Event Types: Education

Fulfill your summer reading goals and enjoy literary adventures with Gunn Junior Library’s Summer Reading Book Club, held every Monday afternoon in July!

Led by Ms. Ashley, this program is designed for rising 4th and 5th graders and will meet from 3:15 to 4:15 PM, July 7–28. Readers will explore Ben Yokoyama and the Cookie of Doom by Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr. A laugh-out-loud story about a boy who takes a fortune cookie’s advice a little too seriously, leading to silly yet meaningful adventures. A 2024 Nutmeg nominee, this book offers the perfect blend of humor and heart, exploring themes of choice, friendship, and what truly matters.

Each session features a discussion and creative activities inspired by surprise weekly “mystery envelopes.” Let’s make summer reading a whole lot of fun.

Register here

Books will be available for pickup in the Jr. Library starting Monday, June 23.

The Gunn Junior Library partners with Literacy Volunteers on the Green (LVG) to present a series of fun and interactive bilingual storytimes in English and Spanish this July!

Held every Thursday in July, these sessions will feature engaging stories, a literacy-focused book, and hands-on craft activities that inspire creativity and learning. Children and families are invited to join us for this celebration of language, culture, and community connection.

Based in New Milford, LVG provides free English language and literacy tutoring to adult learners across northwestern Connecticut. With a mission rooted in empowerment through education, trained volunteer tutors meet weekly with students to help build essential communication skills for work, home, and civic life. As part of their Family Literacy initiative, LVG uses bilingual children’s books and storytelling to support language learning and help families honor their native languages and cultural heritage.

Don’t miss this opportunity to explore stories, language, and creativity together!

To learn more about LVG, visit www.lvg-ct.org.

Register here

Gunn Memorial Library invites young readers to join a new program designed to build confidence and a lifelong love of reading. Aligned with the library’s Level-Up summer reading theme, the Read Aloud Book Club will run from the week after July 4 through the first week of August 2025, and is specially tailored for children entering Kindergarten and 1st Grade.

The program features a rich blend of read-aloud sessions and fun crafts, all designed to make reading both enjoyable and educational. The books selected span multiple genres to encourage engagement, imagination, and conversation.

This week’s book is Take Me Out to the Yakyu by Aaron Meshon
A little boy’s grandfathers, one in America and one in Japan, teach him about baseball and its rich, varying cultural traditions.

Register here

Join the Gunn Memorial Library as we continue to explore contemporary American poets. For the next few months, Mark Scarbrough will focus on collections from Joy Harjo, Ocean Vuong, Tracy K. Smith, and Dianne Seuss, each author in a separate session. He will examine how these poets transform personal experiences through their craft.
* Copies will be available for checkout at the circulation desk

This event will take place at Washington Senior Center
6 Bryan Hall Plaza Washington Depot, CT, United States, Connecticut 06794

About Mark Scarbrough:
A former academic, Mark Scarbrough, left the seminary to pursue his doctoral work in nineteenth-century American literature at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He has presented papers on medieval literature at the International Medieval Conference in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and American literature at MLA and regional MLA conferences. He wrote screenplays for various production companies and developed much of the original food content in the early 1990s for a small internet startup called America Online. Mark Scarbrough is the co-author of thirty-five titles and has a thriving cookbook career. In 2020, Mark published his memoir, “Bookmarked: How The Great Works Of Western Civilization F*cked Up My Life,” which Will Schwalbe described as “equal parts charm, wit, and withering self-reflection.” Having left the classroom, Mark now finds himself immersed in literature, leading grant-sponsored book groups and six- to eight-week literary seminars throughout Litchfield County, Connecticut, and Berkshire County, Massachusetts.

Registration is required

Looking for a fun, active, and creative summer experience for your child? Pilobolus Kids Camp is back!

Kids ages 6 to 12 will explore movement, storytelling, and improvisation while building confidence, creativity, and collaboration skills—all through Pilobolus’s signature approach to learning through play!

Two Sessions Available:
Week 1: July 21 – 25, 2025
Week 2: July 28 – Aug 1, 2025

Location: Shepaug Valley High School, Washington, CT

Time: 9 AM – 3 PM daily

Sign up for one or both weeks! Register here

Gunn Memorial Library invites young readers to join a new program designed to build confidence and a lifelong love of reading. Aligned with the library’s Level-Up summer reading theme, the Read Aloud Book Club will run from the week after July 4 through the first week of August 2025, and is specially tailored for children entering Kindergarten and 1st Grade.

The program features a rich blend of read-aloud sessions and fun crafts, all designed to make reading both enjoyable and educational. The books selected span multiple genres to encourage engagement, imagination, and conversation.

This week’s book is This Book Just Ate My Dog by Richard Byrne
When her dog disappears into the gutter of a book, Bella calls for help, but when the helpers disappear too, Bella realizes it will take more than a tug on the leash to put things right!

Register here

Looking for a fun, active, and creative summer experience for your child? Pilobolus Kids Camp is back!

Kids ages 6 to 12 will explore movement, storytelling, and improvisation while building confidence, creativity, and collaboration skills—all through Pilobolus’s signature approach to learning through play!

Two Sessions Available:
Week 1: July 21 – 25, 2025
Week 2: July 28 – Aug 1, 2025

Location: Shepaug Valley High School, Washington, CT

Time: 9 AM – 3 PM daily

Sign up for one or both weeks! Register here

Gunn Memorial Library invites young readers to join a new program designed to build confidence and a lifelong love of reading. Aligned with the library’s Level-Up summer reading theme, the Read Aloud Book Club will run from the week after July 4 through the first week of August 2025, and is specially tailored for children entering Kindergarten and 1st Grade.

The program features a rich blend of read-aloud sessions and fun crafts, all designed to make reading both enjoyable and educational. The books selected span multiple genres to encourage engagement, imagination, and conversation.

This week’s book is Training Day by Raúl the Third
Getting out of bed isn’t always easy, especially for Mexican wrestling star El Toro. But his coach, Kooky Dooky, knows that it’s essential for the wrestler to stay in shape and continue training — even when he doesn’t feel like it. Can Kooky Dooky raise El Toro’s spirits and get him to practice before his next big wrestling match?

Register here

Visit our exhibit about the unique people, places and events that have shaped Washington’s rich history.

The Museum offers free guided tours every Saturday at 1:00 pm. Private tours and large group tours can be coordinated upon request. For scheduling or more information, please email [email protected] or [email protected].

Hours of Operation:
Thursdays/Fridays from 10am-4pm
Saturdays from 10am – 3pm
*Free Admission*

We are delighted to share these positive reviews of “Washington, Connecticut: An American Story”:

• Bill Hosley posted a review on the Creating Sense of Place for Connecticut Facebook page. Bill Hosley, is the former curator of the Wadsworth Atheneum and is still active in local history initiatives.
• Tracey O’Shaughnessy’s review was published in the Republican American. She is the Associate Features Editor and coordinates the newspaper’s visual arts and theater coverage. She has received national and regional awards for her arts criticism, commentary and news features.

WAA is passionate about arts education. Whether you are an experienced artist or a novice, WAA offers a range of opportunities for creative exploration. We provide a nurturing place for people of all ages to develop their skills and explore new artistic directions with classes in painting, ceramics, sculpture, drawing, and more.

View current class offerings

In an immersive forest setting with no locks, keys or clocks, Wigwam Escape’s thematic puzzles challenge game players to hunt, find water and prepare food similar to how Native people did for thousands of years prior to European contact. The Institute for American Indian Studies, proudly presents a new way to interact with history, a themed escape room, Wigwam Escape.

For more information or to book your escape room, go to: wigwamescape.org.

Visit the Gunn Historical Museum for the new “American Perspectives: Peril and Possibilities” Exhibit that celebrates the colonial era entering into the revolutionary period.

The exhibit discusses Connecticut and our community including women during the war. “As we enter the 250th anniversary of our country’s beginning, we look back at the impossible
story. The story of thirteen colonies banning together against an Empire; armed with
determination and hope they faced a world of peril and possibilities. Defying the world’s
 mightiest Empire they believed that a government could be ruled by and for ordinary men,
rather than s monarch claiming divine right.

The colonist leaders of the thirteen colonies echoed the ideas of the Enlightenment philosophers calling for self-rule and consent of the governed. These principles became the backbone of the Declaration of Independence and later the Constitution. These principles along with frustrations of being treated as less than British citizens galvanized the independent colonies into a cohesive force ready for independence.” – Museum Curator, Amy Campanaro

Please note the museum is located in a colonial home and is not currently handicap accessible. The exhibit American Perspectives: Peril and Possibilities is located on the second floor in the museum. The Gunn Museum collects, preserves, interprets and exhibits the history of Washington and its surroundings villages; we are housed in a historic 1781 home on the Washington Green.

The Gunn Museum is located at 5 Wykeham Road in Washington, CT, we are open Thursday, Friday 10:00AM – 4:00PM and Saturday 10:00AM-3:00PM. Free guided tours are offered on Saturdays at 1:00PM. For more information please call 860-868-7756 or email us [email protected].

Looking for a fun, active, and creative summer experience for your child? Pilobolus Kids Camp is back!

Kids ages 6 to 12 will explore movement, storytelling, and improvisation while building confidence, creativity, and collaboration skills—all through Pilobolus’s signature approach to learning through play!

Two Sessions Available:
Week 1: July 21 – 25, 2025
Week 2: July 28 – Aug 1, 2025

Location: Shepaug Valley High School, Washington, CT

Time: 9 AM – 3 PM daily

Sign up for one or both weeks! Register here

Corn is an integral part of the annual life cycle of Native American people. When the first tender ears are ripe for picking it is cause for celebration. Save the date to welcome the first corn of the season with exciting activities including drumming, dancing, children’s activities, flute music by Allan Madahbee (Ojibwe), vendors, stories and more! We are excited to welcome the Native Nations Dance Troupe led by Erin Lamb Meeches (Schaghticoke). While enjoying the dancing and activities, get some refreshments from one of our various food vendors, including Jason Cogswell Lamb, Schaghticoke, of Mashquanon’s Wetu. Join the fun at our Twentieth Annual Green Corn Festival.

Please note: This outdoor event will be held rain or shine. Cash sales recommended for onsite purchases. Attendees are encouraged to bring a folding camp chair to view the performances.

More details to come.

Thursday, August 14th at 5:00pm

During this year of celebrating our 50th Anniversary, the IAIS is hosting a gala at Hopkins Vineyard. In addition to hearty hors d’oeuvres, wine, and other libations, the evening will feature a special performance by Pilobolus. Darlene Kascak (Schaghticoke Tribal Nation), the Institute’s Outreach Ambassador and acclaimed Native storyteller, has partnered with Matt Kent, Pilobolus Artistic Director, to provide narration of Indigenous-inspired dances. It will be exciting to have Indigenous-focused artistry in the natural setting of the vineyard, which is also near a significant archaeological dig led by IAIS.

Please note: this outdoor event will be held rain or shine on the grounds of the vineyard. There will be tents, but participants should dress for the weather and wear shoes that they would feel comfortable wearing at a garden party.

Questions? Please email [email protected] or call (860) 868 0518. Tickets cost $150/person.

Get tickets

Curious about AI? Mike Ingber returns to the library to demystify this up and coming technology with a workshop all about the practical uses of AI. After a brief introduction to the history of this technology, Mike will introduce you to popular AI generated chatbots like ChatGPT, Microsoft CoPilot, and Google Gemini and demonstrate ways to use AI tools that are available in software you might already be using! Gain confidence with AI and discover how tools in Windows 11, Word, Google Chrome, Gmail, and your phone can help with everyday tasks.

Mike Ingber, owner of Upward Business Systems since 1989, provides expert, reliable, affordable computer consulting services to a large base of clients. Clients include town halls, libraries, schools, non-profit agencies, small and medium businesses, home users, and senior citizens. Mike received an M.S. in Computer Science from Cornell University in 1979, and a B.S. in Computer Science and Applied Math from Stony Brook University in 1977. Mike has been a resident of Oxford since 1982.

Registration Required

August 21: Poet Dianne Seuss

Join us as we continue to explore contemporary American poets. For the next few months, we will focus on collections from Joy Harjo, Ocean Vuong, Tracy K. Smith, and Dianne Seuss. We will examine how these poets transform personal experiences through their craft.

* Copies will be available for check out at the circulation desk*

About Mark Scarbrough:
A former academic, Mark Scarbrough, left the seminary to pursue his doctoral work in nineteenth- century American literature at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He has presented papers on medieval literature at the International Medieval Conference in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and American literature at MLA and regional MLA conferences. He wrote screenplays for various production companies and developed much of the original food content in the early 1990s for a small internet startup called America Online. Mark Scarbrough is the co-author of thirty-five titles and has a thriving cookbook career. In 2020, Mark published his memoir, “Bookmarked: How The Great Works Of Western Civilization F*cked Up My Life,” which Will Schwalbe described as “equal parts charm, wit, and withering self-reflection.” Having left the classroom, Mark now finds himself immersed in literature, leading grant-sponsored book groups and six- to eight-week literary seminars throughout Litchfield County, Connecticut, and Berkshire County, Massachusetts.

Registration required

WAA is passionate about arts education. Whether you are an experienced artist or a novice, WAA offers a range of opportunities for creative exploration. We provide a nurturing place for people of all ages to develop their skills and explore new artistic directions with classes in painting, ceramics, sculpture, drawing, and more.

View current class offerings