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Free things to do in Palo Alto, CA

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We reviewed 550+ Bay Area event sources to pick the 11 best free things to do in Palo Alto, CA between August 24 and August 30. Updated daily.

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Our best picks: free things to do in Palo Alto, CA — August 24–30

Monday, August 24

RECURRENT

Palyrobotics: Build-A-Bot Workshop (2 sessions)

5 PM – 7 PM·Mitchell Park Library, Midtown Room, Palo Alto

Alongside the award winning Paly Robotics team, participate in a hands-on, robot building experience. The program will guide participants through a chassis build and introduce basic electronics, terminology, and technical problem solving skills culminating in a collaboratively built working prototype. Please plan to at…

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Tuesday, August 25

RECURRENT

Palyrobotics: Build-A-Bot Workshop (2 sessions)

5 PM – 7 PM·Mitchell Park Library, Midtown Room, Palo Alto

Alongside the award winning Paly Robotics team, participate in a hands-on, robot building experience. The program will guide participants through a chassis build and introduce basic electronics, terminology, and technical problem solving skills culminating in a collaboratively built working prototype. Please plan to at…

Add to calendarDetails →
RECURRENT

Mindfulness Meditation (Online)

7 PM – 8 PM·Palo Alto City Library

Mindfulness meditation is a wonderful way to develop clarity, discipline, and perspective as well as improve your mental and physical health. Join online sessions with Phuong Pham, a Buddhist nun experienced in the practice of meditation. Each session is 45 minutes of meditating together followed by 15 minutes of group…

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Wednesday, August 26

RECURRENT

Learn English: Online Conversation Group

11 AM – 12 PM·Palo Alto City Library

Our ESL (English as a Second Language) / Learn English conversation group program is a friendly and informal environment for adults (18 years old and older) to practice speaking and listening in English. It is designed for English learners who enjoy meeting friends from various ethnic backgrounds and learning conversat…

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Button Making Pop-up for Teens!

3:30 PM – 4:30 PM·Mitchell Park Library, Midtown Room, Palo Alto

Drop by after school for button making in the Teen Zone! Use old manga and comics to make a unique design or create your own from scratch. No registration required. See you there!

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Thursday, August 27

Whispers Through the Trees

2 PM – 5 PM·College Terrace Library, Palo Alto

Artist Sophia Lee is leading a series of public workshops for her ArtLift project, Whispers Through the Trees . Participants will create soft sculptural “fortune cookies” from reclaimed canvas, decorate them, and add hidden messages that may be kind, playful, reflective, or hopeful. The completed pieces will become par…

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RECURRENT

Short Story Social: "A Sunny Place for Shady People" by Mariana Enriquez

6:30 PM – 7:30 PM·Palo Alto City Library

Love the idea of a book club but don’t have time for a whole novel? Join our Short Story Social , a relaxed "book club" for short-story fans and busy readers. We meet virtually on the fourth Thursday of each month to discuss one or two contemporary short stories (no more than 40 pages total). Participate from anywhere—…

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Friday, August 28

RECURRENT

Learn English: Beyond the Basics

12 PM – 1 PM·Mitchell Park Library, Midtown Room, Palo Alto

English as a Second Language (ESL) / Learn English: Beyond the Basics is an in-person 7-week class with lessons on English grammar, pronunciation, and idioms. It is for adult (18 years and older) intermediate and advanced English learners who can have a conversation in English and want to improve their pronunciation an…

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Saturday, August 29

RECURRENT

Meditation with Sara

10:15 AM – 10:45 AM·Rinconada Library, Palo Alto

Join us for a guided meditation experience with Sara. Welcome to all experience levels. This will be a seated meditation session that lasts about 30 minutes.

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Marin Green@ Home Tour 2026

11 AM – 3 PM·Pearson-Arastradero Preserve (Acterra) · Palo Alto

Acterra’s Marin Green@ Home Tour showcases a range of green homes in Marin County renovated with sustainability in mind; a free, community-powered event.

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Sunday, August 30

RECURRENT

Tai Chi with Nelson Ng

10 AM – 12 PM·Rinconada Library, Embarcadero Room, Palo Alto

Join us for Tai Chi sessions with Nelson Ng! In this weekly class, participants will learn the basic principles and the philosophy behind Tai Chi, gaining flexibility and a better sense of balance through slow, gentle movement. Nelson started learning Chen's Tai Chi in 1989 from Master Gene Chen, who was a disciple of…

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