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I was recently able to represent ALSC at the Public Libraries & STEM Conference in Denver, CO. The conference was kept very small–around 160 people total–and thus was very concentrated, with plenty to learn from and discuss with colleagues from libraries, STEM organizations, and other institutions with missions for informal learning. And while the small size necessary means that the participant pool was limited, the takeaways weren’t. I particularly want to share with you one of my major takeaways: the library as a single element in a larger learning ecosystem.

Note: I tried visual note taking at this conference. Since my handwriting isn’t always great, I’m transcribing text in the captions of images.

Here’s what I learned and have been itching to share:

Public Libraries & STEM Conference; Denver, CO, Aug. 20-22, 2015 (Image by Amy Koester)

Help define a new 21st Century vision of STEM in public libraries. (Image by Amy Koester)

There were several goals of the Public Libraries & STEM Conference, but one in particular resonated with me immediately: to figure out what STEM/STEAM in public libraries could/should look like in our age of technology and innovation. What is the library’s role now, and what should it be? It’s within our collective power to create a framework for STEM in public libraries.

Collaboration as a System of Collective Impact (FSG) From individual orgs with individual goals & pathways to collaboration of goals and pathways (Image by Amy Koester)

That said, while we, libraries, can certainly make some decisions and create some practices around this (or any other) topic, it’s imperative that we recognize that we are NOT the only institutions with a vested interest in STEM learning and experiences. Yet if we think of ourselves as wholly separate from other organizations even when  they possess similar goals to our own, we’re muddying the waters. Or, rather, as Marsha Semmel (formerly at IMLS) shared from an organization called FSG, each individual organization is moving in its own direction. It’s a little bit of chaos, no matter how well intentioned. But when we collaborate, however–and this is meaningful collaboration, in which we set a common goal and common pathways to achieve it–we can actually accomplish meaningful progress and change.

“Progress moves at the speed of trust.” Collectively see, learn, do. (Image by Amy Koester)

An integral part of meaningful collaboration: trust, said Marsha Semmel. If we observe together, learn together, and act together out of a trust that we truly are working toward a shared goal, we can accomplish transformative change much more quickly than independently, or even working parallel to one another.

STEM Learning Ecosystem: P-12 Education, Family, Out-of-School Programs, Higher Education Institutions, Business Community, and STEM-rich Institutions as spokes around the Learner – Ellen Lettvin (Image by Amy Koester)

Part of developing that trust is recognizing that we as libraries are a single aspect of a larger learning ecosystem. When it comes to STEM learning for youth, we fit into a larger puzzle of groups and individuals supporting students. Ellen Lettvin, of the U.S. Department of Education, emphasized some of those other players in this ecosystem, including students’ families; their schools; their out-of-school programs and activities; community businesses; institutions of higher education; and STEM-rich institutions, of which libraries may be one.

Out of school experiences are increasingly central to the public’s STEM learning. (Image by Amy Koester)

Why do we need to recognize that we’re part of a larger learning ecosystem? John Falk, from Oregon State University, has researched this very topic, and has oodles of evidence supporting the fact that all of those experiences that youth–any age person, really–have out of formal school contexts are more and more important to overall STEM learning. Schooling isn’t sufficient in and of itself.

Learning is continuous and cumulative. (Image by Amy Koester)

That’s because, says Falk, learning is continuous and cumulative. It happens all the time, and it constantly builds on what a learner already knows. There is no place or situation that is not ripe for learning. As such, if the library is a place people spend time, the library is necessarily a learning place.

Libraries as hubs & hosts of STEM. (Image by Amy Koester)

Now, we know this. We know that libraries are institutions of learning. But in what capacity? Are we mostly places of individual discovery? Of information support? What if we really embraced that concept of library as learning place to its fullest extent and intentionally and proactively support the public who use us? We could be intentional hubs and hosts of STEM learning–or, truly, any type of learning that our communities need.

R. David Lankes: “The power of libraries is not in being a space for X, it is in being a space to facilitate connections between community members and local organizations that are experts in X.” (Image by Amy Koester)

David Lankes, from Syracuse University, was careful to emphasize, however, that our being hubs and hosts of STEM learning does NOT necessitate that we ourselves be the be-all, end-all experts. Should you tap staff expertise and interests in creating STEM programs and services? Absolutely. But remember that whole bit about collaboration for collective impact? Here’s where it really comes in. There’s a very legitimate school of thought that says that libraries’ best role in supporting STEM learning, across the board, is to meaningfully collaborate with organizations who are unequivocal experts in STEM so that we can connect our patrons directly to the experts. We are mediators, introducers. That makes our capacity so much greater than it could ever be on our own.

“Partnerships help us develop more and more programs and to bring those programs to the people we are targeting.” -Sharon Cox, Queens Library Discovery Center (Image by Amy Koester)

This sentiment was echoed by Sharon Cox, from the Queens Library Discovery Center. It’s an entire library dedicated to children’s STEM learning and exploration, and even with that mission, focus, and staff expertise, they add huge value to what they are able to bring to their community through partnership with organizations who are expert in STEM and whose goals align with the library’s. As libraries, we’ve always thought of ourselves as the people who connect our public to the resources they need. This type of collaboration means that the definition of “resources” our public requires may very well include organizations other than our own.

“Do what you do best, and link to the rest.” -L. Rainie; Libraries should NOT be trying to do everything. (Image by Amy Koester)

Or, in other words, we continue to do what we do best and then connect our patrons to the rest of what they way. That was the overarching sentiment from Lee Rainie from Pew Research Center–that libraries are strongest not because they can do everything, but because they can connect you to people and organizations who can.

Cultivate collaboration. Ask: What are our shared interests and goals? -Dale McCreedy, The Franklin Institute, LEAP into Science (Image by Amy Koester)

So if we’re deliberately not doing everything, and we’re also going to best support our patrons’ STEM learning through collaborating with expert STEM learning organizations, how do we collaborate? Dale Creedy, who works at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and is a collaborator with the Free Library of Philadelphia to offer a LEAP into Science program, says that the first step in cultivating collaboration is to reach out to other organizations and straight up have a conversation. Your intent: to identify what, if any, are your shared interests and goals. If you determine that you don’t have sufficient shared interests/goals to merit the time and resources that would go into a formal collaboration, it’s no real loss–you now know more about the organization and can better identify when to direct your patrons to them. But if you do have sufficient overlaps in your interests and goals, the foundation is primed for you to work together. Now you can shift your conversation to what, specifically, your shared goal is, and how you might reach it together.

Collective Impact: How do we serve as part of a solution, as opposed to the solver? -M. Figueroa (Image by Amy Koester)

This type of conversation can actually be a little clumsy for libraries. We tend to think in terms of the library being the sole solver of a problem, rather than just one player in a larger solution–that’s according to Miguel Figueroa from the Center for the Future of Libraries at ALA. Collective impact necessitates that libraries be part of a collective solution, which may require a bit of a mindset shift.

Collaborations: Actively participate in a robust learning ecosystem; Re-envision the library with community input; Bring people to museums, and vice versa -Dr. S. Sampson (Image by Amy Koester)

So what to do to enact that mindset shift, to form those meaningful collaborations? Dr. Scott Sampson, Vice President of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (and also Dr. Scott the Paleontologist from Dinosaur Train), gave some suggestions in the form of a few progressively-more-involved strategies. Starting small, figure out how to bring people to libraries, and vice versa–that is, how to bring libraries to people. Where are the people in your community who do not come to the library? What spaces do they tend to use? Figure out collaborations with those places to bring the library to them.

Next in the spectrum is re-envisioning the library with the input of the community. We tend to get into a library echo chamber and create new programs and services based on what other libraries are doing or what we think would be appealing to the community. But that’s not the same thing as asking the community what they need the library to be. It could be through surveys, focus groups, inviting a cultural organization to the space… the possibilities are endless, and the results fruitful.

Last on that spectrum is actively participate in a robust learning ecosystem. Sound familiar? It should, and the concept is repeated here because it is so important. When we work on our own, we are limited to reaching the people we personally serve. But when we are part of a larger ecosystem, however, we not only draw on the strengths of fellow elements in the ecosystem but we draw from the people they reach as well. Maybe a person child will just never come to the library; that’s just the reality of their life. But they do go to school and out-of-school activities. So if the library is part of a learning ecosystem that includes that school and those activities–if we collaborate with them–we do reach that child in a fundamental way.

A Collaboration Workbook: 1) Install a collaboration team; 2) Find a common goal; 3) Listen to the community; 4) Generate ideas for collaborative programs; 5) Prioritize and implement programs -Heart of Brooklyn (Image by Amy Koester)

Dr. Sampson’s best suggestion for a model for collaboration comes from the Heart of Brooklyn, a cultural partnership involving the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Public Library, Prospect Park, and Prospect Park Zoo. Their method: Install a collaboration team whose first task is to find a common goal that al of the partners can get behind. Then listen to the community; is your goal their goal, too? From there, the partners and the community can generate ideas for collaborative programs and services–these should be in play with one another, building off one another, not simply a list of isolated programs that take place at isolated institutions. With those ideas in mind, it’s time for the collaboration team to prioritize and implement select programs. Obviously there will also need to be some evaluative piece after this implementation, but that’s a bit beyond the main takeaway of this post: collaboration.

“What is holding us back is not money. The currency in short supply is collaboration and vision.” -Dr. S. Sampson (Image by Amy Koester)

And collaboration is vital for transformative, dynamic support of STEM learning by libraries. Yet many of the smart people at this conference indicated that, right now, collaboration–and the vision of collective impact that can inspire and support it–is in short supply. We need to recognize that libraries need not go it alone when it comes to supporting STEM. That is not to say that we shouldn’t invest in doing some STEM programing and providing relevant services ourselves; it is just to say that we can do so much more when we collaborate with others who also aim to support the STEM learning of our communities.

That vision of what we can do together is huge.

The collective impact we can have when we collaborate meaningfully is massive.

And what, after all, is our overall goal as libraries if not to support our communities in transforming their lives?

The post Collaboration for Learning: Notes from the Public Libraries & STEM Conference appeared first on ALSC Blog.

As part of the lead-up to formal Día celebrations in April, I had the privilege of interviewing an author of multicultural and multilingual books for children–the inimitable Pat Mora herself, author and founder of Día! Ms. Mora is an outstanding advocate for youth literacy, and the books in her body of work are a joy to share with families any time of the year. It was my pleasure to ask Pat Mora a few questions.

Q: You’re the founder of Día, and you’re also an author of children’s books. How do these dual roles affect how you think about Día?

Pat Mora is an author and the founder of Día (image courtesy of Pat Mora)

Pat Mora: My first book published book was A Birthday Basket for Tía, 1992. I quickly became aware how many children did not have books in their homes and how many families, particularly non-English speaking families, had not embraced their literacy role. I also became aware that many book buyers of all ethnicities were not interested in books by Latinas/os. Both realities saddened me.

In 1996, the idea for Día came to me, an initiative that would honor all children—their importance—and connect them to books, diverse books. I was inspired by Mexico’s April 30th celebration of El día del niño. (Contrary to some information on the Web this is not a Latin American celebration, although other countries celebrate Children’s Day.) I hadn’t planned to become an author/literacy advocate, but that is what evolved. Día has required a great amount of my time and energy. I’m deeply grateful to REFORMA and ALSC for becoming my first organizational partners.

Q: Do you see Día’s mission differently in 2015 than when you started it?

Pat Mora: Definitely! When I first began Día and was quickly joined by REFORMA, we were focused on a national April 30th celebration, El día de los niños, El día de los libros/Children’s Day, Book Day. As a writer aware of the importance of literacy in our democracy and as a book lover—working with committed librarians, REFORMA, ALSC—celebrating children and books seemed natural and essential.

Soon I became aware of the importance of deepening what had become known as “Día” into a year-long commitment (day by day, día por día) with culminating celebrations held in April across the country. Also, I strongly believed that Children’s Day, Book Day needed to be relevant in all the languages spoken in this country. My organizational partners agreed. Other organizations and publishers are joining us aware that Día unites communities.

Q: As an author, how would you ideally like for your books to be shared in libraries and library programs?

Pat Mora: I write for all children so like any author, I long to see my books shared with all children and rely on families, librarians and teachers to connect my books with young readers. Of course, since I’m of Mexican background and bilingual, I hope that adults will share those realities when relevant. It’s an immense private pleasure when I read a word in Spanish to a group, and a Spanish-speaking child gives me a special smile. We all like to see ourselves and our lives in books. In addition to sharing Mexican culture, I also enjoy sharing my love of family time, the natural world, and poetry.

Librarians have tremendous power: power to coach families unfamiliar or intimidated by libraries and schools, and to help such families become literacy advocates. This is a major interest of mine, librarians as literacy coaches. Also, librarians order and promote books. You select what children will view as exciting and valuable. Buying diverse books is important but not enough. By sharing and celebrating good diverse books, librarians help prepare our children to participate in our diverse country. As I said to a wonderful group of South Carolina librarians last April, all librarians have old favorites (for story time, etc.). My hope is that our hard-working and under-praised librarians are becoming excited about new favorites.

Q: What guidance or advice would you give to librarians who are hesitant to share books that are not completely in English because they don’t feel confident reading them aloud?

Pat Mora: Fabulous question! Spanish is the second most spoken language across our country; there are many others, of course. If we are committed to exciting all our children about bookjoy, we need to meet them where they are, as the saying goes. This is a basic rule for effectively connecting with any audience. Just as we want our children to have the courage to say and read words in a language that may not be their home language (English), we can model that bravery by saying or reading words in the home languages of our students—Chinese, Korean, etc.

A child colors during a Día program at Skokie Public Library (image courtesy of Joanna Ison)

Bilingual students and students whose families want their children to become bilingual (many today) can so profit from and enjoy bilingual books. It saddens me that many bilingual books are not being purchased or used because the librarians or teachers aren’t bilingual. Such professionals tell me that they are intimidated by the books. I appreciate the candor and understand the intimidation, but resources (educational resources) are gathering dust. Sigh. Many librarians take Spanish and enjoy their new skill. Others involve bilingual parents in book sharing and language development. For our children, let’s be bold together!

Q: What type of impact do you think the #WeNeedDiverseBooks project will have on Día celebrations, and on children’s literature as a whole?

Pat Mora: The #WeNeedDiverseBooks project is an exciting initiative. Día also started as a grassroots project, and we share many goals. This new project, adept at technology and energized by a young, committed team, is asking important questions and building much-needed awareness.

For years, I’ve written about and spoken about the need to diversify the publishing system from publishers through the award committees. I’ll touch on this briefly when I speak at ALSC’s Day of Diversity at Midwinter.

Q: What’s your favorite thing about celebrating Día?

Pat Mora: The smiling faces of children, families, librarians, other educators and community members delight me. We are celebrating our young (Children’s Day) just as we annually celebrate Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Also, we are enjoying bookjoy together. ALSC offers many resources and I have a downloadable booklet of tips to begin your April 2015 planning now, http://www.patmora.com/dia-planning-booklet/

Reminder: 1996-2016, Día’s 20th Anniversary! Together, let’s grow a reading nation!

Amy Koester is Youth & Family Program Coordinator at Skokie Public Library. She is writing this post for the Public Awareness Committee. You can reach her at [email protected].

The post What does an author think of Día? appeared first on ALSC Blog.

One of my goals for programming at my new library is to increase the frequency of pop-up programs in the youth area. We offer a great range of formal, specific-place/specific-time programs every quarter, but I’ve been thinking about whom these types of programs engage. I’m still learning the demographics of youth and families at my new job, but I do have the feeling that the Venn diagram circles of kids who come to the library and kids who come to programs are not wholly overlapping. Why not provide pop-up programs, then, that can take place in the open, without registration restrictions or time requirements, on days and at times when lots of kids are in the space? And why not structure these pop-ups around STEAM activities, which kids are hugely enjoying?

Here are five potential pop-up programs, one for each STEAM content area. These pop-ups would be facilitated and supervised by a staff member.

Science – Candy Chromatography, à la Steve Spangler

Stock up at post-holiday candy sales, grab some coffee filters and a cup of water, and you’re ready to see the true colors of kids’ favorite candies. Dunk a candy–preferably something that obviously has dye, like jelly beans, Skittles, and really dark candies–in the water for a few seconds, then set it on the coffee filter. Over the course of the next ten minutes, the dyes from the candy will separate and create something like colorful tree rings on the filter. Note: you can also do this with different types of ink pens to see the colors that actually make up black and blue ink.

Technology – MaKey MaKey!

Break out a fully-charged laptop and a MaKey MaKey kit so that kids can figure out how it works. Let them work collaboratively to figure out how to hook everything up (with plenty of options for conductive materials, like paper clips, dough, and even bananas), then play a game or two from the MaKey MaKey website with their homemade controller before letting another kid have a chance.

Engineering – The Perfect Paper Airplane

Offer all the supplies to make a wide range of paper airplanes: paper in different weights, paper clips, straws, tape, scissors, etc. Don’t forget to include books and/or print-out instructions for paper airplane designs to give kids a starting-off point. Mark out a flying course on the floor/ground (masking tape if inside, chalk if outside) so you can see how far planes fly. Encourage kids to modify their designs to produce longer flight distances.

Art – Friendship Bracelets

Set out different colors of embroidery floss, some masking tape and scissors, and a few books on bracelet designs and let kids spend some time making the designs of their choosing. This may seem like a pretty standard craft, not necessarily a STEAM arts activity; but in actuality, there’s a ton of math involved in figuring out how to weave and create patterns. Bonus of this activity: once kids have the basics of their design, they can socialize as they work, potentially building a camaraderie between kids who tend to be at the library at the same times but never really interact.

Math – Tangrams

Allow kids to engage in some visual problem-solving by setting out tangrams and designs for them to replicate using the shape pieces. You can offer plastic tangram pieces, or print out a tangram template so that kids can cut out and keep their pieces. For kids who get really into solving these puzzles, you can even have speed races to see how quickly kids can figure out different designs.

One of the great things about these types of pop-up programs is that they can translate to lots of different settings. Since they involve limited designated space and few materials, these activities can be “packed up,” so to speak, to accompany a library staffer on outreach, or to bookmobile stops frequented by families with children. When it comes down to it, STEAM pop-ups allow us to provide access to engaging activities and interesting ideas in a context that may be much more viable for many of the families who use our libraries, but never step through the program room door.

Do you offer pop-up programming at your library?

A few months ago, one of my frequent program-goers made a request: Would I please be able to offer a program that includes slugs, one of his favorite animals? I was inclined to agree to the challenge, even before said child had his mother email me a photo of him with his three pet slugs. How’s a librarian to say “no” to that?

I gave some thought to how I could meet the “slug” challenge while also closing out a season of many science-themed programs. I decided to return to a favorite concept with school-agers—slime—and explore it from two different perspectives: animal biology and physics. Thus “The Science of Slimy Things” was born.

A Slug Science information slide, slide and photo by Amy Koester

The program was divided roughly into two parts, the first considerably less messy than the second. We opened with an exploration of slugs—pictures, how they move, their scientific names, how they differ from snails, and the purpose of their slime. Happily, the non-fiction stacks had plenty of resources to support this exploration.

Then we got hands-on with slug slime. No, not real slug slime, as I don’t have regular access to the potionmaster’s storecupboard. Instead, I had prepared some gelatinous, fibrous slime (recipe below) the morning of the program and brought it with me to the library. It sat in the staff fridge with a note saying “NOT Jello—Do NOT eat!” until program time. Once we had talked about slugs, I doled out scoops of the orange goo on paper plates for each of the attendees. I provided them with popsicle sticks and index cards to use to explore and manipulate the slime, but many of them opted just to use their hands. I’m sure none of us are surprised.

Slug slime, photo by Amy Koester

When everyone felt that, having tested its viscous properties, they had had a good play with the slug slime, we scooped it all back up into the plastic container. After a brief stop in the restroom to wash hands, we all trooped outside to the library’s patio for the really messy activity of the program.

Our second exploration of slime was oobleck, that substance owing its name to Dr. Seuss. I had some sample oobleck to accompany the intro to this type of slime. We discussed how oobleck is a non-Newtonian fluid—that is, it has properties of both a solid and a liquid depending upon the force being exerted upon it. To demonstrate, I set a toy farm animal on top of a pool of water (it sank) and then on top of the pool of oobleck (it sank, albeit more slowly). With a minimal amount of pressure acting against the oobleck, it acts like a liquid. To demonstrate how it acts like a solid, I used a mallet as my tool. First, I slammed the mallet into the pool of water; it splashed magnificently. When I raised the mallet to slam it onto the pool of oobleck, many of the kids leaned backward in expectation of a colossal oobleck splatter. Instead, there was none; the sudden strong force of mallet against oobleck caused the oobleck to act like a solid. Cue the pronouncements of “How cool!”

After making sure the kids had retained the term “non-Newtonian fluid,” I split everyone into groups to make their own oobleck. It was a messy, experimental process, as kids had to fiddle with the balance of ingredients in their slime (recipe below). Once they all had slime, the patio was a mess of kids scooping up oobleck, rolling it into a ball in their hands, and then letting it drip through their fingers. (I am happy to report that it rained a LOT the day after the oobleck project, which had left the outdoor patio quite covered in dried slime.)

When kids had had enough of the messy oobleck, I handed out empty prescription containers so that kids could take a bit of slime home with them. Kids bottled it up, then went their merry way to wash hands.

My program-goer who requested the slug aspect of the program said he was very happy with how the program had turned out—he liked getting to play with slug slime, and the oobleck was a great surprise as well. Talk about enjoying the finer things in life.

The Recipe for Slug Slime:

• 7 cups water
• 10 tsp Metamucil powder

Pour the water into a stovetop-safe saucepan, then stir in the Metamucil until dissolved. When the mixture is dissolved, turn on the burner to medium-high heat. Heat the mixture for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently, until it reaches your desired consistency. The mixture will be gelatinous and gloopy. Let cool before handling.

The Recipe for Oobleck:

• 1 to 2 cups cornstarch
• 1 cup water

Pour 1 cup of the cornstarch into a mixing bowl. Slowly add in the water, gently stirring with a spoon or with hands. Keep adding water until the oobleck starts to thicken; you’ll know it’s ready when you tap on it and it hardens. If the oobleck is too runny, add more cornstarch; if too thick, add more water.

Mine is one of the myriad libraries celebrating science this summer through our “Fizz, Boom, Read” summer reading program. Much to the delight of my STEAM-loving heart, all branches across my library system have hosted a ton of science programs this summer for every age. Some were led by outside groups like the St. Louis Science Center (always tap your local STEM resources!), and others have been led by in-house staff. They’ve all been a huge hit with kids and their families. One of my most successful in-house preschool programs this summer was a recent program titled “Excellent Explosions.” Here’s what we did.

Excellent Explosions: A Preschool Science Program

While I did have plenty of materials on hand for attendees to check out, this wasn’t a storytime program, per se. That is, I didn’t share a book at the beginning of the program as I usually do in my Preschool Science programs. Instead, I started the event by talking with the group about physical vs. chemical reactions, and how when chemicals react, interesting things happen–like explosions.

After talking about reactions and answering any kiddo questions, we proceeded to the main event: four very exciting chemical reactions.

Reaction 1: Mentos & Diet Coke

I had three 1-litre bottles of Diet Coke and two sleeves of Mentos on hand for this reaction demonstration, which we did out on the library’s patio (warning: very messy). Before dropping any Mentos into the first bottle, I had the kids hypothesize what would happen. Hypotheses ranged from “Nothing will happen” to “It’s gonna EXPLODE!” From there, I dropped about three Mentos into the first bottle, with a decent-sized fizz geyser as the result.

Having seen what happens when three Mentos were added to a bottle, we made hypotheses regarding what would happen when we dropped in seven Mentos. That demonstration resulted in a slightly quicker, noticeably higher geyser reaction.

Then, with a pause for dramatic effect, I announced we would put a whole sleeve of Mentos in the last bottle. There may have been a few delighted shrieks of anticipation from the crowd. Friends, that last set of conditions resulted in a very quick, quite large geyser–one that was so quick and forceful, it pushed about five of the Mentos out of the bottle before they even had a chance to react with the Diet Coke. These three reactions gave us plenty of fodder to talk about how the amounts of ingredients that interact affect the reaction.

Reaction 2: Baking Soda & Vinegar

We stepped back into the program room for the rest of our program, which consisted next of a hands-on experiment. I had set out three long tables with paper plates, recycled prescription containers of baking soda, pipettes, and some vinegar for every child. I gave a brief introduction of the materials we were using (including introducing the word “pipette”), then encouraged the children to use their pipettes to drip some vinegar on the baking soda to see what type of reaction resulted. I moved about the room, asking questions about whether the amount of vinegar used has an impact on the fizzing reaction. A few kids dumped their baking soda on their paper plates and experimented there, while others dripped vinegar directly into the prescription bottles. I encouraged caregivers to ask their children to describe the reactions for them.

Reaction 3: Alka-Seltzer & Water

After all of the baking soda had exhausted its fizz, I had the children move to another set of three long tables. Each of these stations had a paper plate, pipette, and cup of water, with two children sharing a packet of two Alka-Seltzer tablets between them. I talked about what Alka-Seltzer is and what it is used for, and I posed some questions about why bubbles might help when you have a stomach ache. After our discussion, I had the kids put their tablet of Alka-Seltzer on their plate and use the pipettes to drop water on the tablet. Once again, I encouraged experimentation with the amount of water. Because the tablet will completely dissolve, we had the opportunity to discuss what that word means, too.

Reaction 4: Elephant Toothpaste

Our last reaction took the form, once again, of a demonstration. I introduced our demonstration by announcing we’d be making Elephant’s Toothpaste, and the kids and I came up with a silly story about a zookeeper who needed to brush his elephant’s teeth.

After we had completed our story, I discussed with the kids the ingredients we would be using in this reaction: hydrogen peroxide, yeast, dish soap, and food coloring. I also named all of our tools: the now-empty Diet Coke bottles from our first reaction; a funnel; a measuring cup; and a tub to contain any mess.

I used Steve Spangler’s basic recipe for Elephant Toothpaste, but in the interest of experimentation, the kids and I used different amounts of activated yeast in each of our three iterations of the experiment. Even though the resultant eruptions were not very different in size, the fact that kids got to see the reaction happen three different times was a huge delight to them. The looks of amazement, surprise, and excitement on their faces were outstanding.

That’s the note on which I ended our Excellent Explosions program, and what better note to end on? It is my goal in Preschool Science programs not only to introduce basic science concepts, like chemical reactions, but to instill a love of science in children as well. If their joyful faces and telling the checkout desk staff about the explosions were any indication, this program was particularly successful.

My monthly post here on the ALSC Blog usually chronicles my personal adventures in STEAM programming at my library–programs that I’ve created from the bottom up, and which I lead. Since this is the summer of all STEAM all the time, however, I’ve been thinking about the variety of community resources that libraries can tap in order to supplement their home-grown programming. Are you looking for knowledgeable, engaging presenters to help diversify the STEM options at your library? Here are some ideas of places to look in your community.

Children’s Museums & Science Museums - Children’s museums and science museums can range from small operations to massive institutions, and pretty much all of them are interested in education and outreach. Find a museum in the general vicinity of your library, then check out the museum’s website. Oftentimes, the museum will list their ready-to-go outreach programs on their website, allowing you to get an idea of what programs might fit your library’s needs and budget. If examples aren’t listed, you can generally find a name and/or phone number to contact someone at the museum who could answer your queries.

Zoos, Aquariums, and Animal Sanctuaries - Tapping the zoo resources in your community is pretty similar to tapping the museum resources. Find accredited zoos and aquariums in your area–there are likely more than you realize–and set about discovering what outreach education opportunities they can offer. In my experience, smaller operations have more outreach resources, so don’t skip over a lesser-known institution just because you think it’s too small.

Botanical Gardens - Visiting botanical gardens has become one of the great pleasures of my adult life, and not once have I visited a garden without seeing children enraptured by the nature around them. Nature programs are a hit. Lots of botanical gardens have their own outreach programs, but if they don’t, they generally have connections to volunteers in the local horticultural society who would be happy to make an educational visit to your library. You can find all sorts of gardens and horticultural society members here.

Local Interest Clubs - Most communities offer a variety of interest clubs surrounding common hobbies–think garden clubs, stargazing societies, model rocket groups, and the like. You can always use your internet sleuthing skills to find out about STEM-area clubs near you, but I’ve found it’s almost easier to ask around the library to find these groups. More often than not, these club members are also your library users, and when they hear you’re looking for new program presenters, many will offer their services and enthusiasm. Do keep in mind that you’ll likely want to help club members as they craft their presentations–they may not be familiar with speaking to a young audience.

Local Businesses - If you’ve got businesses in your community that work in STEM areas, then you’re pretty much guaranteed to have access to expert STEM presenters. Many STEM companies provide incentives for their employees to do volunteer work in the community, and educational programs at the library definitely fall into that category. Some companies even have established education programs–just last week, I got a letter from a major bioengineering company with offices in the area offering their staff expertise for a library program. You can seek out information about STEM businesses in your area, see what they can offer, and then decide what programs would mesh with your library’s goals and vision.

These are just a handful of the community resources you could tap to offer new and engaging STEM presentations at your library. Who are your favorite community partners when it comes to offering STEM programs?

Markus Zusak said something in his Margaret A. Edwards acceptance speech that really resonated with me: “Follow your vision completely. Follow it and do not stop.

Zusak was speaking specifically about writers sticking to the story they know they want to write, but I think those words have relevance to youth services practitioners, too. When we have ideas for excellent services, motivation for changes that will motivate our communities, etc., we need to follow those visions. We need to put our energy and focus into making these transformative visions happen. We need to trust that we are taking our institutions in a good direction and see change and ideas to full fruition. That’s when amazing things happen.

What an exceptional reminder to stay the course and do those amazing things.

I attended an event this afternoon put on by Bloomsbury Children’s Books to celebrate their author Brian Conaghan’s book When Mr. Dog Bites. Conaghan spoke about his protagonist, who has Tourette’s syndrome, and the fact that his book resultantly includes bad language. Conaghan went on to talk about how his young readers express that they aren’t phased by bad language in books like his, namely because it’s not gratuitous–it’s part of the character and makes the character more genuine and fully fleshed out.

As a librarian who has responded to caregivers’ concerns about language in books for youth, I think Conaghan’s point is incredibly important. For many people, the way they speak and the words they use are absolutely intertwined with who they are. And genuine characters–characters to whom young readers connect–may be all shades of different from the readers themselves, and the values of their caregivers. That doesn’t make a book objectionable. It makes it real.

Our latest adventures in preschool science have proved rather attractive. (Get it? That’s magnet humor!)

Photo by Amy Koester.

I’ve seen a number of my colleagues (Katie and Abby, for example) offer some great preschool science programs on the topic of magnets, and I figured it was high time I offered something on the topic, too. Here’s what I did:

First, we shared a story that provided an introduction to the concept of magnets. I opted for Stuck by Oliver Jeffers, a whimsical story about a young boy whose kite becomes stuck in a tree. He tries throwing increasingly more ridiculous items up in the tree to try to dislodge the kite, but everything seems to get stuck. Quite an amusing story.

Photo by Amy Koester.

Next, we retold the story of Stuck using magnet props, and we talked about how magnets stick together. Kids helped me stick the various objects onto our tree on the magnet board, and they experimented with things that the magnet props would and would not stick to.

We did hands-on activities to further explore how magnets work. I always set up stations with some brief instructions, which allows children and their caregivers to move from activity to activity at their own pace. I then wander the room providing support and modeling scientific questions to attendees. I had four activity stations set up for this program:

• What’s Magnetic? – I cut egg cartons in half, resulting in cartons with six sections each. I put small objects in each of these six sections: plastic beads, washers, paper clips, pipe cleaners, pom pons, etc. The goal of this activity was to use a magnet on each of the six objects to determine which were magnetic. Then, after sorting into magnetic and non-magnetic piles, they could try to determine what make an object magnetic.
• 

  Photo by Amy Koester.

  Can You Make a Magnet Chain? – This activity illustrates that a magnet’s force can be conducted through magnetic objects, thereby creating a chain of objects connected by magnetism. I had a variety of different strength magnets, as well as paper clips and screws (no sharp edges, of course!) for children to try to make the longest chains they could.

• Magnet Hair Salon – I cut chenille sticks in various colors into pieces about an inch long, and I drew faces on magnetic wands. The activity was to use magnetism to style the magnet wand creatures’ hair out of chenille sticks.
• Writing with Magnets – I set out several of the library’s magnetic writing boards to invite children to practice their shapes and letters. I also supplied some questions for caregivers to ask their kids while writing, such as how the magnet pen worked to draw on the screen and how the screen eraser worked.

Everyone got to take something home to continue learning about magnets. My take-home activity sheet provided simple instructions for families to create their own magnetic treasure hunts. I also set out a variety of the library’s materials about magnetism, from fiction and nonfiction books to DVDs. Everyone went home happy and a little more knowledgeable about magnets.

Don’t forget to check out the other Preschool Science programs I’ve shared here on the ALSC Blog: Shadow Science, Observation Science, Gravity Science, Water Science, Body Science, Color Science, Weather Science, and Strength and Materials Science.

Every other month when I post about a preschool science program, I mention the take-home activity handouts that I share with attendees and other library visitors. I get lots of requests from ALSC Blog readers to see what these handouts look like, so today I’m sharing a few.

The purpose of these take-home activity handouts is to extend the science learning we do at the library into activities families do together at home. Children learn through experience, and my goal is to facilitate lots of fun, interactive experiences with a science topic to encourage concept learning. As a result, my typical handout includes a few activities and experiments, each with step-by-step instructions and a list of supplies (which I try to keep to common household items in order to make doing the activities easier). I’ll also include important vocabulary, with preschool-appropriate definitions from a children’s dictionary, that relates to our science topic. My typical handouts tend to be one page, front and back.

Below is a look at my Color Science take-home activity handout. You can see a pdf version of both it and the Strength and Materials with the Three Little Pigs handout by clicking these links: Color Science handout and Strength and Materials handout.

Color Science handout, photo by Amy Koester.

Occasionally, I’ll mix things up when it comes to making my handouts. I like to change things around every once in a while so that these handouts don’t become visually stale. A perfect example of mixing things up is my recent handout for a program on counting and measuring. This half-sheet includes brief tips for mixing counting and measuring into daily activities, and it also includes a simple recipe for homemade pizza–a caregiver/child joint activity with tons of opportunities for measuring and counting. To see the pdf version of this handout, with two handouts per sheet, click here.

Count and Measure Together handout, photo by Amy Koester.

So there you have it, the take-home activity handouts that I mention in each of my Preschool Science program recap posts. I highly encourage any library offering preschool science programs to create handouts of your own to share with caregivers–it just gives caregivers that much more simple access to early literacy- and STEM-positive experiences that they can share with their kids.

I’ve been branching beyond straight preschool science programs lately to incorporate more of the overlap between all the STEM areas. My latest endeavor focused on counting and measuring–both math skills that are important in many science activities.

Photo by Amy Koester.

Doing simple tasks like counting and measuring in a storytime setting shows caregivers that they do not need to be scientists or mathematicians to be able to engage with their kids in science and math activities. We can all handle preschool-level activities in these areas, and our recent program illustrated that fact.

First, we read a story. I knew I wanted to use books with cooking in them to illustrate counting and measuring, and I ended up using one of my favorites, Pizza at Sally’s by Monica Wellington. There are lots of interesting things going on in the illustrations, giving the children and me plenty of openings to include counting, color matching, and cooking vocabulary into our reading. If you want to replicate this program, you can use any sort of cooking story you prefer.

Photo by Amy Koester.

Next, we “told” the story of how pizzas are made. I created a felt set for making a pizza. It includes images of the common ingredients, like flour, tomatoes, and cheese. We told the story of our pizza from the bottom up. First we pretended to measure flour, salt, yeast, and oil to make our dough. We used our new cooking vocabulary as we talked about kneading, stretching, and tossing our dough to get to a pizza shape. We talked about and mimed making sauce, then grating the cheese. Finally, we talked about the types of toppings we wanted on our pizza, then counted them as we distributed them over the top. We ended up counting slices of green peppers, onions, and pepperoni.

We got hands-on with measuring by making no-cook play dough. Each child had a plastic cup and spoon, which they brought up to the measuring station. Our no-cook play dough recipe was very simple:

• 1/2 c flour
• 1/4 c salt
• 1/4 c water

I had plastic measuring cups on hand for the children to measure out their ingredients. Note that the recipe isn’t always super precise, so we added extra tablespoons of water or flour as the consistency of the play dough required.

Photo by Amy Koester.

And then we counted and measured as we played with the play dough. I set out a number of random cutting and stamping tools for use with the play dough. Some of the children pretended to make their own pizzas; others created designs in their dough; and others cut their dough into lots of pieces and then counted the pieces. I purposely didn’t give specific instructions for playing with the dough aside from encouraging counting and talking about what kids were doing–I wanted the caregivers to see how math and vocabulary flow naturally in so much of the play that preschool-age children do. When kids were done with their dough, they put it in baggies to take home.

Everyone got to take something home to encourage more counting and measuring. I set out a number of our counting and measuring books–both fiction and nonfiction–and I also created a half-sheet handout that included ideas for counting and measuring together, as well as a recipe for making pizza at home. I heard lots of chatter about how families would be making pizza together over the weekend following our program. Our program definitely inspired at-home conversations and hands-on activities around counting and measuring!

Tinker is a group of librarians in the Chicagoland area who, after learning that they were all experimenting with open-ended tech play programs at their libraries, formed a network with meetups to share their experiences. Six Tinker members were at PLA to share some examples of their successful programs for tinkering with technology with kids and teens.

All of these programs, in three categories, are available in detail on their handouts:

1. Animation and Film Making
   1. Stop-motion animation
   2. Pencil animation
   3. 90 Second Newbery
2. Robotics
   1. Artbots
   2. WeDo
   3. Mindstorms
3. Art Meets Tech
   1. Light Painting

Photo by Amy Koester, one of the contributors to the collapsed tower on the left.

This morning I attended the Makerbox: No Space Required program. The panel of presenters put together an outstanding handout of what is in their various Makerboxes–on topics like music, electronics and circuitry, engineering, 3D creating, and crafting–and I hope they’ll share it online. The handout wasn’t my greatest takeaway, however. My greatest takeaway was inspired by the failed marshmallow tower my team of fellow volunteers built.

The takeaway: time for open ended activities is integral for the maker mentality. There needs to be time for trial and error, for learning to use the materials, for adapting methods. With a few simple materials and a chunk of time, an engaging maker program is accessible for every library.

Today’s opening session of the 2014 PLA Conference featured Bryan Stevenson, a lawyer and the Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative. He is a fascinating man on paper and the web, but hearing him speak about how public libraries can work to confront and correct injustice was truly inspiring.

Stevenson shared four suggestions for how public libraries can make our services to the marginalized more effective:

1. Think about proximity. Make sure the library and all it offers is accessible to those who need it most.
2. Don’t just accept the narrative; change it. We all know the status quo because we’re living it, but the status quo can be changed. And that starts with changing the narrative about what’s realistic and what’s needed for services and access.
3. Commit to being hopeful. That doesn’t mean being blindly optimistic; it means we need to be willing to go to places where hopelessness prevails and be a witness and advocate.
4. Commit to doing things that are uncomfortable. Confronting injustice, inequality–it’s uncomfortable. But if anything is to change, if we are going to reach communities who so far see no value in the library, or see the library as a place they are not welcome, we need to commit to doing things for these communities that may feel uncomfortable at first simply because they are new and different.

Stevenson ended his session by sharing a story about a conversation he had with Rosa Parks. Parks had asked him what he does, what his mission is. He listed a litany of things he’s doing and things he wants to accomplish, and Parks responded by saying, “That’s going to make you tired, tired, tired.”

And their mutual friend followed Parks’s statement with, “And that’s why you’re going to need to be brave, brave, brave.”

All things that librarians of every ilk need to hear and act on.

Explosions are almost always a hit with the school-age crowd. When my library offered a Volcano Science program last year, the excitement in the room was palpable as we erupted individual volcanoes; there’s just something about witnessing a destructive force that connects with kids. If that’s what it takes to get school-age library visitors interested in STEAM concepts, well, hook me up with the (child-safe) explosives. Geyser Science is just the thing.

Photo by Amy Koester

First, we talked about the science. I had planned to use some terrific geyser resources from the National Park Service, but my program took place during the government shutdown and so these resources were largely inaccessible. Luckily, one Park Service video was still on YouTube. After watching the video, I pulled out a paper model of a geyser that I had made. Using the pieces of the model, we talked about the geological processes that create a geyser and its eruptions. We spent a few minutes on questions and fun facts shared by kids who had visited Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park.

Next, we explored the science behind geysers through a series of hands-on activities. One of the main scientific elements in geysers is pressure, so our experiments largely focused on how pressure works and its affects on objects.

• Pressure of water in a bottle – This activity required a tub, a clear 2-liter bottle with the label removed, a thumb tack, a funnel, and a pitcher of water. I used the thumb tack to poke a small hole in the 2-liter bottle. With the children watching, I removed the thumb tack from the bottle and poured water from the pitcher directly into the bottle. When the water level in the bottle rose above the small hole, a slight trickle of water escaped the bottle into the tub. We next placed the funnel atop the bottle, then quickly poured more water through the funnel. This time, the water escaped through the hole in a shooting stream. We talked about how the funnel wouldn’t let any air escape while the water entered the bottle, causing pressure to build and push more water out through the tiny hole.
• “Breathing” balloon – This activity used an empty plastic water bottle and a balloon. After placing the balloon completely over the opening of the bottle, kids took turn squeezing the bottle and causing the balloon to stand straight. This activity demonstrated that, when the bottle was squeezed, the pressure caused the air in the bottle to move to the only available space: an expandable balloon.
• Blowing up a balloon in an enclosed space – This activity used two empty plastic water bottles, two balloons, and scissors. This time, the balloons were placed completely over the bottles’ openings with the balloon oriented inside the bottle. One plastic bottle had a hole cut out of it, and the other was pristine. First, I had a child try to blow up the balloon in the bottle with a hole; the child had no problem doing so. Then, I had another child attempt to blow up the balloon in the pristine bottle. Too difficult! (I prepped a few extra no-hole bottles so multiple children could try blowing up the balloons, all to no avail.) We talked about displacement and how, without something like a hole through which air could escape, more air couldn’t easily be added to an enclosed space.
• Paper bag explosions – We moved outside for this and the next activity, which required paper lunch bags and baking soda (or flour, or cornstarch, etc.). I put a bit of baking soda in each child’s bag, and I demonstrated how to blow up the bag like a balloon. The children next popped their bags and observed what happened to the baking soda. Because the force that causes the bag to pop pushes against the air in the bag, the explosion causes the bag’s contents (air and baking soda) to fly from the explosion in all directions.
• Mentos & Diet Coke geysers – This activity requires a 2-liter of Diet Coke, a sleeve of Mentos mints, and a safety zone around the blast radius. It is a demonstration of how a chemical reaction can cause a buildup of pressure, and it’s a magnificent demonstration at that. Carefully drop all the Mentos into the Diet Coke bottle and watch a huge geyser spray out. Cheers usually abound.

Photo by Amy Koester

We ended with science in action as we created and tested our own geysers. We were back inside for this final series of activities, and each child had a filled water bottle, several tablets of Alka-Seltzer, and space over a tub to catch splash. I first demonstrated an Alka-Seltzer geyser eruption by crushing up two tablets, quickly dumping them into a water bottle, and holding my hand completely over the bottle’s opening to allow pressure to build up. After counting to five, I moved my hand and a modest geyser explosion occurred. From there, the children experimented with geysers on their own. They used as variables the size of the bottle, the number of Alka-Seltzer tablets, and the length of time of pressure buildup to try to determine what combination of factors creates the most impressive geysers. We even have a child put her crushed Alka-Seltzer tablets in a balloon, cover the mouth of the bottle with the balloon, and then allow the Alka-Seltzer to fall into the water to see if the balloon would expand (it did, slightly). The children drew their own conclusions about making their own geysers before the program room turned into a bit of a splash zone, at which point I wrapped things up.

There were a variety of geyser and pressure resources, both books and DVDs, available for the attendees to check out. What I most enjoyed about the end of the program was hearing the children’s plans for continuing their optimum-geyser experiments at home. Any time a library program inspires interest and a desire to pursue a topic further, I consider it a success.

What sorts of eruptions have you hosted in your library in the name of science?

What happens when we mix two things together? That’s a fundamental question that every preschooler encounters with astounding frequency. What happens when I put water in the sandbox? What happens when I mix the foods on my plate? What happens when I drop non-bathtub things in the bathtub? Mixing things together–chemistry–is a common occurrence in everyday life, and giving children a vocabulary for talking about these fun experiments better equips them for understanding what happens in the world around them. Thus Chemistry Science for preschoolers. Steal this program!

Welcome everyone with a name game. I decided to open up this program with a name game that has been successful and shared by at least two great librarians: Carissa in Wisconsin and Kendra in Washington. To set up for this name game, put a piece of masking tap on individual building blocks. As children enter the program, give each a block with his or her name on it. Then, one by one, say hello to a child and invite him or her to add the block to a central building area. As more children’s names are called, the bigger and more interesting the block creation becomes.

book cover from karmawilson.com

To introduce the concept of chemistry, we shared a story. Most children experience kitchen chemistry on a daily basis as they see a grownup make the food they will eat. That’s why I chose a baking story to introduce the concept of chemistry. Karma Wilson and Will Hillenbrand’s Whopper Cake is a terrific choice due to its large illustrations, lyrical rhyming text, and humorous premise. We talked about all the ingredients we saw going into the cake as we read the story.

Next, we retold the story of baking a cake. I used Google images to create a baking felt board set with real images of all the ingredients one would need to make a chocolate cake. We talked about how all the different ingredients get mixed together and how they change. We talked about physical changes using the idea of mixing flour and sugar together–they stay the same despite being mixed. We also talked about chemical changes with baking the cake as an example. To help solidify the concepts of physical and chemical changes, the kids and I talked about different foods that they like to eat, how they are made, and what happens when they get mixed with other things.

We did hands-on activities to reinforce chemistry and physical and chemical changes. I shared some brief verbal instructions with the caregivers in the room to explain our three activity stations. I set up multiple stations so that children can engage with our science topic at their own pace. Some children only stay engaged for a few minutes per activity, but others get really into the experiments and spend upwards of 10 minutes replicating each. Our three chemistry activities were:

• Streamers of Color — Based on an activity from Janice VanCleave’s Chemistry for Every Kid, this activity invites children to see what happens as a fine powder is slowly added to a liquid. We used water in clear cups and powdered juice drink to see how mixing the two items changes them.
• Fireworks in a Glass — With a clear water bottle, some cooking oil, and liquid food coloring, children can make their own lovely fireworks in a glass–and, in the process, explore how some materials will mix together while others will not. Kids got really into this activity, and after their fireworks had “fizzled out,” they still had plenty of fun mixing different colors together.
• Chemical “Explosions” — Children seem eternally fascinated and excited by the mixture of baking soda with vinegar, and that reaction can be a perfect introduction to basic chemistry. I set out plates of baking soda and small thimble-size cups of both water and vinegar for the experiment. Children were encouraged to first pour the water on the baking soda to see what happened, then to try the vinegar and compare the two reactions.

Everyone got to take something home to reinforce our STEM topic. In addition to a variety of preschool-appropriate books about chemistry and easy experiments, I set out take-home activity sheets for families to bring home. Each handout contained instructions for two activities to continue exploring chemistry at home: invisible ink and cleaning pennies with a solution. I set extra handouts at the check-out desk after the program so interested families can take one home as they please.

Have you introduced the topic of chemistry in a program for preschoolers? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

Don’t forget to check out the other Preschool Science programs I’ve shared here on the ALSC Blog: Gravity Science, Water Science, Body Science, Color Science, Weather Science, and Strength and Materials Science.

Have you ever noticed how excited kids get when library programs involve materials they wouldn’t normally think would be in the library? Adding eggs to a program is one example, and another is having a big tub of water, splash risk and all. That’s exactly what kids saw last month when they came into the program room for Boat Race Science, the latest in our series of STEM/STEAM programs for school-age kids. Here’s what we did (and I highly recommend you consider doing it, too):

First, we talked about the science. When it comes to boat races, there are few key science concepts involved. My preferred mode of sharing our science info is in a Prezi presentation; my Prezi for Boat Race Science is linked here. We talked about three main concepts using resources shared in the Prezi. First was buoyancy, and I showed a short animated video to demonstrate the basic principles associated with boats and buoyancy. Next we discussed lift using some images and facts from How Stuff Works; I also used the analogy of a kite to help the children visualize how lift works. Lastly, we talked about aerodynamics–a must-cover topic when it comes to races.

Next came the hands-on STEM work. Our goal for our boats was speed, not longevity, so the basic construction material for the boats was paper. I had instructions for origami boats (such as these) on the work tables as well as an assortment of papers, some tape, scissors, and things like straws, dowels, and different weights of paper for making masts and sails. Some of the younger children struggled a bit with the origami, but I was able to move about the room and provide assistance as needed. I also asked lots of different questions about the design decisions the kids were making: Why a tissue paper sail? Why that sail shape? Why that size? All my questions were in the interest of inspiring some scientific trial-and-error and deep thought.

We ended by racing our boats. The goal for the race was to place the boat in the big plastic container of water, then propel it once up and back along the container by blowing through a straw to create the moving force. I had each child race one at a time. When I have programs that involve races and other seemingly competitive activities, I try very hard to organize our time so that kids test/race their creations one at a time; that way there is no talk of who wins and who loses. Instead, I’m able to time each boat individually and write down the results for everyone to see. This strategy allows us to focus more on trying to interpret the timing data–how does design affect time, etc.? Of course the child with the fastest time is excited, but by going one at a time even the children with less-quick boats have a chance to really enjoy the whole race process.

Everyone left with something in hand. Most of our boats went into the trash after their heats because of water damage (think: water on paper), so I gave kids the option of taking home a few more sheets of our square origami paper and a copy of the boat-folding instructions. I also set out a variety of library materials about boats and racing–both non-fiction and fiction–and many a boat racer took one home to continue engaging in our science concept of the day.

Have you offered any STEM programs for kids that risk getting everyone all wet? What sorts of activities do you do?