Appearing virtually in a special event made possible by Illinois Libraries Present, a pair of gifted writers will participate in the May 25 presentation An Evening with Jessamine Chan and Emily Maloney, an entertaining and informative night featuring Chan, the New York Times bestselling author of The School for Good Mothers, and Maloney, the critically lauded author of the essay collection Cost of Living.

While most of the presentations in the Davenport Public Library's monthly 3rd Thursday at Hoover's Presidential Library & Museum series have focused on former president Herbert Hoover, the series will take an overdue look at the extraordinary contributions of his wife when speaker Annette B. Dunlap, on May 19, delivers her fascinating virtual program A Woman of Adventure: The Life & Times of First Lady Lou Henry Hoover.

An instantly recognizable stage presence who has served as a Las Vegas headliner for close to 20 years, the madcap comedian Carrot Top brings his prop comedy and observational humor to Davenport's Adler Theatre on May 19, his career of more than a quarter-century boasting everything from voice-over duties for the Cartoon Network to appearances on such Emmy-winning television series The Larry Sanders Show and Scrubs.

Visitors to Davenport's Putnam Museum & Science Center can receive insight into problem solving and abstract thinking using mathematics, physics, and design with fun, simple building materials in the venue's Build! Create! Innovate!, an exhibition that, through September 4, boasts 3,600 square feet of building space and more than 15,000 KEVA Planks, along with photography of local architecture and a pre-built bridge, Kone Tower, and the Putnam’s iconic Velie automobile.

Visitors to Davenport's Putnam Museum & Science Center can learn all about the birds and the bees – and the butterflies, and the moths – in the venue's latest Pollinators' Palooza, a May 14 event dedicated to nature's springtime pollinators that will boast presentations, a film screening, and arts and crafts for children.

A gifted musician and noted author discusses her music career and beloved bestseller Crying in H Mart: A Memoir when the Rock Island and Moline Public Libraries present An Evening with Michelle Zauner, a virtual May 18 program that allows participants an audience with the talented writer and Grammy-nominated singer/guitarist who creates blazing indie pop under the name Japanese Breakfast.

The largest and most realistic dinosaur exhibit in North America is back, bigger and better than ever, in Jurassic Quest, a thrilling exhibit boasting photorealistic dinosaurs and activities for all ages that enjoys a May 13 through 15 engagement at Coralville's Xtream Arena and GreenState Family Fieldhouse.

On May 17, patrons of the Davenport Library's Eastern Avenue Branch are invited to meet the victorious general whose strategy and tenacity won the Civil War, the president who struggled to rebuild his country after the war, and the husband and father whose final efforts were devoted to the financial support of his wife and family when Peter Grady delivers an informative, humorous, and touching portrayal in his solo program Unconditional Surrender: A Visit with Ulysses S. Grant.

After an unanticipated year-long hiatus, an eagerly anticipated evening of traditional Scottish pageantry and heritage returns to the Quad Cities in the Scottish American Heritage Center's 44th Robert Burns Celebration and Dinner, a May 7 event at Bettendorf's Isle Casino Hotel boasting live music, country dances, and a tribute to the 262nd birthday of Celtic legend Robert Burns.

Taking place in conjunction with the release of his third published book of poetry, Quad Cities author and spoken-word artist Aubrey Barnes – who writes and performs under the moniker Aubs. – will host a May 1 reading experience for it is Good, it is Written, a collection of 33 poems composed over the last three years. For many of us, that particular span might be recalled as a period of apathy, loneliness, and day-long Netflix binge sessions. For Barnes, it proved to be one of enormous opportunity.

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