Registration required. Drop-ins welcome if space allows.

Priyanka has been working in the test prep industry for 11 years and started her own business Let’s Talk College, LLC in 2018. Her goal is to help you organize your college applications process in the most painless, low-stress way possible.  

Please join us for a fascinating Wilton Reads presentation, "Making the Dirt Fly: Building the Panama Canal," on May 1, when Eric Ward from the Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering & Technology, will discuss the massive construction project of excavating 238,845,587 cubic yards of material, damning the Chagres River, dealing with devastating landslides, and building six massive two-channel locks. He will also explore current issues facing the Canal due to changing climate.

Designated as one of the "Seven Wonders of the Modern World and a Monument of the Millennium" by the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Panama Canal, which opened on August 15, 1914, shortened the distance for ocean-going freight and passengers traveling between the U.S. east and west coasts by over 8,000 miles.

Eric Ward is Vice President for Public Programs at the Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering & Technology in Kansas City, Missouri, where he has curated exhibitions on topics ranging from the science of CSI and natural disasters to a history of bird field guides, the Panama Canal, and the science of Project Apollo. He has a B.A. in English from Hawaii Pacific University and an MLIS from the University of Hawaii.

Eric's exhibition on the Panama Canal, titled The Land Divided, The World United, featured material from the Library's A.B. Nichols Collection. Nichols, Office Engineer during the Canal's construction, amassed a collection of 1,200 original photographs, 1,300 blueprints and schematics,100 maps, 250 letters and memoranda, and other items including diaries, postcards, news clippings, and hand-colored sketches and drawings throughout his 10-year tenure at the Canal.

Eric Ward will be conducting his presentation via Zoom from his library office in Kansas City, Missouri. In-person attendees will watch the presentation together in the Brubeck Room; however, Zooming from home is another option.

Registration for this program is required. Please indicate whether you will be attending in-person to watch the broadcast or via Zoom when registering.

Register online or call (203)762-6334. For additional information contact cfquinn@wiltonlibrary.org. 

2 and 3 year-olds and their caregivers are invited to join us for a storytime geared especially for them!  Participants will hear stories, sing songs, learn rhymes, do movement activities, and have the opportunity to use scarves and instruments, while building literacy and social skills.  Feel free to stay after to scocialize.

Weekly drop-in for Needlework Crafters. All welcome whether you knit, crochet, needlepoint, embroider or do any other needlework by hand.  Make new friends, get tips and share ideas while working on your own projects, or a group project for donation to a charitable cause. Bring your own materials.

No registration required.

For further information contact Caryn: cfquinn@wiltonlibrary.org.

The impact social media can have on our children's mental health has been in the news a lot lately. We know too much tech can be harmful, but we sometimes struggle with finding the right balance in our own homes. Wilton Youth Council is pleased to bring Claudia Erickson, BSW MPH and Co-founder of the Unplugged Collaborative, to deliver the keynote address for this year’s Mental Health Action Month. Join Claudia to learn more about the current technology landscape and what our kids want us to know about their relationship with social media. We’ll talk about our greatest tech concerns.  Using the latest research, Claudia will give us practical, creative ideas on how we can encourage healthier digital habits in our families. Claudia will show us how to find greater tech-life balance in a distracted world!

With a bachelor’s degree in social work and master’s in public health, Claudia has over 20 years’ experience working in maternal child health for businesses such as San Diego State University, Scripps, Children’s Hospital, the San Diego Police Foundation and the San Diego Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.  Her work experience spans various public health issues from STD prevention, immunization education, breastfeeding, cybersafety and literacy.  She is the founder of the Unplugged Village,  a digital wellness company that helps people spend less time with technology and more time increasing authentic human connection and community.  Activities and events have included everything from craft and trivia nights, pop up comedy shows to the Unplugged Dining network and a farmer’s market scavenger hunt for kids.

Sponsored by Wilton Youth Council, Wilton Library, Middlebrook PTA, Thrive with a Guide, Wilton High School PTSA and Wilton SEPTA.

Registration is recommended.  Please register online or call 203-762-6334.  For more information, contact asato@wiltonlibrary.org.

Children ages 2 and up and their caregivers are invited to join us for this family storytime!  Participants will hear stories, sing songs, learn rhymes, do movement activities, and use scarves and instruments, while building literacy and social skills.  Fun for the whole family!  Feel free to stay after to socialize!

Please join us for another Sunday afternoon of chamber music in our Connecticut's Own series. Wilton residents Ralph Kirmser (oboe) and Kyong Hee Cho (piano) will perform pieces by Robert Schumann, Pierre Sancan and Frederic Chopin.

Ralph Kirmser is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Yale School of Medicine. He has been oboist for the Madera Winds Quintet for five years. Prior to that, he was oboist for the Prevailing Winds of Connecticut and Morningside Wind Quintet of New York City. In 2000, he was oboist for Orvieto Musica in Orvieto, Italy. He is a regular participant at the Bennington Chamber Music Conference and has served on its Board of Trustees. While an undergraduate at Dartmouth, Dr. Kirmser was principal oboe for the Vermont Symphony. Dr. Kirmser is a cardiologist with Cardiology Physicians of Fairfield County and practices in Norwalk. He is a resident of Wilton, CT and has lived there with his wife Sally and their three children for over 40 years.

Kyong Hee Cho began her piano career in Korea at the age of four. She gave her first concert piano performance with the Seoul Symphony at the age of eleven. She attended the Manhattan School of Music as a merit scholar where she earned a BA and MA degree in piano performance. Kyong Hee has performed numerous solo concerts to benefit international medical and disaster relief. She teaches piano at her studio in Wilton, CT and provides leadership to her students in the planning and performance of benefit concerts.

Reservations required.  Please reserve online or call 203-762-6334.  For more information, contact asato@wiltonlibrary.org.

Robert Tudisco, Esq., a nationally recognized author, attorney, and motivational speaker, will discuss the nature of stigma.  As Senior Counsel to Barger & Gaines, he specializes in matters involving school disciplinary hearings and criminal defense, in addition to general special education advocacy. Attorney Tudisco is a current member of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Disability Rights. From 2010 through 2013, he was the Executive Director of the Edge Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides specialized coaching for students with ADHD and executive functioning impairment. He is a past member of the National Board of Directors of Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder (CHADD), serving as a member of its Public Policy Committee from 2003 through 2015, and as Committee Chair from 2005 through 2008.

Presented by SPED*NET in partnership with Wilton Library, Wilton Public Schools and Newtown Sped PTA.  Registration suggested.  Please register online or call 203-762-6334.  For questions, contact asato@wiltonlibrary.org.

Please join us for a Wilton Go Green-sponsored event, which will cover how environmental health, human health, and the structure of your home intertwine. Learn about the latest available technologies to monitor and optimize the health of our homes and our planet. Michael D. Ham will cover indoor air quality, water testing and filtration, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and household goods and fixtures that can reduce our carbon footprint while preventing exposure to toxic chemicals.

Michael Don Ham holds the prestigious certification of WELL Accredited Professional and also serves as a Faculty member of the International WELL Building Institute. The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) is a public benefit corporation whose mission is to improve human health and well being through the built environment. Michael is a serial entrepreneur who co-founded Refresh Smart Home, a NY based company, that pioneered the integration of healthy home solutions within the smart home industry. It grew to be the top rated Google Nest service provider in the U.S. and made the CE Pro Top 100 –an annual list of the largest custom electronics integrators in North America. Ham recently co-founded RePure, a leading supplier of best-in-class health and wellness solutions for residential applications available through professional installers. He has a deep background in regenerative organic agriculture and co-founded a regenerative organic tea company with products that are available on the shelves of Whole Foods Market. Michael is dedicated to increasing awareness of how our living spaces impact our health, offering solutions that benefit people and the planet, and utilizing technology for continuous improvement. 

Registration is suggested.  Please register online or call 203-762-6334.  For more information, contact asato@wiltonlibrary.org.

The culmination of Wilton Reads 2024 is our author talk event with Cristina Henriquez, author of The Great Divide. 

The Great Divide by acclaimed author Cristina Henriquez is a fascinating historical novel about the building of the
Panama Canal, one of the greatest engineering feats in history. It explores the interwoven stories of laborers, locals, activists, doctors, scientists, and others – unsung heroes from all walks of life who lived and worked alongside the massive project – and witnessed firsthand the human cost of progress as they fought to survive amid turmoil and disease.

The Great Divide is a TODAY Show Read with Jenna Book Club Pick, an Indie Next Pick, a LibraryReads Pick, and has been named a Best of the Month Pick by Amazon, TIME, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times.

Cristina will be interviewed by Wiltonian Joanna Ecke who graduated from Smith College and has a master's degree and PhD from Duke University.  She taught public high school English for many years and has led several literary discussion groups at Wilton Library.

Cristina will be presented with the Grodin Family Fine Writers award.

This program will be recorded and available for viewing for 30 days after the event.

elmstreetbooks.com will be selling copies and Cristina will be signing books after the presentation.  A portion of the proceeds goes to Wilton Library.