Events

Romp! Stomp! and ROAR!!!  Let's celebrate the release of the New Jurassic World movie! Explore the prehistoric textures of our DIY Dino Sensory Bins as we time travel back to the land of colossal creatures!!  This is a FREE, all ages event! First come, first serve, while supplies last! We recommend coming as early as 11 AM (open) to reserve your spot!

Cook up some fun using the power of the sun! Use simple materials to build a solar oven, then try making melty s’mores or warming up your favorite treat.

Join children’s book illustrator, Chloe Burgett, as she shares what it's like drawing pictures for children's books. Chloe will present about her job, read her book, answer questions, and lead a draw-along activity. This is a free event event for children of all ages. Registration is required

In July, they will learn about insects.

Join for 30 minutes of singing and musical fun with Lori Lynn from Overall Buddies! This program is most appropriate for kids ages 5 and younger and an adult companion. In the event of inclement weather, this program will move to Library Meeting Room A.

It's Shark Week!!🦈Join in celebration of Shark Week with a Sensory Bottle sure to please any shark enthusiast!!🌊 Then gather around for a story all about sharks!! This is a FREE, all ages activity! First come, first serve, while supplies last! We recommend coming as early as 10 AM (open) to reserve your spot!

Cool off with a big splash of Fat Brain fun! There will be wading pools, all kinds of water toys to try, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, and more. It's a perfect addition to a fun-filled summer! Bring your lawn chair!

Calling all witches and wizards! Think you have what it takes to participate in this Wizarding Adventure? Come solve puzzles and clues to unlock a prize box before time runs out in this escape room based on the best-selling "Harry Potter" book series. There will be three escape rooms, at 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. for participants ages 8-12. Try to escape over summer break! Registration is required

Ready, aim… launch! In this hands-on Make It session, students will build their own mini catapults using popsicle sticks, rubber bands, and a few simple materials. Along the way, they'll explore basic principles of physics like tension, force, and trajectory—then put their creations to the test in friendly launch challenges. This playful project is great for curious minds who love to build, experiment, and see how far they can fling! Registration is required for this event.

Join for Community Fishing Night at Halleck Lake! All participants ages 16 and older need a fishing license. A valid state park entry permit is also required for events at state park areas.

Join us for this 30 minute interactive sing and dance along show with Mister K's Clubhouse. Best suited for children 1-7.

Join for an amazingly fun show designed to inspire children of all ages to love science! There will be chemical reactions, fire, and more! In the event of inclement weather this program will be moved to the CB Library.

Bennington Library Community Partners

Just how do instruments make sound? In this storytime with the Omaha Symphony’s education team, we’ll explore pitch and vibration in this interactive program centered around Mary and her Little Lamb (and Llama!). Designed for students ages 3-7, all ages are welcome in this musical adventure.

Join OPL for a musical storytime with guests from the Omaha Conservatory of Music. This storytime will include a special musical story, songs with movement, and an instrument petting zoo, where participants can try out a violin, cello, glockenspiel, stirring xylophone, lollipop drum, and a shaker instrument.

Unleash your creativity and get ready to customize your own adorable Calico Critter Keychain! Choose your favorite critter and dazzle it up with a funky bead strand! Perfect for hanging on your purse or backpack, this cutie-pie will be your stylish sidekick everywhere you go! Join for this fun-filled event for just $10 upon arrival. Open to all ages, so bring your friends and family and let the critter crafting begin!

Bubbles, Bubbles, and more Bubbles! The Omaha Children's museum joins us for a special presentation of their "Amazing Bubble Show!"

Jeff Quinn's all-new magic show needs YOU! Get your friends and family together and join Jeff Quinn's Summer Reading Show. This is a free event for all ages.

Join OPL at the Gene Leahy Mall for storytime! Storytime is geared toward preschoolers, but all ages are welcome to join in the fun. Rain or shine, we'll be there! They will be under the big white pavilion.

Join OPL for a special storytime featuring the book Harry and Hot Lava by Chris Robertson! At the conclusion of storytime, children will be timed as they jump and hop their way through an obstacle course using various surfaces. Go as fast as you can, but don’t fall in because…the Floor is Lava! This is a free event for children 4+.

Join OPL as we welcome staff from Papio Natural Resources District. They will teach us all about turtles! Did you know Nebraska is home to 9 species of turtles? With the help of a few animal educators, we will learn all about what makes a turtle, a turtle!

Join Omaha Street Percussion for a workshop designed to give young patrons an opportunity to drum, while at the same time learn the importance of teamwork. Participants will be challenged to multi-task by using skills such as counting, listening, and watching for instruction and guidance in order to accomplish the ultimate goal, which is to perform as a whole group! Registration is required

Come and get messy at the library! We will have fun stations set up outside the library where you can explore and get dirty. Washing station available. Bring your own towel!

Join for winter-themed games, photo-ops, characters, and activities as we imagine it’s a cold and snowy winter day!  In the event of inclement weather this program will be cancelled.

Hoot — the mascot for the Union Omaha soccer team — will visit for a special storytime. Children of all ages are welcome. Experience stories, creative movement, music and more. We explore the early literacy skills of singing, playing, reading, talking and writing in each storytime. This is a free event for all ages.

Dunnah..dunnah..dunnah!! SHARK!!!! AHHHH!!!!🦈 Join in celebration of Shark Week with a DIY Shark Attack Slime workshop!! Feel the ooey gooey textures of the ocean slime🌊 but watch out for SHARKS!!🤯 This is a FREE, all ages activity. First come, first serve, while supplies last! We recommend coming as early as 10 AM (open) to reserve your spot!

Everyone in the family is invited to complete mini challenges. Just playing could win you a prize! No library card or registration required.

On June 14, the topic will be frogs! Hop in for a ribbit-ing leap into the world of frogs. Learn about Nebraska’s frogs, their habitats, adaptations and more! Meet in the Lake #4 parking lot at 8 a.m.

Kids & Teens Craft Fair!

Pancake Pig will visit for a special storytime! Children of all ages are welcome. Experience stories, creative movement, music and more. We explore the early literacy skills of singing, playing, reading, talking, and writing in each storytime. There will be opportunities to take photos.

They're going to travel back in time millions of years to explore the amazing world of dinosaurs! Ranger Anthony from Stomp Chomp Roar will be here with a MUSEUM BUS to teach kids all about paleontology and the lives of dinosaurs. Stomp on by!

Rotating schedule of free instructor-lead wellness classes sure to get you moving. This Week’s Activity: Yoga with Jess Jaksha

Build and decorate a cardboard mannequin in your own (or inspired by your own) likeness. Once you learn this technique, you can build up a whole little world that spans across time and is full of all your favorite people, places, and things! Registration Required

Jeff Quinn's all-new magic show needs YOU! Get your friends and family together and join Jeff Quinn's Summer Reading Show. This is a free event for all ages.

This workshop is for writers who love to dream big, think outside the box, and have fun while learning. You’ll leave with exciting new ideas and maybe even the start of your next masterpiece. No matter your experience level, this class will help you grow your storytelling superpowers—and have a blast while doing it. Game on! This is a free program for ages 10-13. Registration is required

Join this summer for some stargazing at Eugene T. Mahoney State Park! Powerful telescopes will be set up at the park’s golf shack for a glimpse of the night sky spectaculars. The event is free to the public, but you will need a valid Nebraska park entry permit for your vehicle. Stargazing will begin at dusk. Remember to bring your camp chairs or blankets! Telescopes will be provided.

I spy with my little eye👀 a galaxy🌌 of fun textures, and everything outer space themed of course!!🪐Join as they create a one-of-a-kind I Spy 🧐 Sensory Bottle! These are perfect for all ages and make a fun, educational toy for the car or home!! This is a FREE, all ages event!! We recommend coming at 11 AM (open) to reserve your spot as spaces are limited and fill very quickly!

Pancake Pig will visit for a special storytime! Children of all ages are welcome. Experience stories, creative movement, music and more. We explore the early literacy skills of singing, playing, reading, talking, and writing in each storytime. There will be opportunities to take photos.

Pancake Pig will visit for a special storytime! Children of all ages are welcome. Experience stories, creative movement, music and more. We explore the early literacy skills of singing, playing, reading, talking, and writing in each storytime. There will be opportunities to take photos.

Hats off🧢 to a fun afternoon of getting creative!!🎨 Customize your very own trucker hat with patches and fabric markers!! Fashion Designers of all ages are welcome! $10 per participant upon arrival of the event! Supplies are limited, we recommend coming early to secure a spot!

Ages 7+.  Mandala Art

Oh no! We're stuck in the past! Or is this the future? Work together to find hidden relics from each era and fix the T.I.M.E machine before that hungry dinosaur eats you for dinner. Do you have what it takes? Registration is required 

Pancake Pig will visit for a special storytime! Children of all ages are welcome. Experience stories, creative movement, music and more. We explore the early literacy skills of singing, playing, reading, talking, and writing in each storytime. There will be opportunities to take photos.

Giddyup! Let's learn about life on the farm! Our friends from Gifford Farm will be here to teach kids all about how farms work and what it's like to be a farmer. Plus, they're bringing a goat, a lamb, a duck, and a rabbit!

Join for a prehistoric pep rally all about life millions of years ago! From dinosaur skin all the way to extinction, this is an experience you won't want to miss! This is an interactive show most appropriate for families with kids in grades K-6. In the event of inclement weather this program will be moved to the CB Library.

Come enjoy a special magic show by Rainbow Trout the Clown!

Bennington Library Community Partners

Pancake Pig will visit for a special storytime! Children of all ages are welcome. Experience stories, creative movement, music and more. We explore the early literacy skills of singing, playing, reading, talking, and writing in each storytime. There will be opportunities to take photos.

It's a bird, it's a plane ... no, it's Fontenelle Forest's Raptor Rescue! Join us for a high-flying storytime featuring guests from the rescue.

Let the sun power your creepy crawly creation! Build your own solar-powered robo-roach and watch it scurry when the light hits. Registration is required for this event.

Poop, vomit, slime, and even more amazing disgusting topics will be explored as we learn about some of the grossest (and coolest) animal traits. Join OPL and educators from the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium to learn about mammal digestion and discover why scientists use poop to track animal migration patterns.

Join for Community Fishing Night at Prairie Queen Lake! All participants ages 16 and older need a fishing license. A valid state park entry permit is also required for events at state park areas.

Experience stories, creative movement, music and more. Explore the early literacy skills of singing, playing, reading, talking and writing in each storytime! Children of all ages are welcome; storytimes will be tailored for the age of the children present. At this storytime, we will learn about fire safety with a local firefighter and even see a fire truck!

In order for curious minds to bloom, it is essential to plant a love of reading at a young age. Join OPL at Lauritzen Gardens for stories that celebrate gardens, plants, insects and more, and discover the joys of nature, movement, music, and literature. Storytime is geared for preschoolers, but all ages are welcome. Lauritzen Gardens will offer free admission to families who attend this storytime.

Pancake Pig will visit for a special storytime! Children of all ages are welcome. Experience stories, creative movement, music and more. We explore the early literacy skills of singing, playing, reading, talking, and writing in each storytime. There will be opportunities to take photos.

Join children’s book illustrator, Chloe Burgett, as she shares what it's like drawing pictures for children's books. Chloe will present about her job, read her book, answer questions, and lead a draw-along activity. This is a free event event for children of all ages. Registration is required

Oh no! We're stuck in the past! Or is this the future? Work together to find hidden relics from each era and fix the T.I.M.E machine before that hungry dinosaur eats you for dinner. Do you have what it takes? Registration is required