Summer Learning 2024
Participate in our ALL-AGES annual summer learning program from June 1st through August 18th!
This years theme is Read, Renew, Repeat!
Read and attend exciting library programs and community events all summer long! Participants can track their reading in the Children’s Summer Learning booklet. The goal is to read 1200 minutes this summer. When you complete the game board within the booklet, you earn a certificate and a FREE book! Upon completing the challenge, you can enter for a chance to win a private tour of the Yale Peabody Museum (You may bring 1 caregiver adult with you)!
Read and attend exciting library programs and community events all summer long! Participants can track their reading in the Teen Summer Learning booklet. The goal is to read 1200 minutes this summer. Upon completing the challenge, you earn a $15 Atticus Bookstore Cafe and Market gift card and can enter for a chance to win a private tour of the Yale Peabody Museum (You may bring 1 caregiver adult with you)!
Read and attend exciting library programs and community events all summer long! Participants can track their reading in the Adult Summer Learning booklet. Set a personal reading goal for yourself. All participants who meet their goal earn a FREE book and will be entered into a drawing for a personalized, behind-the-scenes tour of Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library with New Haven City Historian Michael Morand! You will also automatically earn one raffle ticket! Attend library programs and track them in your Event Log.
For every two programs you attend, you earn a bonus raffle ticket! With your raffle tickets, enter the drawing for a chance to win a $50 gift card to one of three local businesses: Atticus Bookstore Café and Market, Bark & Vine, or East Rock Breads! (Limit to one winner per raffle)
Events this summer!
Saturday, June 1, 1-3 pm | Ives Main Library
Children’s Room
Sign up for the summer learning challenge and pick up your reading log! Join us for a celebration featuring face painting, mini golf, a science activity, recycled crafts with the Yale Center for British art, and local author Yvette Cole!
Monday, June 3, 5-7 pm | Mitchell Branch
Program Room
Join us to kick off our library summer learning program! We’ll have our annual ladybug release, lawn games, popsicles, bubbles, and a special craft led by the Yale Center for British Art.
Tuesday, June 4, 4-5:30 pm | Wilson Branch
Entrance Ramp
Celebrate the end of the school year and the beginning of summer learning with Xen’s Critters farm animal petting zoo! Join Xen to pet, learn, and cuddle with her farm animal friends on the Wilson entrance ramp!
Wednesday, June 5, 5-7 pm | Stetson Branch
Young Minds Discovery Room
Justice for all! Join us at Stetson for a Summer Learning kick-off with refreshments, music and activities!
Thursday, June 6, 4-5 pm | Fair Haven Branch
Program Room
Our friends from Riverside Reptiles return with live animals and invertebrates-some that are friendly to the ecosystem, and some that are foes. Come meet some new faces and sign up for our summer learning challenge!
Watercolor Class | Mitchell Branch
Saturdays, June 1 and 8, 10 am-12:30 pm
Join Lynn Page as she instructs us to paint a simple floral design.
Make a Book: Bookbinding 101 with Paulette Rosen | Ives Main Library (Ives Squared)
Saturday, June 1, 10:30 am-12:30 pm AND 2-4 pm
Have you always wanted to learn how to make a book? Learn to sew a 1 section pamphlet with an accordion fold-out page, then adapt it into a hardcover book embellished with decorative paper. All materials will be provided. For people aged 15 and up. Registration is required. Please only register for one session. Paulette Rosen is the head of the Book Arts Department at Creative Arts Workshop.
This program is generously sponsored by the Marie Boroff Grant from the Elizabethan Club of Yale University.
Adult Writer’s Group | Wilson Branch
Mondays, June 3 and 17, July 1 and 15, 2:30-4 pm
Aspiring and experienced writers are welcome! Join us for safe and supportive environment to work on your craft. The Wilson Library will begin offering a writing group for adults on first and third Mondays of each month. Prose writers and poets are welcome. Facilitators are Adult Librarian Jessica Robayo, and community member Claire Bien.
Women Writing: A Panel Discussion | Ives Main Library (Ives Squared)
Saturday, June 8, 2-4 pm
Are you a writer interested in publishing your work? Join local women authors as they discuss their books and enlighten us about the publication process! Come ready to learn and ask questions! Learn more about the featured authors here.
Gather New Haven Farm-Based Wellness Program | Wilson Branch
Tuesdays, June 11 and 25, 6:30-7:30pm
Come learn about your health and access to healthy foods in your community through an info session from Gather New Haven.
Free Interior Design Workshop | Mitchell Branch
Monday, June 17, 6-7:30 pm
Sankofa Creative Interiors and Redesign invites you to a free workshop. Discover how paint color and other elements bring calmness to your surroundings.
Classic Cinema: American History X | Fair Haven
Saturday, June 29, 1-3 pm
Join us for a classic film. Popcorn and soda are on us! A violent Neo-Nazi gang leader goes to prison for murder, where he has a transformative experience, giving him new purpose – to save his younger brother from taking the same destructive path. (1998, Rated: R)
Urban Life Experience Book Discussion: Don’t Cry For Me by Daniel Black | Wilson Branch
Saturday, July 13, 12-1:30 pm
New Readers Welcome Saturdays at 12 noon at Wilson Library. This month we discuss Don’t Cry For Me by Daniel Black.
Thicker Than Water: The Quest for Solutions to the Plastic Crisis | Ives Main Library
Wednesday, July 17, 6-7:30 pm
Join writer, artist, author, and researcher Erica Cirino as she presents key findings from her globe-hopping book to shed light on the full extent of plastic pollution, its causes, and its solutions.
Humanist Association of Connecticut Book Discussion: Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy | Wilson Branch
Saturday, July 20, 2:30-4:30 pm
Join a monthly book club hosted by the Humanist Association of Connecticut and discuss great books. All are welcome!
Ani-Mondays | Ives Main Library (Teen Center)
Mondays, 3-5:30 pm
Join the Teen Center on Mondays for Ani-Monday! Teens can stop by the Teen Center and watch different anime films or tv series and eat snacks! Open to grades 7-12. No registration required. Ani-Monday does not happen the last Monday of the month.
Teen Game Club | Ives Main Library (Teen Center)
Tuesdays, 2-5:30 pm and Fridays, 2-4:45 pm
Hang out with your friends and get to play against other teens at Teen Game Club every Tuesday and Friday! Everything from our card games (Uno, Sushi Go!, etc.) to our video games (Switch & Xbox One) will be available to play. Feel free to also bring your own games! Open to grades 7-12, no registration required.
The Best We Could Do: A Book Talk | Ives Main Library (Teen Center)
Saturday, June 8, 1-2 pm
Join Teen Librarian Emily to discuss the NEA’s Big Read, The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui. Open to New Haven teens. Snacks and a zine about the book will be provided.
Teen End-of-School-Year Party | Stetson Branch
Wednesday, June 12, 4-6 pm
Come by the Stetson Teen Center for a relaxing hangout to celebrate the end of the school year. There will be pizza, crafts, gaming, and a summer movie! For ages 13-19.
DAE Presents Designing with AI | Ives Main Library (Teen Center)
Wednesday, July 3, 3-4 pm
Join DAE (District Arts & Education) and dip your toe into AI and its applications for climate technology. For Teens, ages 13-19.
DAE Presents Virtual Reality Games | Wilson Branch
Monday, July 8, 3-4 pm
Join DAE to explore VR and its applications in gaming! For Teens.
DAE Presents Using AI in Everyday Life | Ives Main Library (Teen Center)
Wednesday, July 10, 3-4 pm
Join DAE and learn more about the applications of AI in your day to day life! For Teens ages 13-19.
DAE Presents Makey Makey Custom Game Controllers | Wilson Branch
Thursday, July 11, 3-4 pm
Join DAE and see how a simple circuit board can turn into your very own DIY game controller! For Teens.
DAE Presents Makey Makey Custom Game Controllers | Ives Main Library (Teen Center)
Wednesday, July 24, 3-4 pm
Join DAE and see how a simple circuit board can turn into your very own DIY game controller! For Teens.
Got Bored? | Fair Haven Branch
Mondays, 3-4 pm
Play Board Games! Melba will place out some of our collection of games. Learn a new game or play one of your favorites.
Crafternoons | Wilson Branch
Tuesdays, 3-5 pm
Join us for a simple and fun craft you can make here at the library. Appropriate for school age children, or younger children with the assistance of an adult.
Wonderful Books and Where to Find Them | Ives Main Library
Saturday, June 8, 11-11:30 am
The New Haven Free Public Library, in partnership with the Yale Affinity Groups, is excited to bring you this book club for families focusing on topics of social importance! This month we focus on Pride Month by reading This Day in June by Gayle E. Pitman. Make a rainbow butterfly craft after the reading. Families and children are welcome to attend!
Kids Gaming Night | Stetson Branch
Wednesdays, June 12 and 26, 4-5:30 pm
Every Wednesday in July, 4-5:30 pm
Hang out with your friends and play Nintendo Switch on the big screen! Ages 12 and under.
Pajama Story Time | Ives Main Library
Thursdays, June 13 and 27, 6-6:30 pm
Join us for a special, evening story time at the library! Enjoy a story and a craft. Feel free to wear your pajamas. For ages birth-7.
Introduction to Coding | Ives Main Library
Wednesdays, June 26 through August 21, 4-5 pm
Join us for an 8-week introduction to coding program, part of the Lt. Governor’s Computing Challenge and sponsored by Little to Great Scientists. Open to grades 3-5. Registration required (203-946-8129). For more information email [email protected].
Movie Mondays | Stetson Branch
Mondays, July 8, 15, 22 and 29, 3-5 pm
Beat the heat and cool off with a fun family movie.