The Southbury Public Library Youth Services department is pleased to announce its event list for June for children and teens. All programs are generously sponsored by the Friends of the Southbury Public Library. For more information and to register online please visit our website: www.southburylibrary.org/events.
Children’s Programs:
Drop-In Storytime (All Ages) – Monday, June 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, 10:30-11am, Storytime Room, No Registration Required. Join Jen for an all-ages storytime! We'll share books, rhymes, and songs, and a small craft will be available to make with us or take home.
Tunes & Tales (Recommended for Ages 5 & Under) – Thursday, June 4, 11, 18, 10:30-11am, Storytime Room, No Registration Required. Join Jen for a morning filled with music and stories! Children will sing, dance, and explore musical instruments.
Take or Make Craft (All Ages) – Saturday, June 6, 13, 20, 27, Youth Services Department, While Supplies Last. Stop by the Youth Services Department on Saturdays this month to make a thematic paper craft. Make it here or bring it home. Crayons and glue available in the library. Appropriate for all ages. Young children may need assistance.
Makerspace Morning (Ages 5-12) – Saturday, June 13, 10-11:30am, Storytime Room, Registration Required - Space Limited. Join us to explore, think, and create in our mobile makerspace! Choose from a wide range of materials to create something new and unique, or complete a craft project using provided instructions.
Plant a Seed, Read Craft (Ages 5-8) – Monday, June 15, 2-3pm, Storytime Room, Registration Required - Space Limited. Let's plant some seeds and read together! We will paint small pots, and add soil and seeds for a plant you can take home! While we wait for our pots to dry, we will enjoy the read-aloud, We Are the Gardeners, by Joanna Gaines.
Family Giant Games Night (All Ages) – Tuesday, June 16, 30, 6-7pm, Second Floor, No Registration Required. Join us for an evening of Giant Games! Drop in between 6-7pm to enjoy a variety of traditional, larger than life, board games. This event is perfect for families or a group of friends; if a team is not made of middle schoolers and above, an adult must be present.
Father’s Day Gnome Craft (Ages 7-11) – Saturday, June 20, 11:30am-12:30pm, Kingsley Room, Registration Required - Space Limited. Join the Southbury Garden Club to create a gnome plant craft for Father's Day! These will make a great gift for any special person in your life! Please arrive by 11:30am to make sure that participants have enough time to receive instruction and complete craft.
LEGO Club (Grades K-5) – Tuesday, June 23, 4:30-5:30pm, Storytime Room, Registration Required - Space Limited. Join us for an afternoon of LEGO fun! We’ll provide the LEGO bricks, and you bring the creativity! You can free build, or work off of instructions.
The Whalemobile (Ages 6-12) – Thursday, June 25, 10-10:30am, 10:30-11am, 11-11:30am, 11:30am-12pm, Kingsley Room, Registration Required - Space Limited. Children will have the unique opportunity to step inside Nile, a 38-year-old humpback whale whom The Whalemobile team has observed nearly every summer since 1994 off the coast of Massachusetts. During the interactive experience, participants will explore how whales are similar to and different from humans, learn about Nile’s migratory path and calves, and discover how researchers gather this information. Hands-on artifacts—including baleen, teeth, and bones—will allow children to see and feel the remarkable adaptations of these ocean giants.
Yoga for Kids (Ages 2-5) – Friday, June 26, 10-10:45am, Kingsley Room, Registration Required - Space Limited. CT Yoga instructor Nick Switz, certified with five years of experience and training from Radiant Child Yoga, guides children through a playful class. The class is guided throughout with yoga-based games and captivating stories, fostering creativity, cooperation, and body awareness. The class ends with a calming guided story, offering a moment of reflection.
Yoga for Kids (Ages 6-10) – Friday, June 26, 11am-12pm, Kingsley Room, Registration Required - Space Limited. CT Yoga instructor Nick Switz, certified with five years of experience and training from Radiant Child Yoga, guides children through a playful class. The class is guided throughout with yoga-based games and captivating stories, fostering creativity, cooperation, and body awareness. The class ends with a calming guided story, offering a moment of reflection.
Family Trivia Night (All Ages) – Friday, June 26, 6:30-8pm, Kingsley Room, Registration Required - Space Limited. Join us for another Family Trivia night! Work together as a family team to answer our trivia questions! We'll have a variety of topics, including kid-centric knowledge, general information, and questions aimed at parents, too. The family who answers the most questions correctly will win a $100 gift card to Riverview Cinemas!
Bats for Kids (Ages 3-6) – Tuesday, June 30, 4-5pm, Kingsley Room, Registration Required - Space Limited. Curious about bats? Learn all about these flying mammals and their important role in our ecosystem in this event specially designed for younger children, featuring a presentation full of rhymes and animations. Parents, caregivers, and older siblings may also join us for this event. You can also see a bat in real life! Our presenter, Maureen Heidtmann, will bring an ambassador bat to show us more about these amazing creatures; the ambassador bats cannot be released back into the wild.
Teen Programs:
Teen Crochet Club (Grades 6-12) – Tuesday, June 2, 16, 6:30-7:30pm, Brown Room, Registration Required - Space Limited. Join us for our crochet (and knitting) club, open to both new and experienced crafters alike. If you’re already working on a project, bring it with you. If you’re new to knitting and crocheting, get started with us! We will have basic knitting and crocheting supplies available. Attend one or both meetings.
Finals After Hours (Grades 9-12) – Monday, June 8, 5:30-9pm, Entire Library, Registration Requested. We’re opening up the whole library after our usual hours just for high school students studying for finals! In addition to all the usual library space and tables on both floors, we’ll also have extra white boards on both floors, snacks, and candy. We’ll also be having cute animals to de-stress with from 6-8pm, featuring bunnies, chinchillas, snakes, lizards, and more! This event is before Pomperaug High School Midterms, but is open to any 9th-12th graders who would like to attend.
Revolutionary Era Calligraphy (Grades 6-12) – Thursday, June 18, 6-7:30pm, Brown Room, Registration Required - Space Limited. Learn to write like America's founders and sign your name like John Hancock in this hands-on historical program! Participants will get the opportunity to write in script, use a dip nib, and ink and scribe a line from the Declaration of Independence.
The Great Oreo Taste Off (Grades 6-12) – Monday, June 22, 2-3pm, Brown Room, Registration Required - Space limited. Original, Double Stuf, Lemon, Birthday Cake, Mint, and more! Which Oreo flavor will reign supreme? We'll sample a variety of Oreo flavors to figure out our favorites, and crown one Oreo the best of all! Will this year's results match years past, or will a new Oreo take top pick?
Mini Fairy Gardens (Grades 6-12) – Tuesday, June 23, 6-7pm, Kingsley Room, Registration Required - Space Limited. Decorate your own mini fairy garden! We'll have a variety of moss, tiny decor, and more. All tools and supplies provided.
Cute Animals Hangout (Grades 6-12) – Thursday, June 25, 1-2pm, Brown Room, Registration Required - Space Limited. Come hang out with a variety of cute animals, both furry and scaly! Meet, interact with, feed snacks to, and pet a variety of animal friends including bunnies, ferrets, sugar gliders, snakes, a bearded dragon, and more.
Book Origami Butterfly Mobiles (Grades 6-12) – Thursday, June 25, 6-7pm, Brown Room, Registration Required - Space Limited. Using a mix of book pages and colorful paper, make an origami butterfly mobile. All tools and supplies provided.
Family Trivia Night (All Ages) – Friday, June 26, 6:30-8pm, Kingsley Room, Registration Required - Space Limited. Join us for another Family Trivia night! Work together as a family team to answer our trivia questions! We'll have a variety of topics, including kid-centric knowledge, general information, and questions aimed at parents, too. The family who answers the most questions correctly will win a $100 gift card to Riverview Cinemas!
Teen Flight Simulator (Grades 6-12) – Sunday, June 28, 1-3pm, Kingsley Room, Registration Required - Space Limited. Pilot a virtual aircraft in our X-Plane flight simulation workshop! Learn the basics of flight systems and take control using realistic yoke, throttle, and foot pedal setups to practice take-offs, landings, and flying patterns over realistic simulated terrain, all projected on a large screen for everyone to follow along.
Batty for Bats! (Grades 6-12) – Tuesday, June 30, 5-6pm, Brown Room, Registration Required - Space Limited. In this presentation from a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, learn about bats from around the world, with a focus on local species. Find out myths and misconceptions about bats, the many roles they play to ensure a healthy planet, the perils they face in their struggle for survival, their amazing resilience, and what we can do to help. Featuring a live ambassador bat (who cannot be released back into the wild).
Reading Programs for Children & Teens:
Summer Reading Program: Plant a Seed, Read! (PreK to Grade 12 & Class of 2026 Graduates) – June 13-August 21, In Person and Online at southburylibrary.beanstack.com. Join us on Beanstack for our next Mini Monthly Reading Challenge, themed Fall into Reading! Read for five hours (about 1-3 books for elementary, middle, and high school readers) and get a SurPRIZE. Continuing this month: you can track your reading on a paper bookmark instead of on Beanstack and adults can join in, too!
1000 Books Before Kindergarten (Birth to Entering Kindergarten) – Ongoing, On Paper and Online on Beanstack. Read a book (any book!) to your newborn, infant, or toddler and keep track with a paper log or on Beanstack. Repeats count! 1000 books may seem like a lot, but if you read 1 book a day for 3 years, that’s 1095 books! 10 books a week for 2 years is 1040 books, and 3 books a day in one year is 1095 books. Every book you read you get one sticker, and if you finish you can get a certificate, small prize, and your picture on our wall of fame if you’d like! Pick up a paper log from the children’s department or visit southburylibrary.beanstack.com to get started online. For 0 to Entering Kindergarten.
100 Books Before Graduation (Grades 9-12) – Ongoing, Online at Beanstack. Read 100 books before High School Graduation! 100 books may seem like a lot (and it is), but it works out to about 1 book every 2 weeks. When you sign up, get a special tracking bookmark to fill out as you read. Make it to half way and get a $5 Gift Card to Dunkin' or The Bakery. Read 100 books and get a special throw blanket! Every 10 books you read, pick out something from the prize box (pins, pens, animal sticky notes, and more!).
Please visit the Southbury Public Library website at www.southburylibrary.org/events for program details and registration information. Visit our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/SouthburyLibraryYouthServices/