Lifelong learning and community programme
Join in with our programme of events and workshops for all ages in April, May and June 2023

To view our full programme of events and workshops for all ages, please see the outline below, or click here to see our full brochure: What’s On at the DEI April-June 2023
For bookable events, please click here: webcollect.org.uk/dei , which will take you to our bookings page.
If you are having difficulty, please contact the office by email [email protected] or phone 01392 274727
April | Day | Event | Times | Additional Info |
Table-top book display – The other side of the story: Voyages and travel, including colonial expeditions of the past. Have your say by joining us for a ‘significance workshop’ on 12th April, where we will collaborate on a new narrative for this historic collection. | ||||
1st | Saturday | Spring is Springing – Make Your Own Cress Animals | 10.30am – 12 noon | Family fun workshop for children 5+ / Drop in |
6th | Thursday | Green Shoots Gardening Group – Make Wildflower Seed Bombs | 11am – 2pm | Family fun workshop / Drop in |
8th | Saturday | Finding Stories – The Museum of Me with Davina Quinlivan (Writer In Residence) | 10.30am – 12 noon | Children 5+ / Booking essential |
11th | Tuesday | Book Group – The Garden of the Finzi-Continis by Giorgio Bassani | 2.30pm – 4pm | Open to new members |
13th | Thursday | Rough Trade Books presents… Zakiya McKenzie on colonialism and decolonisation. In partnership with Exeter City of Literature | 6pm – 7.30pm | £ pay what you can afford / Booking essential |
15th | Saturday | Bookworms Junior Members’ Club – Over the Seas and Far Away | 10.30am – 12noon | Children 5+ / Booking essential / Taster session free |
18th | Tuesday | Get the most from the DEI catalogue | 3pm – 4pm | One to one session / Booking essential |
19th | Wednesday | The Next Chapter’ Project Cafe | 10.30am – 12 noon | Drop in |
19th | Wednesday | Artefact highlights of the upstairs reading rooms – Wednesday tour special | 1pm – 4pm | Drop in |
19th | Wednesday | Cinema Club – The Sea Hawk (1940) | Doors 6pm / Film 6.30pm | Open to new members |
20th | Thursday | Green Shoots Gardening Group – Planting for Spring | 11am – 2pm | Open to new members / Drop in |
20th | Thursday | Rough Trade Books Presents… The Pelican Project’s Charlie Robinson. In partnership with Exeter City of Literature | 6pm – 7.30pm | £ pay what you can afford / Booking essential |
22nd | Saturday | Nature Journalling (Spring) | 10.30am – 12 noon | Booking essential |
26th | Wednesday | ‘Waterlines: Real Places, Mythology and Poetry at the margins’ with Davina Quinlivan | 5pm – 6.30pm | Booking essential |
27th | Thursday | West Quarter Research Group | 2.30pm – 4pm | Open to new members |
27th | Thursday | Evening Lecture John Allan ‘New light on the development of Cathedral Close’ | Doors 6pm / Talk 6.30pm / Supper 7.30pm | Tickets £25 / Booking essential |
29th | Saturday | Second-hand book and historical map sale | 11am – 3pm | Drop in |
May | Day | Event | Times | Additional Info |
4th | Thursday | Green Shoots Gardening Group – Make a Houseplant Cutting Sampler | 11am – 2pm | Over 18s workshop / Open to new members / Drop in |
6th | Saturday | Crowning Glory – Make a Bejewelled Crown family fun workshop | 10.30am – 12 noon | Children 5+ / Booking essential |
9th | Tuesday | Book Group – Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner | 2.30pm – 4pm | Open to new members |
9th | Tuesday | Get the most from the DEI catalogue | 3pm – 4pm | One to one session / Booking essential |
16th | Tuesday | Poetry Reading (Poems of Reflection), supporting Mental Health Awareness Week | 6pm – 7pm | Booking esential |
17th | Wednesday | The Next Chapter’ Project Cafe | 10.30am – 12 noon | Drop in |
17th | Wednesday | Cinema Club – My Favourite Year (1982) | Doors 6pm / Film 6.30pm | Open to new members |
18th | Thursday | Green Shoots Gardening Group – Gardening for mental health session, supporting Mental Health Awareness Week | 11am – 2pm | Drop in |
18th | Thursday | Rough Trade Books Presents… The Fandangoe Kid | 6pm – 7.30pm | £ pay what you can afford / Booking essential |
19th | Friday | Librarian’s Tour | 3pm – 3.45pm | Booking essential |
20th | Saturday | Bookworms Junior Members’ Club – Make Sock Puppets | 10.30am – 12noon | Children 5+ / Booking essential / Taster session free |
25th | Thursday | West Quarter Research Group | 2.30pm – 4pm | Open to new members |
June | Day | Event | Times | Additional Info |
Table-top book display – In the roar of the sea Take a trip to the Outer Library to enjoy some seaside delights from our book collections. | ||||
1st | Thursday | Green Shoots Gardening Group – Make A Bug Hotel | 11am – 2pm | Family fun workshop / Open to new members / Drop in |
3rd | Saturday | Roar! Make a Dinosaur Marionette | 10.30am – 12 noon | Family fun workshop children 5+ / Booking essential |
10th | Saturday | Seaside in a Jar workshop | 10.30am – 12 noon | Children 5+ / Drop in |
13th | Tuesday | Book Group – The Sea Change by Elizabeth Jane Howard | 2.30pm – 4pm | Open to new members |
13th – 17th | Tuesday – Saturday | Art Week Exeter – drop in to see works of art exhibited throughout the building. | During opening hours | |
15th | Thursday | Green Shoots Gardening Group – Decorate a Plant Pot | 11am – 2pm | Over 18s workshop / Open to new members / Drop in |
15th | Thursday | Rough Trade Books Presents… Musa Okwonga | 6pm – 7.30pm | £ pay what you can afford / Booking essential |
17th | Saturday | Bookworms Junior Members’ Club – Do Exeter Art Week | 10.30am – 12 noon | Children 5+ / Booking essential / Taster session free |
21st | Wednesday | ‘The Next Chapter’ Project Cafe | 10.30am – 12 noon | Drop in |
21st | Wednesday | Cinema Club – A special documentary night with The Lambeth Boys (1959) and Night Mail (1936) | Doors 6pm / Film 6.30pm | Open to new members |
22nd | Thursday | West Quarter Research Group | 2.30pm – 4pm | Open to new members |
24th | Saturday | Big Insect Drawings | 11am – 1pm | Family fun event for children 8+ / Booking essential |