October Programs, Events at West Florida Public Libraries

Below is a list of events occurring in October at West Florida Public Libraries in Escambia County.

For more information about library events, contact the Pensacola Library at 850-436-5060. Visit mywfpl.com, like West Florida Public Libraries - WFPL on Facebook and follow @MyWFPL on Twitter for up-to-date event announcements and more.

West Florida Public Library Locations

• Pensacola Library: 239 N. Spring St., Pensacola, 32502, 850-436-5060

• Century Branch Library: 7991 N. Century Blvd., Century, 32535, 850-256-6217

• West Florida Genealogy Branch Library: 5740 N. Ninth Ave., Pensacola, 32504, 850-494-7373

• Molino Branch Library: 6450-A Highway 95A, Molino, 32577, 850-435-1760

• Southwest Branch Library: 12248 Gulf Beach Highway, Pensacola, 32507, 850-453-7780

• Tryon Branch Library: 1200 Langley Ave., Pensacola, 32504, 850-471-6980

• Westside Branch Library: 1301 W. Gregory St., Pensacola, 32502, 850-595-1047

For hours of each WFPL location, visit mywfpl.com/locations.  

Events for Youth

Reading Buddies

• Saturday, Oct. 5, 10 a.m. - noon – Pensacola Library

• Saturday, Oct. 19, 10 a.m. - noon – Pensacola Library

Each child who attends will have a 15-minute session and will read to buddies who will help them with their reading skills. The kids will be asked questions, guided with vocabulary and plot. Feel free to bring something you are reading in school for extra help, bring your favorite book, or borrow one of ours. Open to all ages.

Pet Partners: Read With Me™

• Saturday, Oct. 19, 10 a.m. - noon – Tryon Branch Library

• Saturday, Oct. 26, 10 a.m. - noon – Southwest Branch Library. School-aged children are invited to register for a 15-minute session to pick a book and practice reading with a furry friend. Dogs and handlers are coordinated through Pet Partners and Cherry Point Dog Training, Inc. Preregistration is requested. 

STEAM

Open STEAM Lab

• Tuesdays from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. – Pensacola Library. Come explore the technology that West Florida Public Libraries owns. Learn to code or use the Silhouette machines. Have a sewing project you would like to work on? We have the machines you need. Perhaps you would like to make a poster with the wide format printer. Drop into the STEAM Lab during our open hours and staff will assist you in getting started with your newest project.

Sewing and Quilting with STEAM for Grownups

• Wednesdays from 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. – Tryon Branch Library. Would you like to learn to sew? Come learn at the library. We provide you the tools to get started. If you are already an experienced seamstress or quilter, come us for the fun and friendship.

Electronics Thursday

• Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. – Pensacola Library. How does that thingamajig work? Let’s take it apart and see what makes it tick. Explore the magical and complicated world of electronics. Come build simple circuits and learn the basic principles of electronics with a hands-on lab environment. No experience needed. For all ages.

STEAM for Homeschoolers at Tryon Branch Library 

• Fridays at 11 a.m. – Tryon Branch Library. Needing some STEAM to round out your curriculum? Join us every Friday morning for lessons in STEAM. This month’s theme is sources of power. Classes will be:

October 4 - Solar Power

October 11 - Electricity

October 18 - Water

October 25 - Wind Power 

Chess Club: Saturdays at 2 p.m. – Pensacola Library. We will help you learn how to play one of the oldest games in the world. Whether you are a brand-new beginner or a master chess player, this is a chance to learn new skills, practice your moves and improve your game in a friendly environment. All playing levels are welcome, including beginners. The library will provide all the chess boards and pieces.

Coding Stories with Twine

• Wednesday, Oct. 2, 6 p.m – Pensacola Library

• Wednesday, Oct. 16, 6 p.m. – Pensacola Library

What if the hero tries to outsmart the dragon instead of charging in? You can write a story that ends both ways! Come learn how to write interactive stories with multiple outcomes with Twine. Attendees are expected to be comfortable with basic computer use, but no coding experience is required. For more information visit, twinery.org 

Let’s Make Art! – Family STEAM Night

• Thursday, Oct. 3, 6 p.m. – Pensacola Library. Let’s put the A in STEAM and make some art! Come learn to paint with acrylic paints on aluminum foil.

LEGO® WeDo 2.0 Robotics Club at Tryon Branch Library

• Saturday, Oct. 5, 2 p.m. – Tryon Branch Library

• Saturday, Oct. 19, 2 p.m. – Tryon Branch Library

Come explore LEGO® WeDo 2.0 robotics with the West Florida Public Libraries. We will build different robots using the LEGO® WeDo 2.0 kit, exploring different robot functions as well as learning how to code the robots we build. Beginners are welcome. The library will provide all supplies needed.

Iron-On T-Shirts - STEAM for Kids

• Saturday, Oct. 5, 10:30 a.m. – Southwest Branch Library

• Tuesday, Oct. 8, 4 p.m. – Tryon Branch Library

• Tuesday, Oct. 15, 6 p.m. – Molino Branch Library

• Tuesday, Oct. 22, 6 p.m. – Century Branch Library

Come make iron-on designs to put on your t-shirt. You will cut out your design on heat transfer vinyl using the Silhouette machines. Please bring a t-shirt to iron your design on.

Tryon Tuesday – Iron-On T-Shirts!: Adult Maker Sessions: Silhouette Projects

• Tuesday, Oct. 8, 5 p.m. – Tryon Branch Library. Have an idea for a t-shirt saying or image? Well, now, you can make that too! Come see us at our Maker Session using Silhouette, a cutting machine. You will make an iron-on design to put on your t-shirt. You will cut out your design on heat transfer vinyl using the Silhouette machines. Please bring a t-shirt to iron your design on. Bring your ideas or make the project of the month.

Family STEAM Night: Game Night

• Thursday, Oct. 10, 6 p.m. – Pensacola Library. All kinds of games can be fun and challenging to play. Come play games and even learn how to design and make your own! We’ll try different sorts, including cooperative and competitive, tabletop and digital, simple and complex, and more. 

Minecraft and LEGO® at Tryon Branch Library

• Saturday, Oct. 12, 6 p.m. – Tryon Branch Library. Come get your build on as we play Minecraft and build with LEGO® bricks. Beginners are welcome. The library will provide all supplies needed.  

Jazz it Up with Jewelry! – Family STEAM Night

• Thursday, Oct. 17, 6 p.m. – Pensacola Library. Would you like to learn how to make jewelry? Come join us for Jazz it up with Jewelry Family STEAM Night and learn basic beginners’ jewelry making. We will make bracelets, earrings, necklaces and more. Each session we will offer a new project to delight all ages and cover topics such as beading, wire wrapping, and plaiting / knotting leather cords. This month’s project will be cord and glass bead bracelet using beading techniques. All materials are provided by the library.

Robots – Family STEAM Night

• Thursday, Oct. 24, 6 p.m. – Pensacola Library. Come explore some of the robots that the library has to offer. You will learn how to program your robot to solve a challenge. The library will provide all equipment, just bring your enthusiasm and curiosity.

Star Wars Reads Celebration

• Saturday, Oct. 5, 10 a.m. - noon – Pensacola Library. Kids, join us for crafts, raffle prizes, sensory path, virtual reality, and meet some of the characters from Star Wars!

Pool Noodle Light Sabers

• Saturday, Oct. 5, 10 a.m. to noon – Pensacola Library. Children will wrap silver tape around a pool noodle to create a handle along with colored tape to form a "light saber."

Anti-Meteor Crash Chamber

• Saturday, Oct. 5, 10 a.m. to noon – Pensacola Library. Children will use their light sabers to keep the green meteors from hitting Earth.

Easy Origami Darth Vader: Saturday, Oct. 5, 10 a.m. - noon – Pensacola Library. Children will fold a square piece of paper into a Darth Vader helmet, glue on one piece of paper, and draw on details to create a Darth Vader bookmark.

Star Wars Sensory Path

• Saturday, Oct. 5, 10 a.m. to noon – Pensacola Library. Children will follow the marks on the sensory path in the Children's Department through a series of commands on the floor. There will be a path over lava and test your skills weaving through the light saber maze. Kids can also have their picture taken in front of a Star Wars backdrop.

Oculus Virtual Reality

• Saturday, Oct. 5, 10 a.m. - noon – Pensacola Library. Come explore Star Wars in the world of virtual reality. The library has a variety of Oculus virtual reality machines you can use in your exploration of a time long ago and a galaxy far away.

Halloween Celebrations

Halloween Costume Party

• Saturday, Oct. 12, 1:30 p.m. - 3 p.m. – Pensacola Library. Haunt our halls at this screaming fun party! There will be treats, face painting, creepy crawlies with Reno’s Reptiles and a costume competition, All ages are welcome, but we will have a separate hang out area for any teens who dare to enter. Some people are just dying to come! For more information about Reno’s Reptiles visit: https://d.facebook.com/Renos-Reptiles-225483787504639/ and https://www.renosreptiles.com/.

It Happened One Night at the Molino Library

• Saturday, Oct. 26, 6 p.m. – Molino Branch Library. Join us for a spooktacular good time. Come dressed in your favorite costume. Enjoy our goofy library witches at 6 p.m. to be followed by Trick-or-Treating through the library. Be sure to tour our haunted house, if you dare!

Halloween Horror

• Thursday, Oct. 31, 6 p.m. – Century Branch Library. Put your costumes on and have fun at the library. There will be scary music, crafts and goodies.

Teen

Teen Tuesday: Virtual Reality, Xbox One X, and more Tech!: Tuesdays from 4 to 5:30 p.m. – Pensacola Library. Teens, join us in the STEAM Lab for access to video games such as Nintendo Switch and Mario Kart, board games, card games and more tech. Bring your friends or come prepared to make new ones. 

Story Time 

Pensacola Library

Bouncy Babies Story Time: Mondays at 10:30 a.m.

Preschool Story Time: Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m.

Tryon Branch Library

Mommy & Me: Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. Mommy & Me is a lap sit program for babies and their special someone. Stories and activities are designed for children under 3 years of age.

STEAM Preschool Story Time: Thursday, Oct. 3, 10:30 a.m.; Thursday, Oct. 17, 10:30 a.m.

Preschool Story Time: Thursday, Oct. 10, 10:30 a.m.; Thursday, Oct. 24, 10:30 a.m.; Thursday, Oct. 31, 10:30 a.m.

Preschool story time is designed for children ages 3 to 5 and their parents. Activities include stories, songs, felt boards, puppets, musical instruments, movement and laughter.

Southwest Branch Library

Preschool Story Time

• Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m.: Stories, songs, basic concept learning and crafts for preschool children ages 0-5. Sponsored by The Friends of the SWBL.

Molino Branch Library 

Community Heroes Story Time Series

• Wednesday, Oct. 2, 10:30 a.m.: Meet a forest ranger and have your picture taken with Smokey Bear.

• Wednesday, Oct. 9, 10:30 a.m.: Learn how deputies train their K-9 partners and work as a team to keep our community safe.

• Wednesday, Oct. 16, 10:30 a.m.: Meet our local firefighters and see a real fire engine.

Preschool Story Time

• Wednesday, Oct. 23, 10:30 a.m.

• Wednesday, Oct. 30, 10:30 a.m.

Century Branch Library

Preschool Story Time: Thursdays at 4:30 p.m.

SANTA ROSA LIBRARY OCTOBER EVENTS

Preschool Storytime

Storytime programs are presented for preschool children ages 3-5 and include stories, finger plays and action rhymes. Caregivers must remain in the library during storytime; however, they cannot accompany children into the programs. Programs start promptly; latecomers are not admitted.

First timer? Visit the library to meet the storytime presenter, pick up a welcome packet, explore the children's area, and take a tour of the library.

 Storytime will be presented during the following times through Dec. 6:

11 to 11:30 a.m. on Mondays at the Jay Library

11 to 11:30 a.m. on Tuesdays at the Navarre & Milton Libraries

11 to 11:30 a.m. on Fridays at the Gulf Breeze & Pace Libraries

Check the library website for additional details at www.santarosa.fl.gov/libraries.

Toddler Time

Toddler Time is a program for children ages 18 to 36 months who attend with a caregiver.  One child and one adult register together for songs, stories, rhymes, and other activities. This 20-minute program lasts six weeks. 

Toddler Time requires registration; space is limited. It is not a drop-in program. Details are available at the participating libraries. Call Youth Services Coordinator Angela Evans at 981-4066 for more information.

Toddler Time will be presented during the following times through Oct. 23:

• 11 to 11:20 a.m. on Mondays at the Pace Library

• 11 to 11:20 a.m. on Wednesdays at the Gulf Breeze, Milton and Navarre Libraries 

The Illustriates Graphic Novel Book Club – Navarre Library - 8484 James M. Harvell Rd.

Oct. 2, 4 p.m.

Sixth through 12th graders can join fellow graphic novel enthusiasts to discuss the book of the month. Members can suggest reading ideas, interests, and discuss the world of the graphic novel. This month's selection is “The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman. Speak with a staff member to sign up.

STEAM Makerspace - Gulf Breeze Library - 1060 Shoreline Dr.

Oct. 5 and 12, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Oct. 7, 21 and 28, 2 - 5 p.m.

Those interested in drafting, robotics, Arduino, knitting, painting or any kind of hobby have place to meet in the library meeting room. Sign up is required. 

Reading with Gabby– Pace Library – 4750 Pace Patriot Blvd.

Oct. 5, 10 a.m.: Visit the library to read with Gabby the therapy dog! Space is limited; registration is required.

The Inklings– Milton Library - 5541 Alabama St.

Oct. 8, 5 p.m.: Sixth through 10th graders are invited to share ideas about the book of the month. The Inklings Book Club meets the second Tuesday of the month at 5 p.m. at the Milton Library. This month’s selection is “Cirque du Freak" by Darren Shan. Speak with a staff member to register.

Star Wars Reads Day – All Libraries

Oct. 14, 1 p.m.: The force is strong at the library. While taking a break from school, enjoy the Star Wars themed displays and activities. Wear a Star Wars-themed costume. See a staff member for more information.

Tech & Art Club – Navarre Library – 8484 James M. Harvell Rd. Oct. 16, 4 p.m.

Tweens and teens ages 10-17 who are interested in robotics, coding, and art are invited to a new Tech & Art Club. Explore art using technology and various mediums. Beginners through expert level welcome. Sign up is required.

Family Movie Mondays – Navarre Library - 8484 James M. Harvell Rd. Oct. 21, 3:30 p.m. Family movies will be shown the third Monday of every month at 3:30 p.m. This month’s movie is “Harriet the Spy” (rated PG). Refreshments will be provided by the Friends of the Navarre Library.

Tween/Teen Tech Club – Gulf Breeze Library – 1060 Shoreline Dr.

Oct. 22, 4 p.m.: Tweens and teens ages 10-17 who are interested in robotics, coding, Arduino, virtual reality, and all things tech-related are invited to a robotics and tech club. Meetings are held the fourth Tuesday of each month. Beginners through expert level welcome.

Meet! Play! Learn! – Navarre Library – 8484 James M. Harvell Rd.

Oct. 28, 11 a.m.: Meet! Play! Learn! is an early literacy program for babies from birth to 36 months and their caregivers. Meet other parents, engage in social play time with puzzles, counting, building blocks, stories, Tumble Books, and other STEM activities. Speak with a staff member for more information.

Fall Into Fun – All Libraries

Oct. 30, 3 p.m.: Fall into Fun at the library! Enjoy snacks, activities, and more. Costumes are encouraged. Speak with a staff member for more information.

Spooky STEAM – Milton Library – 5541 Alabama St.

Oct. 30, 4:30 – 6:30 p.m.: Visit the Milton Library for a Spooky STEAM event. Assemble Lego hidden sides sets or create a variety of crafts including a pipe cleaner monster, a spooky Playdoh creature, a pumpkin patch marble maze, and mosaic pumpkin art. Speak with a staff member for more information.