Events

All Ages Magic Show

Join our community partners from Papio NRD for an interactive program all about insects! Kids will explore real specimens, learn fun facts, and discover why insects are essential to healthy ecosystems. This is a free event for kids. Registration is required.

Enjoy a different activity or craft each week under the big picnic shelter in Peterson Park. Drop in anytime. Recommended for Grades PreK and up. No library card or registration required.

Calling all dino-designers; get ready for an adventure millions of years in the making! Unleash your inner sculptor and join us to make a clay dinosaur. After your prehistoric pal is built, you can give them a voice by writing a thrilling mini-adventure about their life in the wild! No experience needed—just bring your imagination! All materials are included, while supplies last. This is a free event for children ages 8-12. Registration is required.

Library favorite Jeff Quinn is back! He'll astound the audience with fun magic tricks and humor. If you're lucky, you might get to be part of the show!

Play yard games, explore the Imagination playground blocks from Rec On the Move, and other fun activities! In the event of inclement weather this program will be cancelled.

Omaha Astronomical Society visits the Bennington Library

Professor Pippy P. Poopypants has captured best friends Harold and George! Captain Underpants needs your help to save them. You’ll have to work together to solve clues and puzzles themed around the Captain Underpants series by Dav Pikey to save Harold and George before time runs out. Do you have what it takes to be a hero like Captain Underpants? Registration is required.

Step back in time and build your own prehistoric world! Create a dinosaur terrarium with the perfect mini habitat for a dino friend. Bring your imagination and get ready for a roaring good time! This is a free event for kids ages 5 and older. Registration is required 

Curiosity Crew is a dedicated STEM educational and experimentation time for kids of all ages (2-11). Each month we’ll have a Curiosity Crew theme that guides our learning and activities! Families are welcome to drop in, learn something new, and complete an experiment or activity as a group! June Theme: Dinos! Celebrate our summer reading theme and learn about types of dinosaurs and how their fossils were made.  Space is limited. Registration is encouraged.

Join OPL at “Once Upon a Time at the Castle,” a storytime and wildlife adventure in the enchanted gardens. Storytime will feature stories, creative movement, music and more. After storytime, learn about the real creatures we read about through live wildlife interactions and activities. This month we will learn about snakes.

Get ready for a roaring good time! In this hands-on musical experience inspired by Dinosaurumpus!, kids become the musicians as they explore the many ways percussion instruments make sound—shaking, scraping, and striking along with the story. Guided by a staff member from the Omaha Symphony, young participants will stomp, chomp, and make music together while discovering how rhythm brings this dino-filled tale to life.

Curiosity Crew is a one-hour, hands-on STEM program for children ages 2-5 that blends play, exploration, and early learning! Stop by to learn about a topic and complete an activity!  June Theme: Dinos! Celebrate our summer reading theme and learn about types of dinosaurs and how their fossils were made. Space is limited. Registration is encouraged.

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.

All Ages. Keep track of your summer fun by starting a journal. Journals available while supplies last.

Discover the fascinating process of fossilization! Join us to explore the layers that entombed the dinosaurs and construct an edible model of their burial. This is a free event for children. Registration is required.

Every Thursday join in the Curiosity Lab, as we explore science with hands-on activities and experiments. *Participants should be prepared to get messy*

Get to know the new OPL Do Space in our Skills Class! Each session will focus on learning a new skill, machine, or software. This session will focus on the intermediate 3D modeling skills. Participants will be able to ask detailed questions and design more complex items for print. 

Learn how to block in a scene with watercolor wash, then pop the details with pen work on top. Breathe in, observe your surroundings, find expansion and growth all around you. Learn how to create distance with color, find magic in the patterns of nature. We will be working with pens, liquid watercolor, watercolor pencils, water-based pastels and water brushes. Meet at the Arrival Plaza next to the Discovery Playground!