Lovable Dinosaurs

The Hudson Vagabond Puppets promise kids “a musical trip through the wonders of prehistory” in “Mammoth Follies,” the next of Guild Hall’s KidFest performances on Wednesday at 5 p.m. The musical revue features a cast of lovable, larger-than-life dinosaurs. Tickets cost $18 for adults, $14 for kids, $16 and $12 for Guild Hall members. 

Animals in Store

Soap, goats, and creatures of the night are on tap this week at the East Hampton Library. A soap-making workshop this afternoon from 4:30 to 6:30 will have high school students using different molds and scents to create a usable craft. 

Animals known for many things, but not their sweet scent, will pay a visit to the library on Tuesday from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. An educator for the Cornell Cooperative Extension will be on hand with a live goat in a program for children 2 to 5. Although the program is already full, the library is taking names on a wait list. 

A geometric abstract painting workshop for children 4 and older will be held on Wednesday at 4 p.m. Next Thursday at 2 p.m., a Quogue Wildlife Refuge representative will introduce children 4 and older to an owl, an opossum, a snake, a chinchilla, and a tarantula as they learn about the adaptations that help each animal navigate the night. 

The family movies this week are “Minions,” today at 4 p.m., and “Beauty and the Beast,” next Thursday at the same time. 

Advance registration is required for most programs. And mark your calendars for Aug. 11, when the library’s free Children’s Fair will take place at 555 Montauk Highway, just east of the I.G.A. in Amagansett.

Other Libraries, Other Programs

There’s plenty for kids to do at the smaller libraries this week, too. In Bridgehampton, children 6 and up can use the Hampton Library’s Makey Makey electronic invention kit to surprising ends on Tuesday at 2 p.m. 

Over at the John Jermain Memorial Library in Sag Harbor, there’s a teen movie today at 5 p.m. Jared Hess’s “Napoleon Dynamite,” the 2004 cult classic, will be screened, and snacks and popcorn will be provided, all for free. Reservations are not necessary. 

Tonito Valderrama, an environmental artist and educator, will work with children 7 and up to make bamboo rain sticks on Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Montauk Library. 

Next Thursday, prospective babysitters in sixth through eighth grades can learn the basics of the job in a three-hour course offered at the library by the Cornell Cooperative Extension. Participants will learn about child safety, children’s developmental stages, and age-appropriate activities. The course runs from 4 to 7 p.m. and is limited to 10 students. Advance sign-up is a must.

Children’s Fair

The biggest of East Hampton Library’s offerings for kids this week is its annual children’s fair on Sunday from 2 to 5:30 p.m. in the field at 555 Montauk Highway in Amagansett. 

The fair, which happens the day after the library’s Authors Night fund-raiser, includes carnival-type rides, inflatables, games, crafts with book themes, performers, treats, and a host of children’s book authors signing their books. Among the dozens of authors expected to attend are Susan Verde with her “Rock ’n’ Roll Soul,” Billy Baldwin with “Wipeout the Wave,” G.B. Gurland with “The Secret Files of Phineas Foster,” Elizabeth Doyle Carey with “Mayday,” from the Junior Lifeguards series, and Cynthia Bardes with “Pansy in Africa.” 

The fair is free, and copies of the authors’ books will be available for purchase. 

This week’s family movies at the library will be “Beauty and the Beast,” today at 4 p.m., and “Planes,” next Thursday at the same time. Today at 2 p.m., someone from the Quogue Wildlife Refuge will visit the library with a 

presentation on nocturnal animals for children 4 and up. 

Tomorrow at the library, kids in sixth through eighth grade can use Washi tape to turn flip-top tins into colorful little carrying cases. The program begins at 3:30 p.m. 

In a Storytime Yoga session with Ms. Verde on Tuesday at 11 a.m., kids 5 and older will become part of the story as they practice different poses and breathing exercises. Toddlers 2 to 3 years old will try out various postures, breathing exercises, and relaxation techniques, and then do a craft in a yoga class next Thursday at 1 p.m. 

Children 5 and older will use Mason jars, shells, sand, and plants to make light-up “aquariums” in a workshop on Tuesday at 3 p.m.

Advance registration is required for all but the children’s fair. 

Puppets at Bay Street

Goat on a Boat’s puppet theater series continues at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor with two productions this week. First, the Columbia Marionette Theater will present “Cinderella” on Saturday at 11 a.m., and next Thursday it will be the Robert Rogers Puppet Company and “The Bugtown Follies,” also at 11 a.m. Tickets cost $15 to $25 online or at the box office. 

Children 4 to 7 who want to put on puppet shows of their own might be interested in Bay Street’s Puppet Power theater camp, which runs from Monday through Friday, Aug. 17. Campers will learn about and play with an assortment of puppets and work with a teaching artist to create their own puppets, sets, and stories. 

Older children ages 9 to 12 will explore a kid-friendly version of a Shakespeare play in a camp that runs from Aug. 20 to 24 and culminates with a performance for friends and family on Bay Street’s stage. 

Theater camps meet from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and cost $475 per week.

Bay Street is also offering a series of teen master classes this month. Participants will analyze a play and study a scene on Wednesday. Directing will be the focus on Aug. 21, and on Aug. 28 attention will turn to “making a monologue.” Each class runs from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The cost is $135 for a single class, $250 for two, and $350 for all three. 

Stranger and Stranger

It’s not every kid who can watch the creepy “Stranger Things” series on Netflix, but those who do may know that it’s based loosely on mysterious things said to have taken place at Camp Hero in Montauk. With that in mind, the Montauk Library has invited kids in fourth grade and above to make their own “Stranger Things” jewelry using Shrinky Dinks paper on Saturday from 3 to 4:30 p.m., with a 1980s playlist setting the tone. 

Kids in first grade and above can play Wii Sports and Mario Kart at the library on Wednesday from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Snacks will be served. 

Live frogs, toads, bugs, a bunny, mice, reptiles, hermit crabs, and even a chinchilla will be on hand at the library on Friday, Aug. 17, at 4 p.m. during a program for kids 4 and older. 

Drawing at the Parrish

At the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, a drawing course for children 10 and older will have students exploring the galleries and applying some of the drawing techniques they see to their own work. The class will meet Monday through Wednesday from 3 to 4:30 p.m. The cost is $110, including materials. Members pay $85. 

Sculpture and Disco

Kids who take part in an instrument-making workshop this afternoon at 4:30 at the Southampton Arts Center will be invited to take their creations back to the center to join in a family concert on Aug. 23. 

An outdoor story time today at 5:30 p.m. will mark National Book Lovers Day.

Next Thursday at 3:30 p.m., children will work with Giancarlo Biagi, a marble sculptor, to cast their hands or feet in sand in a style inspired by the late Costantino Nivola. 

After that, at 4:30, they can shake their hands and feet at an afternoon family dance party with Baby Loves Disco.

The above programs are free, but the arts center has asked for sign-up ahead of time for the workshops.

Hurray for Libraries!

The Amagansett Library has a singing, dancing, story-filled celebration of libraries planned for Saturday at 3 p.m. Alexair Dreams Storytelling, an outfit from South Ozone Park, Queens, will headline. Advance sign-up has been requested.

Sand and Dirt

The Perfect Earth Project, which promotes toxin-free landscapes and lawns, will offer kids 5 to 12 a closer look at the “world beneath their feet” in a workshop on soil on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at the South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton.

Participants will examine soil under a microscope to discover its living properties and then make “soil food bombs” with compost and beneficial insects. 

On Sunday, littler kids, ages 3 to 5, will dig into sand as they create beach memory jars filled with shells, driftwood, and other things they’ve collected on the beach. Eleni Nikolopoulos, a SoFo nature educator, will lead this 9 a.m. program at the beach. 

Advance registration is required for both.

Images of Adolescence

MM Fine Art in Southampton will open “17,” an exhibition of photographs by Joey Farrell, with a reception tomorrow from 6 to 8 p.m. The show will remain on view through Sept. 3.

A high school senior, Mr. Farrell captures fleeting moments of his adolescence in his photographs. He is passionate about portraiture and feels “a physical action or expression is the most unique type of moment one can capture.”

Block Island Adventure

Camp SoulGrow in Montauk has a day trip to Block Island planned for kids 7 and older on Monday. Young adventurers will gather at the Viking Dock on West Lake Drive at 9:30 a.m., where they’ll collect their SoulGrow T-shirts, hats, and Block Island dogtags. The ferry departs at 10. On the island, they’ll visit Abram’s Farm, have lunch and ice cream, and explore the town before boarding a return ferry at 5 p.m. The boat arrives back in Montauk at 6:15. A $100 donation per kid is requested to cover costs for this nine-hour excursion, and advance registration is a must. 

On Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m., while Nancy Atlas plays at the Surf Lodge in Montauk, Camp SoulGrow leads arts and crafts sessions. Advance sign-up is not required.

Puppets in Sag

Goat on a Boat’s series of puppet shows continues at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor next Thursday at 11 a.m. when Liz Joyce and a Couple of Puppets present “The Doubtful Sprout.” 

This 35-minute show featuring hand, finger, and rod puppets, marionettes, and an animated segment is ideal for ages 3 to 8. Tickets start at $15.

On Sunday, Ms. Joyce will be at the John Jermain Memorial Library in Sag Harbor for a shadow puppet workshop with children 4 to 7 at 3 p.m. Kids will perform short vignettes. The program is free, but advance registration is required. 

Chess and Pizza

The Children’s Museum of the East End and Hamptons Chess will host the museum’s fourth annual Chessfest on Saturday from 10 a.m. The morning includes crafts, activities, and games for players of all levels. A group of kids will even challenge an internationally ranked grandmaster. Chessfest is free with museum admission.

On Wednesday, CMEE will team up with Amber Waves Farm in Amagansett for a pizza night at the farm. Those who attend will be able to pick their own toppings for wood-fired pizzas made as they wait. There will be crafts and games. The event runs from 5:30 to 7 p.m. and costs $50, $40 for members of Amber Waves or CMEE. Space is limited and should be reserved in advance.

At the East Hampton Library

Summer may be winding down, but the activities for kids at East Hampton Library are not. 

A practice SAT for high school students will be given on Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Priority will be given to residents of the East Hampton Library District, which includes the East Hampton, Springs, and Wainscott School Districts. 

Also for high school students, there will be a temporary-tattoo session next Thursday at 5 p.m. and a beach fire at Main Beach from 6 to 8 p.m. The library will supply ingredients for s’mores. 

Susan Verde returns to the library with a Storytime Yoga session for kids 5 and older on Tuesday at 11 a.m. As kids assume different poses, they will become part of the story. 

The ever-busy Liz Joyce will be at the library on Tuesday at 2 p.m. with her puppet show “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.”

For kids 4 and older, there is lots to do at the library this week. A tropical fish sculpture workshop happens on Wednesday at 4 p.m. and on Friday, Aug. 24, seashells will be the inspiration in an abstract watercolor class at 2 p.m. Next Thursday at 2 p.m., Erik the Reptile Guy will visit the library with replicas of a cobra, a crocodile, a python, and more, and an interactive presentation about their special qualities. 

Sixth through eighth graders will make beaded pets that can be used to decorate a locker or a backpack on Friday, Aug. 24, at 3:30 p.m. 

Family movies on the schedule this week are “Bee Movie” on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. and “Finding Nemo” next Thursday at 4.

Montauk Fun

Tonight will be all about bubbles and barbecue at the Montauk Playhouse Community Center. There will be crafts, games, and treats during a family picnic on the lawn, and then Just Fun for Kids will amaze with some giant bubble feats. The fun begins at 5 p.m. The cost is $10 per person or $35 for a family.

Recycled water bottles will become beautiful fish sculptures in a workshop for ages 7 and up on Saturday at the Montauk Library. Tonita Valderrama will lead the class, which runs from 3 to 4 p.m. 

Two bilingual happenings on Wednesday at the library will give children a chance to listen, learn, and play in English and Spanish. A bilingual story time happens at 11:45 p.m., and will include a reading of Jorge Argueta’s “Salsa” and a chance to make salsa. The program is set to be repeated later that day at 4 p.m.

A college essay workshop for high school juniors and seniors and their parents will be offered next Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the library. The workshop will address what college admissions officials are looking for and offer prompts, brainstorming ideas, and a question-and-answer period. 

 Parrish Family Party

A summer family party at the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill on Sunday will have kids making art, joining in an art scavenger hunt, and enjoying the museum grounds from 3 to 6 p.m. 

The artists Monica Banks, Eric Dever, Brian Farrell, Paton Miller, Bastienne Schmidt, and Almond Zigmund will lead workshops throughout the afternoon, and guests can also take part in a collaborative project. A buffet-style barbecue will be catered by the Golden Pear, and an ice cream truck will pay a visit, too. 

Inside, A Flippin’ Good Time will guide children as they make flipbooks. 

The party is a fund-raiser for the museum’s year-round programs. Tickets start at $125 for adults, $100 for children, $100 and $75 for museum members. 

Magic, Music, Movies

In the waning days of summer vacation, the East Hampton Library’s programs for kids are not slowing down a bit, with movies, yoga, magic, music, and arts and crafts filling the calendar this week. 

The magic will come courtesy of the Magic of Amore in a show for all ages on Tuesday at 2 p.m. Next Thursday at 1:30 p.m., animals will be the stars, as kids 4 and older learn why creatures do what they do. Frogs, insects, a chicken, a chinchilla, and other animals will be on hand.

Also this week, for kids 4 and older there’s a shell watercolor painting class tomorrow at 2 p.m. Older kids in sixth through eighth grades can make a beaded animal craft tomorrow at 3:30 p.m.

Susan Verde, a children’s book author and yoga instructor, will have kids 5 and older doing poses to become part of the story in a yoga program on Tuesday at 11 a.m. Younger yoginis ages 2 to 3 can get an introduction to the practice in My Yoga With a Twist on Wednesday at 1 p.m.

Kids 4 and older can make and decorate their own musical shakers on Wednesday at 4 p.m. or use soft sculpture to make an imaginary sea person or creature on Friday, Aug. 31, at 2 p.m. String will be the medium in a program for kids in sixth through eighth grade on Friday, Aug. 31, at 3:30 p.m. 

Family movies this week at the library are “Finding Nemo” today at 4 p.m. and “Lilo and Stitch” on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

As a reminder, Erik the Reptile Guy will lead an interactive program for kids 4 and older today at 2 p.m. Later today, there’s a do-it-yourself temporary tattoo session for high school kids at 5 and a beach fire at Main Beach from 6 to 8, also for high schoolers. S’more ingredients will be provided.

Advance registration is required for all programs.

Puppetry, a Universal Language

Teatrino Giullare, an Italian theater company that mixes music, drama, and puppetry, will make two stops on the South Fork this week, performing “The Comedians” as part of the Goat on a Boat puppetry series at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor on Saturday and talking about the company’s style of puppetry tomorrow at the Montauk Library. 

In Montauk, two puppeteers, Giulia Dall’Ongaro and Enrico Deotti, will talk about Italy’s commedia dell’arte tradition, explaining their craft through demonstrations and visual media in a program at 5:30 p.m. that is designed for a family audience. 

On Saturday at 11 a.m. at Bay Street, they will offer “funny episodes of puppet theater in a universal language,” according to Bay Street’s website. Kids 6 and older and adults should enjoy this one. Tickets start at $15 and will be available at the door and at baystreet.org. 

Also at the Montauk Library, the Magic of Amore will dazzle on Saturday at 5 p.m. Registration ahead of time has been suggested.

It’s the Lolly Jollies!

Liz Corwin and Holly Johnson, two singer-songwriters otherwise known as the Jolly Lollies, will get kids dancing on Monday at the Children’s Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton. The duo, who hail from Charlotte, N.C., play songs that encourage imaginative play, help kids “self-regulate,” and get them moving. At Monday’s show, which will start at 6, there will be all of that along with some arts and crafts. Tickets cost $20, $15 for museum members, and should be reserved in advance. 

Taste Test Challenge

Can you tell the difference between Doritos and Chichitos, if there is such a thing? Cheerios and Joe’s Os? What if you were blindfolded? At the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton and the John Jermain Memorial Library in Sag Harbor kids 7 to 12 will have a chance to test their tastes this week. The Bridgehampton taste test is today at 4 p.m.; the Sag Harbor program happens on Saturday at 3:30. 

Tomorrow at the Hampton Library, kids 4 and older can make sand slime at noon. The project for kids 7 to 12 next Thursday at 4 will be Sharpie-decorated mugs. 

Drawing in Southampton

Linda Capello will lead a drawing workshop for 6 to 10-year-olds in the Southampton Arts Center’s galleries on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Participants will respond to the work in “Counterpoint,” the exhibition on view, sketching from the works they see. Dry media and drawing materials will be provided for the class, which costs $15. Advance registration is required at southamptonartscenter.org.

“Three Billy Goats”

In the final puppet show of the Goat on a Boat summer series at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, the Puppet Art Theater Company of California will present “Three Billy Goats Gruff” on Saturday. Show time is 11 a.m., and tickets start at $15. 

Sea People, Snap Circuits

Inspired by days at the ocean, maybe sand castles, or all those whale sightings reported off the beach lately, kids 4 and older will create their own imaginary sea people in an art program tomorrow at 2 p.m. at the East Hampton Library. Also tomorrow, sixth through eighth graders will use string as their medium in an art session beginning at 3:30 p.m.

With an iffy forecast for Saturday, the library’s afternoon movie, “The Muppets,” at 1:30 might be the perfect thing to do. 

On Sunday, high school students will get to use recycled materials to make wind chimes during a program from 3 to 5 p.m. 

A Snap Circuits electronics workshop for kids ages 7 and older will ease them into that thinking time of year on Tuesday at 4 p.m. — either a fun after-school activity or one to turn the brain power back on before the school bell rings, depending on where you go.

The young-adult librarian will face off against high school students in a test of pop culture trivia using the Kahoot! app next Thursday at 5 p.m. Participants should take their smartphones. There’s a “secret prize” promised for the winner. 

Rocks and Such

A session on sedimentary rocks for ages 4 and up at the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton will finish with a tasty rock-like creation tomorrow at noon. On Tuesday, kids in sixth grade and up can fashion their own Shrinky Dink creations from 3:30 to 5 p.m.

The newly waxed floors glistened in the empty hallways of the Springs School on Friday as a handful of teachers readied classrooms for the start of the school year on Tuesday, when 681 kindergarten through eighth-grade students are expected back on campus, with another 39 set to attend the district’s prekindergarten program at the Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center in East Hampton.

On a tour through the school building, the superintendent, Debra Winter, and principal, Eric Casale, pointed to a green line that runs down the center of the hallways, basically a traffic divider that helps provide a semblance of order when the hallways swell with a crush of students changing classes. 

District voters in March approved a $16.9 million bond to help fund a nearly $23 million expansion and renovation project — with an anticipated completion date of 2021. The expansion will add some 24,000 square feet to the school, while 17,000 square feet will be renovated, but “the day we move in, we’ll be at capacity,” Mr. Casale said. 

Still, the extra space will be welcomed. Over the summer, the district won a $1.33 million New York State grant for a new nitrogen-reducing wastewater treatment system and chose H2M Architects and Engineers to oversee that work, which is to take place next summer, along with initial site work for the addition. The engineers are working with Stony Brook University’s Center for Clean Water Technology on ways to get nitrogen so low that it actually would be “below the drinking water standards,” Mr. Casale said. 

On Friday, Ms. Winter and Mr. Casale pointed out classrooms arranged in ways that might be surprising to someone who hasn’t been inside a school building recently. There are signs of the school’s very pressing space needs: classrooms partitioned into two or three spaces, others with no windows. But there are also glimpses of new directions in education that start with how classrooms are laid out. In some, the teacher has no desk and there is no front or back of the room, a layout that allows for a more fluid style of teaching. 

As administrators geared up on Friday for the start of the academic year, they talked about the progress taking place behind the scenes to bring the big capital improvements to fruition, but also the changes in store when the bell rings on Tuesday. Most obvious among them to students and parents may be new faces at the head of several classrooms and familiar faces in new roles throughout the school.

Over the course of three years, the district has seen a 40-percent turnover in professional staff. Six longtime teachers retired at the end of last year, as did three teaching assistants, together representing a combined total of 220 years on the job. This year, 11 of the 74 members of the teaching staff will be new to the job, but in that number are three who had been working as teaching assistants before being promoted.

In kindergarten, Melissa Erb and Diana Russell will go from teaching assistants to classroom teachers. KelliAnn Toto, who had been a T.A. for English as a new language, will become a first-grade classroom teacher. Kimberly Havlik, a leave-replacement last year, was hired as a new first-grade teacher. 

Also preparing to meet Springs students for the first time next week are new music, science, art, and Spanish teachers, a new special-education teacher, and new first and fourth-grade classroom teachers, as well as a new librarian. 

Megan Payne, a special-education teacher, will head the kindergarten inclusion classroom. Jennilee Santiago is a new fourth-grade teacher and Jessica Rubio joins the district as a Spanish teacher.

Two middle school science teachers, Lisa Seff and Robert Walker, retired at the end of last year. Taking their places will be Eric Schwab, who will teach sixth and eighth-grade science, and Brittny Pannizzo, Ms. Seff’s leave replacement last year, who will teach sixth and seventh-grade science. Angelina Modica, a choral music teacher who had been tenured at the end of last year, has left to take a position elsewhere teaching band, her specialty. Taking her place will be Meghan Kelly, who had been teaching in New Jersey. In addition to teaching, she will take on the fourth-grade opera and the school musical.

Kathleen Comber will take over as librarian, while the former librarian, Bill Hallman, will take over from Ms. Seff as the academic enrichment teacher. That program, meanwhile, will continue to shift its focus toward science, technology, engineering, art, and math, commonly referred to these days as STEAM. 

Lauren Marino will join the staff as an art teacher following the retirement last year of Colleen McGowan. 

At a new-teacher orientation on Monday for those who have been in the district for three years or less, there were 32 staff members. “They’re excited, they’re motivated,” Mr. Casale said on Friday. The theme of the orientation, inspired by a conference that newer staff attended last year, was “getting your teach on.” The textbooks for the day: Dave Burgess’s “Teach Like a Pirate,” subtitled “Increase Student Engagement, Boost Your Creativity, and Transform Your Life as an Educator,” and Hope and Wade King’s “The Wild Card: 7 Steps to an Educator’s Creative Breakthrough.” 

“My philosophy is I want you to take risks. I want you to think outside of the box,” Ms. Winter said. Not every new initiative will work, she acknowledged, but that, too, has value. “We have to demonstrate to children that it’s okay to fail; that’s how you learn.” 

While they are excited by the energy the new instructional staff will bring, Ms. Winter and Mr. Casale are also enthusiastic about some of the social-emotional initiatives the district is taking part in.

These include partnering with the New York State Mentoring Program to pair at-risk students with adult mentors within the school and implementing a social-emotional learning program called Second Step that aims, Mr. Casale said, to “help kids understand their role in conflict resolution,” as well as teach things like self-regulation and situational awareness. “Cooperative learning, problem solving, strong interpersonal skills . . . these are all 21st-century skills,” Mr. Casale said.

By supporting students in areas beyond academics, “we hope to raise student achievement and reduce the suspension rate,” Ms. Winter said. 

On the heels of a “generation of giving students no disappointments,” Ms. Winter said, “these kids, if it doesn’t go their way, they don’t know how to navigate it.” Part of what the school is trying to teach them, Mr. Casale said, is “resiliency.”

It was hoped that recently added programs like robotics would offer an outlet for students who may not be part of team sports, but could still benefit from the experience of being on a team. The goal, Mr. Casale said, was “to have them feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves.” 

And, “If people come to us with ideas for new clubs, we’ll try it,” Ms. Winter said. 

“We want them to have that connection to the school,” the principal added.

“For a small school, Springs has really been very forward-thinking and progressive,” Ms. Winter said. “And the community has stepped up through programs like the visiting artists program,” Mr. Casale added. “These relationships we hope are long lasting.”

Reptiles, Henna, Paddington

There’s a lot going on at the local libraries this week, and summer is only just beginning. 

In Montauk, the Quogue Wildlife Refuge will take a variety of snakes, turtles, and tortoises to the library on Saturday at 3 p.m. This program is appropriate for all ages but registration is required.

On Tuesday at 4 p.m., the South Fork Natural History Museum will have sea stars, sea urchins, hermit crabs, spider crabs, and sea snails at the Montauk Library in a program for kids 5 and up. 

There’s a bilingual story time at the library next Thursday at 11:45 a.m., and that day at 3:30 p.m., kids ages 9 and up can learn about the latest technology in 3-D printing and 3-D pens.

Children of all ages can decorate “buggy” cupcakes with candy and cookies on Saturday from 3 to 4 p.m. at the Amagansett Library, with help from the Baking Coach. On Tuesday at 4 p.m., kids ages 5 and up can create marshmallow and toothpick structures, build straw bridges, and see how many pennies they will hold. “Smurfs: the Lost Village” will be shown in Amagansett on Friday, June 29, at 3 p.m.

Family movies playing this week at the East Hampton Library are “Paddington 2,” tomorrow at 2 p.m.; “Toy Story,” next Thursday at 2 p.m., and “Wall-E,” Friday, June 29, at 2 p.m.

A henna art session for teens will be held Tuesday, 2 p.m., at the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton. Kids ages 7 to 12 can participate in the Escape Room Challenge, a dice game with prizes, on Tuesday at 6 p.m. and Wednesday at 2 p.m. A teen version will be held next Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m.

The John Jermain Memorial Library’s graphic novel club for fourth through sixth graders will consider Victoria Jamieson’s “All’s Fair in Middle School” on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. Copies of this and future books to be discussed are available at the circulation desk. On Sunday from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., kids ages 5 to 9 can take seashells to decorate while listening to stories.

Outdoors and In at SoFo

Children ages 6 to 12 can sign up for an introduction to drawing class on Saturday at 11 a.m. at the South Fork Natural History Museum, at which the emphasis will be on using nature as inspiration.

Children ages 8 and older will learn about the nocturnal insects of the South Fork on Saturday at 3 p.m. with Crystal Oakes, a SoFo environmental educator.

On Sunday at 10:30 a.m. there’s a nature-inspired art workshop for the entire family for a fee of $3 per participant.

Summer Camps at Bay Street

Summer theater camps at Bay Street Theater begin next month, but the time to sign up is now. 

Offerings include My Life: The Musical, in which kids create and perform their own musical. For children ages 9 to 12, the camp will be held from July 9 to 13 and Aug. 13 to 17. For children ages 7 to 9, the camp will run from July 16 to 20 and Aug. 6 to 10. Kristin Poulakis will teach all but the Aug. 13 through 17 camp. Lisa Engellis takes over for that one.

There’s also a Greek mythology camp for kids ages 4 to 7 that will be held from July 23 through July 27, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

A Shakespeare camp for kids ages 7 to 9 runs from July 30 to Aug. 3, and will be taught by Bethany Dellapolla, an actress, teacher, director, and choreographer.

The cost is $475 for one week, $850 for two, and $1,200 for three. All run Mondays through Fridays, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

Teen master classes will be held all summer long. Beginning July 10, the focus will be on musical theater auditions and students will learn how to prepare and present themselves for auditions. Classes run from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the cost of $135 for one class, $250 for two classes, and $350 for three. Complete details on all summer camps can be found on the Bay Street website.

Camp Invention!

Registration is underway for Camp Invention, a program for kindergarten through sixth grade that will be offered this year at both the John M. Marshall Elementary School and the Springs School. 

This year’s curriculum includes video challenges from National Inventors Hall of Fame inductees. Campers will create self-driving robots, care for an ailing robotic puppy, design their own smart home, and invent solutions to real-world challenges. The Springs School program costs $250 and will run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. from July 23 through 27. The John Marshall Camp Invention will run from Aug. 13 through 16. The cost is $300. Registration is online at inventnow-web.ungerboeck.com. 

A range of summer programs, from tennis and basketball clinics to crafts and games, sailing classes, and free swim lessons offered through the East Hampton Town Parks and Recreation Department, will get underway next week. 

Parents looking to keep their young ones busy and entertained during the workday have town-run options at the Montauk School and the Springs Youth Building, where programs run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., from Monday through Aug. 24. 

Children in kindergarten through age 12 can join in crafts and games sessions in the morning, afternoon, or both in Springs and Montauk. Morning sessions run from 9 to 12:30; afternoons from 12:30 to 4. The cost is $100 per week for a half day, $150 for two siblings, and $200 for three. Advance registration is required and can be completed at the Parks and Recreation Department behind Town Hall from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays. 

Free swimming instruction for children 4 and older will be offered at various town beaches throughout the summer. Havens Beach in Sag Harbor is the site of the first two-week session, starting on Monday. Children can be registered at the beach at 10 a.m. They have been asked to take swim goggles and water shoes. 

Also on the water, the first of the town’s two-week summer sailing lessons will begin on Monday at Fresh Pond in Amagansett for ages 12 and up. Class days will be Monday through next Thursday and July 2, 3, and 5, either from 9 a.m. to noon or from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. The cost is $225, and registration is also at the Parks and Rec Department.

Tennis and basketball clinics will be offered at the Youth Park on Abraham’s Path starting on Monday and continuing through August. For tennis, clinics will be Mondays and Wednesdays from 6 to 7 p.m. for second and third grade and from 7 to 8 p.m. for sixth grade and up. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, tennis will be from 6 to 7 p.m. for kindergarten and first grade and 7 to 8 p.m. for fourth and fifth grades. 

Basketball clinics will run Mondays and Wednesdays from 5 to 6 p.m. for kindergarten and first grade and from 6 to 8 p.m. for fourth and fifth grades. Basketball clinics will be on Tuesdays from 5 to 6 p.m. for second and third grades and from 6 to 8 p.m. for sixth grade and up. The cost is $45 per session, also payable at the Parks and Recreation Department.

Seventy-six years to the day — June 13 — when a Nazi submarine ran aground on a sandbar off Atlantic Avenue Beach in Amagansett, third graders at the John M. Marshall Elementary School got a history lesson, as well as a few drama tips, when their teacher, David Cataletto, took them to the place where all the action had unfolded, the Amagansett Life-Saving and Coast Guard Station museum on Atlantic Avenue.

Mr. Cataletto, who grew up in East Hampton and attended the elementary school himself, donned a heavy wool sailor’s jacket and cap and dramatized the action of the brave Coast Guardsmen who manned the station between 1902 and 1945. The teacher animatedly recreated all the tension and bravery of the times and appointed the children his crewmen. If at any time their attention wandered, the teacher would call, “Attention!” to which the children would respond, “Aye aye, captain!” snapping right back into the moment.

“I am a huge history buff, especially local history,” wrote Mr. Cataletto in an email. “I am a trustee for the Life-Saving Station and the chairman of the education committee. My goal is to expose as many kids as possible to the museum and our local history.”

The history lesson took the children through the building, which was meticulous restored over eight years. After the Coast Guard Station was decommissioned in 1945 and was condemned for possible demolition, it was bought by Joel Carmichael for $1 in 1966 and moved to a plot of land on Bluff Road. In 2007, the family gave the building to East Hampton Town for $1 and the structure was returned to its original site, where it stands today. 

Following their walk through the house, and a re-enactment of the events of June 13, 1942, when a young seaman foiled the Nazis’ plan to blow up munitions factories and other sites across the country, the teacher took them on a hunt for German supplies, which he said were buried on the beach. 

Mr. Cataletto, who was a lifeguard growing up, once sailed to Canada single-handed. After graduating from East Hampton High School, he attended the University of Massachusetts, where he studied anthropology. 

“I wanted to be a maritime archaeologist but that never panned out,” he said. After teaching in New York City public schools for several years, he moved back to East Hampton eight years ago.

“My favorite part of teaching kids is to make history come alive for them. So many people think history is old, dusty, boring books but it can actually be very exciting,” he said.

The kids certainly seemed to agree as they excitedly uncovered the buried “treasure” on the Amagansett beach: stickers and granola bars.

In an era in which Facebook has made “friend” into a verb, when we can often confuse the ambient intimacy of an online world with the authentic intimacy of personal relationships, suicide rates in America have increased — by 25 percent since 1999, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The deaths of the fashion designer Kate Spade and the celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, both of whom committed suicide earlier this month, are the latest markers of what is being called a national public health crisis. In a recent article, The New York Times stated that suicide is now the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, and nearly 45,000 Americans killed themselves in 2016, twice the number of homicide deaths.

But before the celebrity suicides thrust the issue into the spotlight, the South Fork had already suffered a spate of suicides among high schoolers between 2009 and 2013. Those were followed in 2014 by Tyler Valcich, then 20, who committed suicide at home in Montauk, and by Matthew Lester, who took his ownife in 2017 at the age of 17. 

“This area in Long Island has been identified as a potential for cluster suicides,” said Cynthia McKelvey, an education specialist who works for the Family Service League in East Hampton, a social service agency that provides emotional and physical aid to people in crisis. 

Recently, under pressure to do more for the South Fork’s young who are struggling with depression, and to de­stigmatize the illness, schools and government agencies have stepped up their efforts. Regular training sessions for young adults have been held through SafeTALK, a half-day training program designed to help people recognize warning signs and to connect those in crisis with community resources and personnel trained in suicide intervention. 

Ms. McKelvey also spearheads the Tyler Project, a nonprofit initiative established by Tyler’s family to increase and improve coordination and delivery of mental health services for students, young adults, and families here. 

As a result of a brainstorming session a few years ago among the Family Ser­vice League, Long Island Communities of Practice, the Youth Power organization, and the New York State Office of Mental Health, Ms. McKelvey formed the East End Chat and Chill program, open to anyone between the ages of 15 and 30. 

“Mostly, we have young adults from 18 to 30 years,” she said. The group meets twice a month, often around a bonfire on the beach for two to three hours. There is always a social worker present, a free meal, and usually a speaker to discuss a recreational topic such as fishing, photography, yoga — interests that participants might like to explore.

But at its core, these fireside chats act as a successful therapy group for young adults who are either in crisis mode themselves or have friends going through severe depression and need the tools to help them.

The group met a week after the two celebrity suicides, and the conversation, Ms. McKelvey said, largely revolved around the fact that no one, not even those enjoying worldly success and with “dream profiles,” is immune to suffering from depression.

“They even brought up Robin Williams,” she said, and wondered how someone so funny could be so unhappy. “I was glad we had that meeting. It created a meaningful conversation and we went over the steps to take and the number for the national hotline, and the number to text, and made sure that everybody always has those numbers handy.”

For Valinda Miller Valcich, Tyler’s mother, who lives in Montauk with her husband, Mitchell (Mickey) Valcich, the owner of Mickey’s Carting and Mickey’s Montauk Mowing, the question Why? was all she could ask after hearing about the two high-profile suicides. Her mission, she said, remains to have more therapy available for kids, especially those who cannot afford the usual $250-an-hour sessions. 

On Oct. 7 in Amagansett, the Tyler Project will host the fifth annual Tyler Valcich Car Show, which will include raffles, food and drinks, and live music in the hope of raising money to provide more services and increase awareness of this mental health issue.

Like Ms. Miller Valcich, the pain of prematurely losing a son is etched on Dana Lester’s face. His name, Matthew, is also etched on her left arm — a tattoo she got after he committed suicide on Martin Luther King’s Birthday in 2017. 

Sitting outside White’s Apothecary in East Hampton, where she works, Ms. Lester spoke about her constant struggle to live without her son and her attempts to make sense of what happened. 

Every experience of grief is unique, but an emerging body of research has begun to consider the distinct challenges faced by those who have lost loved ones through suicide. Studies have found that the experience of suicide is likely to prompt those left alive to question their own sense of purpose, often leading to a particularly difficult mixture of grief, anger, blame, relief, and a search for answers.

“It’s very painful to think that I did not recognize the signs,” Ms. Lester said, and it seemed clear that most of her reckoning swirls around an internal struggle with feeling that she could have done more.

“I had noticed a change in him. But he was a teenager . . .” she said, her voice trailing off. Then, she added, “He came to me and said, ‘I have friends, I have a girlfriend, I’m doing well at school, but I still feel sad.’ ” Matthew received counseling through the Family Service League for about six months and had even started on medication about three weeks before his suicide.

While her husband and daughter went into counseling following his death, Ms. Lester did not. “I just want my son back and no amount of counseling will bring him back,” she said. 

Bettina Volz, a clinical psychologist in Amagansett, firmly believes that for any significant change to occur, the stigma of mental illness, which includes depression and suicide, must be challenged.

“Clinical depression, which can lead to suicide, is a disease just like diabetes,” she said. “It needs to be treated.”

In her experience of working with young people in the grip of depression, what they want most is to talk to someone and for someone to listen. In a way, it comes back to technology and a generation of young people who can too often be imprisoned by their phones even in crowded cities and at noisy parties. When someone is in the depths of depression, doctors continue to stress, engaging in conversation and sharing life’s challenges with someone who cares can sometimes be a lifesaver.

“Feeling connected to even just a few people can make a huge difference,” Dr. Volz said, offering some basic advice for anyone who has noticed a family member or friend in crisis. “Talk therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and medication,” she pointed out, are available treatments designed to increase emotional and cognitive regulation in depressed people by showing them the triggers that lead to reactive states.

As for the warning signs, she said, isolation is usually the most glaring. Other signs are a change in personality, such as no longer wanting to engage with others, sleeplessness, or an inability to find pleasure in anything. “And giving away treasured objects,” she added. “That’s usually a sign of someone contemplating suicide.”

Often, she said, simply checking in with a loved one and asking, “Hey, how bad is it?” could make all the difference. It gives a person struggling with depression a chance to admit to the illness, and accepting it is the first step toward seeking treatment and resolving it.

Dr. Volz was quick to acknowledge, however, that people suffering from depression can be masters at disguising their emotions and often present convincing reasons for dissociating themselves from friends and loved ones. Many of those with untreated depression lack friends because the illness saps the vitality that friendship requires and immures its victims in an impenetrable shield, making it hard for them to speak or hear words of comfort.

If You Need Help

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be called at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The National Institute of Mental Health website is suicidepreventionlifeline.org. 

The Crisis Text Line, inspired by teenagers’ attachment to texting but open to people of all ages, provides free assistance to anyone who texts “help” to 741-741. Its website is crisistextline.org.

On the South Fork, the Family Ser­vice League can be reached at 631-427-3700 for critical or immediate help.