Awesomely Geeky Projects and Activities

'Awesomely Geeky Projects and Activities'

“The Great Geek Summer of 2012” includes a craft series, “Awesomely Geeky Projects and Activities.” Themes for the crafting workshops, which will be held on Mondays at 4:30 PM, include straw rockets, match-box cars, and crash car dummies.  The sessions will begin on Monday, July 2 and run through Monday, August 6.  

The schedule is as follows:

• July 2 — Launch a Fleet of Straw Rockets (Grades 1-6)
• July 9 — Tween Star Wars Crafternoon (Grades 4 & up)
• July 16 — Angry Bird (Grade 1 & up)
• July 23 — Tween Yarn Bombing Crafternoon (Grade 4 & up)
• July 30 — Matchbox Balloon Cars and Crash Test Dummies Race Course (Grades 1-6)
• August 6 — Marbles and Pegboards Obstacle Course (Grades 1-6)

Each activity will require separate, advanced registration, and each will be geared to different age ranges.  Youngsters may register for up to two programs.

Tuesday Morning Drop-in Story Times

Children’s Librarian Heather Baker will be offering a series of drop-in story times on Tuesdays at 10:30 in July and August, with each program geared to the summer reading program’s theme:  “The Great Geek Summer of 2012”  The story times begin on Tuesday, July 3 and end on Tuesday, August 7.

The schedule includes:

• July 3 — “Today Is Gonna Be a Platypus Day”
• July 10 — “Birds Behaving Badly”
• July 17 — "Super Heroes and Local Heroes” (with guest guide dog, trainer)
• July 24 — “Sing-Along with Nappy’s Puppets” (Replaces regular story time)
• July 31 — “A Galaxy Far, Far Away” (dressing up encouraged)
• August 7 — “Hanks & Balls & Skeins of Yarn” (for help in celebrating the yarn bombing of the library)

Story time includes stories, songs, a short movie, a craft and a snack.  The craft may be completed either before or after the story time; the craft room opens at 10:15 for early birds.  The story times are free, and no registration is necessary.  Participants are asked to come to the Children’s Room for a nametag before entering the story time. 

Movies on the Big Screen 

Canton Public Library’s young patrons can spend sultry July evenings in the cool comfort of the Canton Community Center, where “Movies on the Big Screen” is a chance to join friends, munch on popcorn, and watch some new movies and some classics. The big screen lights up on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. The movies and the refreshments are sponsored by The Friends of the Canton Public Library.

The schedule includes:

July 5 — Journey 2:  The Mysterious Island (PG)

July 12 — The Adventures of Tin Tin (PG)

July 19 — The Muppets (PG)

July 26 — The Goonies (PG)

August 2 — Hercules (G)

Aug. 9 — The Lorax (PG)

 “Movies on the Big Screen” is free, and no registration is necessary.  Popcorn (hot and free) will be provided.  Canton Public Library is at 40 Dyer Avenue, Canton.  For information:  (860) 693-5800 or www.cantonpubliclibrary.org

Paintings and Pictures: The Artistic Work of Chris O'Herron and Tom Kutz

For the months of July and August, Canton Public Library’s Gallery features the work of Chris O’Herron and Tom Kutz, two Canton artists who have studios in the Axe Factory.  The show will run from Friday, July 6 through Friday, August 31.

O’Herron, who grew up in Simsbury, draws upon the Connecticut landscape for inspiration, including the familiar tobacco fields and semi-rural settings near his home. His landscapes are oil, and his portraits are oil or charcoal.  “With its subtle nuances, charcoal is an ideal medium for expressive portraiture,” said O’Herron. His portraits of loved ones and family pets have become very popular commissions for him.

Chris has donated his time and art to help raise money and awareness for the Junior League of Waterbury, Chip In For A Cure (a charity for Cancer research), "Shakespearience" (a non-profit educational group for kids), and several area churches. He has also drawn a charcoal rendition of Simsbury’s famous “Pinchot Sycamore” which was included in – and later purchased from – the CT Department of Environmental Protection’s Art From CT Forests exhibit. The traveling educational show featured 50 artists and craftpersons who created art using the material from one single CT Oak tree in order to promote forests and healthy land management ideas.

He has had solo shows in Connecticut at The McLean Home, Miss Porter’s School, FastFrame of Avon, and Gallery 101 Main in Collinsville.  He has exhibited paintings and portraits at the Maine Art Gallery in Kennebunkport, ME; the Beth Ellis Cove Gallery in Ogunquit, ME; Gallery On the Green in Canton, CT; Green

Trees Gallery in Northfield, MA; Autumn Light Studio & Gallery in Avon, CT; the Talcott Mountain Music Festival in Simsbury, CT; and the Simsbury, Farmington and Prosser (Bloomfield) Libraries in CT.   His work can always be found on the walls of Brookside Bagels, in Simsbury, and Rootz Hair Salon, in Collinsville.

He graduated from Syracuse University in 2001 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in illustration.  Beyond the classroom experience, he had the opportunity to study and paint in Florence, Italy, in 2000.

Tom Kutz was born in New York City and grew up on Long Island. “I have been taking pictures since I received my first camera at the age of 7,” said Kutz.   He attended Rochester Institute of Technology, graduating with a B.F.A. in Photo Illustration. “After college I traveled for a few years working on Cruise ships as a photographer. For the last 25 years I have worked as a commercial photographer photographing people, places and products.  My personal photos are based on a surreal reality.” Kutz has shown his work in galleries and shows throughout the last 30 years and has made Collinsville his home for the last 20 years.

Said Kutz, “The photos that I create are usually based in a surreal point of view. I enjoy images that give the viewers a treat if they spend the time to look at them. Most of my pictures are very personal to me in one way or another. I tend to create art as an outlet for the daily stress of life. Sometimes the photos work, sometimes they don't, but  I enjoy using photography as my artistic medium.”

Canton Public Library is at 40 Dyer Avenue, Canton.  Library hours are Monday-Thursday 10:00-8:00, and Friday 10:00-5:00 and Saturday 10:00-5:00 (through June  30) and 10:00-1:00 (from July 7 through August 25).  For information:  (860) 693-5800 or www.cantonpubliclibrary.org

Geek Zone Science & Technology Programs with Talcott Mountain Science Center

Thanks to a technology grant from The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, youngsters will have some very exciting science programming this summer on Friday afternoons from July 6 through Aug. 10. The programs begin at 3:30 p.m.

Using our new laptop computer lab, Participants will also be able to use Talcott’s iPad collection. The programs are geared for different ages and require separate registration. 

The schedule is as follows:

July 6 —  Sound:  Waves, Frequency, and Levels, with iPads (Grades K-3)

July 13 — Sound: Waves, Frequency, and Levels, with iPads  (Grade 4 & up)

July 20 — Astronomy with StarWalker and iPads (Grades K-3)

July 27 — Astronomy with StarWalker and iPads (Grades 4 and up)

Aug. 3 — Bubble Magicians (Grades K-5)

Aug. 10 — Optical Illusions: How Your Eyes Fool Your Brain (Grades 4 and up)

Advance registration is required, and youngsters may register for up to two programs.