Hudson River Maritime Museum

50 Rondout Landing, Kingston, NY 12401 · (845) 338-0071

More than a traditional museum!

HRMM is a multi-functioning education hub and dynamic working waterfront. that includes an extensive collection of maritime artifacts and historic vessels, the Wooden Boat School, a Sailing School, a marina with public docking, a solar-powered tour boat, Solaris Boat Tours, and homeport barn—a public events space. Additionally, the museum operates the Rondout Lighthouse— the last of three lighthouses marking the entrance to the Rondout Creek—accessible only via our guided boat tours.

To obtain free passes, just follow the instructions found via this link on the Ulster County Library Association website.

Keep a look out for our newest museum passes to Huguenot Street in New Paltz coming soon! 

The Library will be closed...

on Thursday, July 4 in honor of Independence Day. Enjoy your holiday. We will re-open at 10 a.m. on Friday, July 5.

We can hardly contain ourselves!

We have big news coming! Be sure to check out our Facebook page on Monday, July 1st!

Give the gift of life

American Red Cross is hosting a Blood Drive on Saturday, July 13 from 9 p.m. to 2 p.m. at Wallkill Volunteer Ambulance Corps, 213 First Street, Wallkill NY 12589. To schedule your appointment please click here to sign up or call 800-Red-Cross.

When you come to give blood, platelets, or AB Elite plasma in July, you’ll receive a Fandango Movie Ticket by email. You can use it to see TWISTERS, on us! PLUS, when you hurry in to give July 1-14, you’ll also get an exclusive TWISTERS & American Red Cross umbrella, while supplies last.

...but online library cards (cards applied for online using your mobile phone number) are going away as of July 1.

Never fear, you'll still be able to access all of your favorite OverDrive content through the Libby app using your Wallkill Public Library card number instead. If you don't yet have a physical Wallkill Public Library card you can apply for one online here or drop by the library to request one in person.

Come on in, our air conditioners are on!

Summer's nearly here, and with it comes those hot summer days. If you're looking for a place to cool down, swing by the library to relax in our AC. While you're here why not participate in one of our many great summer programs.

The "Summer Slide" is NOT an amusement park feature!

The Summer Slide is summer learning loss, and it's a real issue. The statistics don’t lie:

• Kids in grades 3 to 5 lose about 20% of their school year gains in reading and 27% of their gains in math. (Source: Scholastic)
• Students lose about a month’s worth of learning on average over the summer. (Source: Sage Journals)
• In the summer between 5th and 6th grades, 84% of students experience summer slide in math. (Source: Kappan)
• The more kids learn during the school year, the more they’re likely to lose over the summer. (Source: Kappan)

What can be done? Encourage your kids to read. READ. READ! We have great programs for kids and teens at the library all summer. Let us help you find engaging reading materials that are at the right level for your child.

Concerned about the other school subjects like math, science, or social studies? Try Tutor.com available from our website with your library card! Tutor.com offers study aids and skill builders like interactive websites, videos on specific topics, learning games, flash cards, sample tests and worksheets. A few minutes a day keeps the summer slide away. And the best part is that it’s free with your library card!

Explore more: Is Summer Slide Real? Free Toolkit To Stop Summer Learning Loss (weareteachers.com)

Summer reading… not just for kids!

Just read a book, ebook, magazine, listen to an audiobook, or participate in one of our great programs this summer. Each time you do, ask for a chance to win one of our amazing adult summer reading prizes. Prizes are on display now, and there will be more coming. Entering is fast and easy -- fill out your ticket with your name, phone number, and what you finished! And, the more books you read or programs you attend, the higher your chances are to win.

Adult summer reading is for readers ages 18+. Our program runs through the end of August. Winners will be announced Tuesday, September 3rd. Good luck and keep on reading!

Start your summer reading adventure today!

The 2024 Tween/Teen Summer Reading program is live! Swing by the library to pick up a Summer Reading Program adventure log sheet. (You have two choices: one focused on time spent reading, and the other has reading and activity challenges). Those who participate will be in the running for swag and raffle prizes. The more you participate, the more chances you get to win. Stop by the library to learn more!

Tuesdays, 3-5 p.m.

Embark on epic quests with your adventuring party to explore fantasy worlds together with Jillian, your dungeon master! Open to teens and adults.

The Saturday Morning Book Club will have their next meeting on Saturday, July 27 at 10:30 a.m. They'll be discussing Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.

Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.

But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.

Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.

– Goodreads

On Friday, July 26, at 3:00 p.m., the adult fiction book club will meet in our reading room to discuss The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray.

Textile Tuesdays

The Wallkill Quilter's Circle is sponsored by the Wallkill Public Library. The Circle meets for Textile Tuesdays in the Community Room at the Shawangunk Town Hall on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Bring your present project and your lunch and join us! No registration necessary.

Mahjong meet-ups

Every Wednesday at 1 p.m. and Thursday at 6 p.m. the library hosts our Mahjong Clubs in the Reading Room. If you’re a player or just interested in learning, join us! We supply the games and (a limited number of) mahjong cards. Just drop in, no registration required.

Forgot your card? Check one out at the circulation desk to use during the game!

Adult crafting

Grab a project and come enjoy the craft of your choice, whether it's knitting, crocheting, diamond painting, coloring, embroidery, or cross stitch!

Adult Crafting meets on Thursday afternoons between 2:00-5:00 PM in our Reading Room. No registration is required.

Recycling made easy

Wondering what's the best way to get rid of those used batteries rolling around in your junk drawer?

The Library accepts used batteries and cell phones to be recycled! You will find the WeRecycle Battery Box located on our window seat. Please use a plastic baggie (found on the side of the box) to place your batteries or cell phones in before placing them in the battery recycle box. Quick, easy, convenient, and environmentally friendly!

Puzzle Exchange

Enjoy puzzles? Borrow one of ours!

Stop by any day to drop-off, pick up or exchange a puzzle for your weekend!

Puzzles MUST have all the pieces and be in new or like new condition.

All ages and puzzle sizes welcome!

Family Crafty Yarn Club

Mondays at 11 a.m.

Join us for our Family Crafty Yarn Club on Mondays at 11 a.m.! Bring your own project or learn the basics of crochet or knit. All levels of experience are welcome! This is a drop in style club - registration not required or needed. Great for homeschoolers! Age 8+. Contact Kim O'Sullivan with questions.

Home School Art met to design summer adventure journals. They'll use them to journal, doodle, and document their activities this summer.

Looking for something cool and free for the kids to do this summer? Then join us for our Summer Reading Program! This year’s theme is “Adventure Begins at Your Library.”

From June 26th through July 31st, we are featuring adventurous programs to keep kids (ages 12 and under) engaged and entertained on those long, hot, summer days! To register for programs, check out our calendar here.

To encourage summer reading, we are running a fun reading challenge through August 27th. Reading challenge packets, as well as program brochures, are available at the library or on our website. We also have reading challenges for teens and adults!

We can’t wait to share our summer adventures with YOU!

Thanks to Joe Fischer for dazzling our community with his magic and charisma during our Summer Reading Program Kick-Off Event! Despite the heat, we had a nice breeze and members of our audience participated in some really cool tricks!

An American Story

• Our doors are open for library services including browsing for library materials, making copies, sending faxes, and using the public access computers.
• Our bookdrop is open for contact-free and after-hours returns of library materials. Be sure to secure DVD and BCD cases with rubber bands.
• Curbside delivery of pre-ordered items is available by request. Call the circulation desk at 845-895-3707 to make a pick-up appointment.
• Fine-free returns on everything, except museum/park passes.
• Inter-library loans are available between all RCLS libraries.
• Grab & GO projects with materials necessary for crafts available for pickup at the library.
• In-person programming for all ages!
• Museum passes are available to Wallkill Public Library patrons for Empire Pass, Mohonk Preserve, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum, Museum Village, and Storm King Art Center. Plus, more print-at-home museum passes available through the Ulster County InfoPortal on the library’s website.
• We are not accepting any donations of books or DVDs at this time.