Science, Magic, Music, Animals, Art & More
Ready for something magical, inspiring, and a whole lot of fun? This June and July, kids will have the opportunity to meet and learn from scientists, guest authors, musicians, and other live performers. While the Library offers hands-on art and science-based programs all year long, many of these special programs only happen during the Summer Reading Program.
Summer at Jax Library kicks off June 1-6 with programs through August 1.
Turtles to Go
Students (grades 3rd - 8th): Discover what makes sea turtles unique, learn about the species found in Florida, explore their adaptations and nesting process, and find out how you can help protect these animals. Includes a hands-on activity where kids collect data on a model sea turtle and decide whether it's ready to return to the ocean or needs rehabilitation.
No live turtles are included in this program.
Bloom Lab Presents
Bloom Lab is a youth-powered program designed for 6th–12th graders to cultivate creativity, confidence, and community leadership. Through hands-on learning in arts, agriculture, and entrepreneurship, students don’t just learn, they build. Brought to you by Friends of PHXJAX.
- Together We Bloom: In this hands-on kids gardening series, you'll explore how plants grow, connect with nature, and create simple garden-inspired projects. Explore seed starting, hydroponic growing, and making nature crafts like DIY bird feeders.
- Young Creative Series: Kids will be introduced to different forms of creating (including painting, crafting, sculpting, and mixed media) while learning to think creatively, work collaboratively, and embrace their own artistic voice.
- Young Entrepreneur Series: Teens will explore problem-solving, branding, pricing, and product creation through interactive activities to learn how to turn ideas into real business concepts. Each day builds toward developing a business and strengthening communication skills. By the end of this experience, you'll be able to confidently pitch your ideas and showcase what you've created.
Live from the Library is a series of engaging and educational performances designed for children (ages 5-12) and their families. Meet and learn from caring animal handlers, exciting musicians, crafty magicians, and clever scientists! Please note: Attendance is limited and is first-come, first-served. Please arrive early. Check-in starts 30 minutes prior to the start of the program.
Live Animal Shows:
- Can You Dig It? with Jacksonville Zoo: In this fun and educational presentation, you'll learn the difference between bones and fossils, with real examples of both. There will also be a fossorial (burrowing) "animal ambassador" for you to meet, among other live animals.
- Wild Wonders Animal Show: Explore the remarkable superpowers of reptiles including how they use their vibrant colors and specialized skills to thrive in their environments. Features interactive group activities, music, and humor to keep everyone entertained and involved.
- Clark's Critters: Meet rare and unique reptiles up close and in person.
Live Music Shows:
- Just Add Rhythm: Go on an sonic adventure and experience rhythm in a whole new way! These high-engery, hands-on and interactive programs include different drums, shakers, and Boomwhackers as well as practice turn taking, sharing, and listening.
- Dance Through Life with Native Pride Productions: An educational and inspiring program about indigenous cultures that includes storytelling, music, and dance.
Live Magic Shows:
- Diggin' the Magic in the USA with Mark Alan Magic and his travel buddy, Bixby: Dig up some magic at the library in this colorful and fun interactive comedy magic show. Who knows, you may even get to be a part of the show! Bixby loves it when kids help with the magic!
- Unearth the Magic with Jamstone Magic: Family entertainer Roy Stone brings the prehistoric world to life through amazing magic tricks, hilarious puppetry, and engaging stories designed to spark imagination. Meet lovable dinosaur characters, witness impossible magical moments, and discover that curiosity and creativity are the greatest adventure of all.
- One Nation, Many Stories with Jamstone Magic: Take a magical road trip across America as Roy Stone blends history, humor, and heartwarming tales with dazzling illusions and puppetry. You'll discover the richness of America's stories in a show packed with laughter and wonder.
Live Science Shows:
- Anyone Can Be an Inventor: An award-wining STEM author Jennifer Swanson takes you on an interactive journey of inventing "firsts." You'll look at technology through the lens of history and science and unearth stories of how these amazing inventions are interconnected.
- Archaeology Spectacular with the STEAM Squad: Calling all young explorers! Go on exciting library adventures into dinosaurs, geology, and archaeology. You'll hear engaging stories, excavate fossils, investigate rocks and minerals, and discover how scientists uncover the past.
- Dino Detectives with ScienceSIS: Become a paleontologist as you navigate fossils, make observations, and uncover clues about dinosaur life.
- Stories in the Stars with ScienceSIS: Young astronomers! Explore the wonders of the night sky and the ways humans have looked into the stars for meaning, navigation, and discovery.
- Rock Stars with ScienceSIS: Young geologists! Dig into the fascinating world beneath your feet. In this hands‑on program, you'll explore the rock cycle and discover how rocks and minerals act as Earth’s storytellers, revealing clues about our planet’s formation and ever‑changing surface. Participants will handle real rock and mineral specimens, practice simple testing techniques, and learn how to classify different types of rocks.
- Earth in Action with ScienceSIS: From erupting volcanoes, to shifting tectonic plates, to the slow but steady work of erosion, kids will discover how our planet is always changing. Through interactive models and hands-on experiments, participants will investigate real cause-and-effect relationships and see how natural processes create mountains, valleys, islands, and more.
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