Essex Library

Program for children and teens ages 5+. Join A Place Called Hope for this amazing program, featuring live falcons and a hands-on activity! Learn about the adaptations of the falcon species, to help identify their unique body and feather styles designed for flight and speed. Each falcon has a different hunting technique that helps to explain the individual body and feather patterns per species. Participants will learn the many facts of falcons with two different falcon species as examples and then create their own paper airplane as a hands-on project to help explain flight and speed according to design. This program will be held at Grove Street Park, 16 Grove St, Essex, CT. Essex Library programs are free and open to the public. Registration is required. Click here to register. In the event of rain or extreme heat, the program will be held in the Essex Town Hall Auditorium, 29 West Ave, Essex.

Program open to families with children ages 5+. Did you know there’s games you can play outdoors? Join Essex Library, Ivoryton Library, and Essex Land Trust to explore some fun family games to LEVEL UP your trailblazing! As we explore some beautiful ELT properties, we’ll introduce exciting outdoor games that turn every walk into a discovery! Whether you're new to hiking or a seasoned trail walker, this program will inspire fresh ways to enjoy nature together. In this session, families will learn how to use the free Seek app to turn hikes into a nature scavenger hunt! Point your phone’s camera at plants, insects, and more to instantly identify what you see and learn fun facts along the way! This program will be held at Cross Lots, 40 West Ave, Essex. In the event of rain, this program will not be held. This program is free and open to the public. Registration is required. Click here to register.

1776 and Hamilton: two American musicals telling the story of the founding of our nation. This lecture looks at these revolutionary musicals and their contrasting visions of an American society at a crossroads. Note: this lecture features video clips from the two musicals. This program is FREE and and open to the public at 33 West Avenue, Essex, CT. Register HERE  or by calling the Library at 860-767-1560.

Program for kids ages 5-12. Level up & play LIFE-SIZE, REAL-LIFE versions of some AWESOME board and video games! This session we will be playing life-size Hungry Hungry Hippos! Get ready to chomp, scoot, and laugh in this giant, action-packed version of the classic game! Kids will team up in groups to become “hippos," using scooters and baskets to gobble up as many colorful balls as they can from the center of the room. It’s fast, silly, and tons of fun! Essex Library programs are free and open to the public. Registration is required. Click here to register.

Lighthouses and Lifesaving Services: A fun and lighthearted presentation; beginning with the first lighthouse in Alexandria, Egypt then fast forwarding to the current lighthouses on the eastern coast of the United States. The program highlights lifesaving stations and their crews, lightships, and the men and women who served as keepers of the light. Enjoy a haunting conclusion as we shed light on the paranormal activities surrounding some lighthouses. This program is FREE and open to the public at 33 West Avenue, Essex, CT Space is limited, so registration is suggested. Register online HERE or call the Library at 860-767-1560.

Master Wildlife Conservationist Paul Colburn will present a talk focused on the history of coyotes in Connecticut, which includes an overview of coyote habitat, diet, behavior, and reproduction. Colburn will also offer practical recommendations for optimum coexistence with our coyote population. Coyote artifacts will be shared with attendees. This program is FREE and open to the public at 33 West Avenue, Essex, CT 06426. Register online HERE or by calling the Library at 860-767-1560.

Did you know that the Smithsonian has a living botanical collection? Hear all about it from Smithsonian Horticulturist, Carl Johnson, on July 29 at 12:00 pm, on Zoom. Johnson will discuss the diversity of plants in the collection as well as how the collection supports the work of scientists doing work on plant genetics, evolutionary biology and species conservation, among other areas. Register HERE. This virtual program is FREE and open to the public. Registration is required for this virtual program.

You’re invited to a fascinating conversation with neurologist and author Pria Anand to chat about her new book The Mind Electric: A Neurologist on the Strangeness and Wonder of Our Brains (forthcoming June 10, 2025). Register HERE. The Mind Electric speaks to the stories we tell ourselves about our brains, and the stories that our brains tell to us. This program is FREE and open to the public.

Dive into the world of sharks with Essex Library as we host Kristen Smith of the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy (AWSC) center. Register HERE for this virtual program. This virtual program provides adult audiences with an understanding of the ongoing white shark research projects being conducted and funded by the AWSC, how that research is impacting conservation and public safety efforts, and up-to-date information on what that research has taught us. Audience members will also have an opportunity to view videos and photographs taken during the research season and to develop their knowledge of what a shark is and what is required to conduct white shark research. There will be a short Q&A period after the presentation. This program is FREE and available to the public. Registration is required for this virtual program.

Delve into the fascinating world of birds through astonishing photography and clear explanations in this absorbing global guide, "The Bird Book: The Stories, Science, and History of Birds." Register for this virtual author talk with Smithsonian Biologist Jay Falk HERE.  This program is FREE and open to the public.

Stay cool this summer in the Buel Room of Essex Library with a "Book-to-Screen" movie matinee! For more information, including the movie title, call the Library at 860-767-1560 or visit the events calendar section of the Library’s website, www.youressexlibrary.org.

Stay cool this summer in the Buel Room of Essex Library with a "Book-to-Screen" movie matinee! For more information, including the movie title, call the Library at 860-767-1560 or visit the events calendar section of the Library’s website, www.youressexlibrary.org.

Bring an appetite for sizzling drama as we discuss New York Times bestselling author Casey McQuiston's latest romantic comedy, The Pairing. Register HERE. This program is FREE and open to the public. When two bisexual exes accidentally book the same European food and wine tour, they challenge each other to a hookup competition to prove they're over each other—except they're definitely not. Theo and Kit have been a lot of things: childhood best friends, crushes, in love, and now estranged exes. After a brutal breakup on the transatlantic flight to their dream European food and wine tour, they exited each other's lives once and for all. Time apart has done them good. Theo has found confidence as a hustling bartender by night and aspiring sommelier by day, with a long roster of casual lovers. Kit, who never returned to America, graduated as the reigning sex god of his pastry school class and now bakes at one of the finest restaurants in Paris. Sure, nothing really compares to what they had, and life stretches out long and lonely ahead of them, but—yeah. It's in the past. All that remains is the unused voucher for the European tour that never happened, good […]

Stay cool this summer in the Buel Room of Essex Library with a "Book-to-Screen" movie matinee! For more information, including the movie title, call the Library at 860-767-1560 or visit the events calendar section of the Library’s website, www.youressexlibrary.org.

Stay cool this summer in the Buel Room of Essex Library with a "Book-to-Screen" movie matinee! For more information, including the movie title, call the Library at 860-767-1560 or visit the events calendar section of the Library’s website, www.youressexlibrary.org.