A class focused on songs, stories and activities for developing kindergarten readiness skills which children attend independently. Caregiver must remain in the Library during the program. Registration is required and is separate for each class each week. Please register each child individually. Space is limited. Registration opens at 8:00 pm on Tuesday the week prior. In order to provide the best learning environment for all participants, we are unable to allow access, regardless of registration, if you arrive 10 minutes after the program starts.
playspaceFREEFairfield Public Library — Fairfield Woods Branch · Fairfield
Drop-in to have some fun with Playdoh! Get ready to roll, squish, shape and create during this afternoon of hands-on, imaginative play! For children ages 3+ with caregiver. Registration is not required for this drop in program.
artFREEFairfield Public Library — Fairfield Woods Branch · Fairfield
Design your very own car to race! Whose will go the fastest? Whose will go the farthest? Take your car home with you after class! For children in grades K-5. Children attend independently. Parent or caregiver must remain in the Library during the event. Registration is required and opens on Wednesday, September 23. Space is limited.
storytimeFREEFairfield Public Library — Fairfield Woods Branch · Fairfield
Fairfield Woods Branch Library Lawn: Thursdays @ 9:00 am A lapsit program with songs, rhymes and books for babies (pre-walkers) and their caregiver. It is recommended that you bring a blanket to sit on.* Registration is not required for these classes. Please only plan to attend one Baby Rhyme Time class each week since the same class is offered two times. *PLEASE NOTE for outside classes at the Fairfield Woods Branch Library: Due to rain or other weather-related issues, the classes may instead be held inside at the Fairfield Woods Branch Library with limited seating. Tickets will be handed out on a first-come, first-served basis. Space is limited. Please view our online events calendar 20 minutes before the class or call the Library during open hours to check for location changes. The Library reserves the right to change the classes’ locations at any time and for any reason.
storytimeFREEFairfield Public Library — Fairfield Woods Branch · Fairfield
Fairfield Woods Branch Library Lawn: Thursdays @ 9:45 am An active storytime with songs, rhymes and books for children who are walking up to 23 months old and their caregiver. It is recommended that you bring a blanket to sit on.* Registration is not required for these classes. Please only plan to attend one Wobbly Walkers class each week since the same class is offered two times. *PLEASE NOTE for outside classes at the Fairfield Woods Branch Library: Due to rain or other weather-related issues, the classes may instead be held inside at the Fairfield Woods Branch Library with limited seating. Tickets will be handed out on a first-come, first-served basis. Space is limited. Please view our online events calendar 20 minutes before the class or call the Library during open hours to check for location changes. The Library reserves the right to change the classes’ locations at any time and for any reason.
movementFREEFairfield Public Library — Main Library · Fairfield
Explore, play, and grow together! Literacy Play Lab is a hands-on early learning program designed for young children and their caregivers. This event features engaging materials such as books, toys, sensory activities, puzzles, games, and other interactive learning tools that help build early literacy skills. Children will develop language, vocabulary, fine motor skills, creativity, and social-emotional skills while caregivers discover fun, simple ways to support early literacy development in their kiddos. Come play, explore, and build a love of reading! For children 18 months up to 5 years old with their caregiver. Registration is required and is separate for each class each week. Please register each child individually. Space is limited. Registration opens at 8:00 pm on Wednesday the week prior. In order to provide the best learning environment for all participants, we are unable to allow access, regardless of registration, if you arrive 10 minutes after the program starts.
storytimeFREEFairfield Public Library — Main Library · Fairfield
Let's bounce and wiggle during this storytime with songs, rhymes and books for children 18 months up to 35 months old with their caregiver. Registration is required and is separate for each class each week. Please register each child individually. Space is limited. Registration opens at 8:00 pm on Thursday the week prior. Please only attend ONE class of each type each week since they are the same class offered multiple times. In order to provide the best learning environment for all participants, we are unable to allow access, regardless of registration, if you arrive 10 minutes after the program starts.
FREEDolan School of Business Event Hall · Fairfield
In this age of rising authoritarianism, economic inequality, political polarization, climate change, and media disruptions, it may seem that American democracy is unable to respond and adapt to the challenges that threaten its very existence. However, a reinvention of our constitutional democracy remains entirely within reach—and urgently needed. Americans across the political spectrum yearn to believe again in the American story and to feel connected to one another. As part of the Fairfield Museum’s commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, join us for a timely and vital conversation exploring practical ways we can build a new, collective commitment to democratic citizenship, using the landmark report “Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century” as a starting point. Click here to read the “Our Common Purpose” report. In August 2026, the authors of the “Our Common Purpose” report wrote an update on their progress. Click here to read the latest report. Panelists include: Stephen Heintz, President Emeritus of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Global Commission on Democracy; CT Secretary of State Stephanie Thomas; David McCullough III, cofounder & CEO of American Exchange Project, an innovative program that builds connections between young Americans from different backgrounds; and Fairfield University’s Aaron Weinstein, PhD, a scholar of the intersection of secular and religious thought in American politics. Co-presented by Fairfield University Center for Arts & Minds. Reception to follow. This program is free and open to the public. RSVP is required. Optional Donation Your donation will help support the Fairfield Museum’s exhibitions and programs. Please click here to donate. Event Details The program will take place at the Dolan School of Business Event Hall at Fairfield University, 1073 Benson Rd. Parking: There is a lot adjacent to the Dolan School of Business building. Additional parking is available at the Quick Center, which is accessible via a pathway between the two buildings. About the Speakers Stephen B. Heintz is President Emeritus of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, a private family foundation with an endowment of approximately $1.2 billion that advances social change for a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world. Heintz coined the term “acupuncture philanthropy” to describe his philanthropic approach of leveraging modest financial assets to trigger larger systemic change on critical issues. Heintz, who began his professional life in public service for the state of Connecticut, has devoted his career to strengthening democratic culture and institutions to better serve citizens. Before joining the RBF in 2001, Heintz co-founded and served as president of Dēmos, a public policy organization that works to reduce political and economic inequality and to broaden citizen engagement in American democracy. As co-chair of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences national Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship, he co-authored the report Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century (2020). In addition to his work on the international stage, Heintz is a fellow and board member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development, and the Global Commission on Democracy and Multilateralism convened by Club de Madrid in 2025. He chairs the board of the Quincy Institute and serves on the boards of the International Crisis Group and the Rockefeller Archive Center. He is the recipient of the Council on Foundations 2018 Distinguished Service Award. David McCullough III is the cofounder and CEO of American Exchange Project, the country’s first domestic intercultural exchange program. In the summer of 2016, McCullough drove 7,100 miles across America to research the effects of poverty on education. He spent two months in three towns that were very different from the Boston suburb he grew up in: Cotulla, Texas, the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, and the Slavic Village of Cleveland, Ohio. The road trip was an immersive lesson in experiential civics that inspired him to found the program in 2019 with PBS NewsHour Economic Correspondent Paul Solman and the late Harvard Business School Professor Robert Glauber. Since then, American Exchange Project has sent more than 2,000 students to nearly 50 states with the mission of creating a more connected America. The organization has been featured in more than 125 media outlets, including the CBS Sunday Morning Show, Fox & Friends, the BBC, the New York Post, the Boston Globe, CNN, and Good Morning America. McCullough has a BA in American Studies from Yale and an MPhil in Economic and Social History from the University of Cambridge. In 2022, he was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in Education. He lives in Boston. Stephanie Thomas was sworn in as Connecticut’s 75th Secretary of the State on January 4, 2023, making history as the first Black person elected to the office. She leads one of Connecticut’s oldest constitutional offices — established in 1639 — and one of its most wide-ranging, overseeing elections, the state’s business registry, and official public records. Since taking office, she has led a sweeping modernization of Connecticut’s elections, including the successful implementation of early in-person voting and securing a historic $20 million investment in new voting technology. Under her leadership, Connecticut has built on its strong foundation to further establish itself as a national model for running elections that are transparent, bipartisan, and grounded in public trust. Secretary Thomas has also emerged as a national voice on election administration and civic engagement. In 2025, she testified before Congress on voter access and election security and now serves on the Executive Board of the National Association of Secretaries of State. She is frequently sought out by the media for her ability to explain complex election issues in clear, practical terms. A former small business owner and state legislator, she has also championed efforts to modernize business services, support entrepreneurs, and expand civic engagement through initiatives like the CEO (Civically Engaged Organization) program and Power of Civics. She holds a B.A. from New York University, an M.S. in Nonprofit Management from The New School and resides in Norwalk. Dr. Aaron Q. Weinstein is Assistant Professor of Politics at Fairfield University, where his research and teaching interests include American Political Thought, modern political ideologies, and the intersection of religion and politics. He received his Ph.D. in political science from Brown University in 2016, and his B.A. in government and history (magna cum laude, with distinction in all subjects) from Cornell University in 2009. Dr. Weinstein is the Faculty Liaison for Fairfield University’s Center for Arts and Minds.
storytimeFREEFairfield Public Library — Main Library · Fairfield
Enjoy a fun way to develop early literacy skills in young children with dancing, singing and stories that incorporate music. For children ages 0-5 and their adult caregiver. This is a drop-in storytime in the Children's Room. *Tickets are not needed for this class.