to Sky Loop as a quarter-mile gravel trail that crosses part of the campus and ends at an outdoor storytelling circle. The same report mentions a self-guided walking tour of ten gardens based on local environments. The mud pit has hand pumps, and there's a clean-up room with sinks and towels nearby. In winter, it's best to check with the library before promising kids a mud day.
The larger piece is still under construction. The library sits next to the 140-acre Aylor Open Lands. The City of Thornton's capital improvements page describes Phase 3 of the Aylor project as open-space trails and amenities, including a nature discovery area. The city plans to break ground in late 2026 and open to the public in late 2027. Scott told Outside that the library's exterior loop should connect to the Aylor regional trails by 2027, and that outdoor bathrooms will make the library a stop for hikers and bikers.
That timeline explains the library's current mix. Until the open space opens, the main things the library offers are the rooms indoors, the gear on loan and the programs. The building is a starting point for getting outdoors, and for now most of the outdoors it points to is elsewhere in Thornton.
Fitting a visit around the hours
The current hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and closed Sunday. With Sundays off the table and darkness arriving by late afternoon, weekday evenings are the easiest time to go. A Monday-through-Thursday evening gives you about three hours for a TryIt pickup, the dark room or a program. The November trivia night and the "Trail Therapy" talk both start at 6 p.m.
In December, you can pair a library visit with a city event. Thornton WinterFest takes over Carpenter Park Fields at 11000 Colorado Blvd. on December 11 from 6:30 to 9 p.m., December 12 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and December 13 from 5 to 9 p.m. On a Saturday, the library closes at 5 p.m. and WinterFest runs until 9, so you can borrow a pair of snowshoes in the afternoon and still make the evening events.
At North Metro Realty, we track new places like the Nature Library and the Aylor trails because they shape what everyday life looks like in Thornton. If you'd like to talk through how projects like these fit into your plans in the north metro, call or text us anytime.
