Kids’ STEM Workshops are one of our community’s most popular programs. However, our library only has a small budget for programming, so I try to plan all programs for $.30 a child, and usually less. Also, we have children ages Kindergarten through sixth grade come to these programs, so they need to appeal to all ages and skill levels. We offer STEM each month on the 2nd and 4th Mondays since September of 2016. This consistency has helped our numbers and brought new families into the library. I send out flyers advertising the programs to our schools, and anywhere else in the community where parents and kids might see them.
I think the main reason why our STEM programs are successful is because they always feature an introduction (10-15 minutes) where I a guest speak about our topic for that workshop. Then, for the rest of the time (30-45 minutes) the kids and families are able to participate in highly hands-on activities to experiment with the topic!
Here are the topics and lesson plans for STEM Workshops our library has offered:
Bridge Engineering with Legos and Engino Pieces!
Bridge Engineering with newspaper!
Fairy Tale STEM: The Little Red Hen
Fairy Tale STEM: The Three Billy Goats Gruff
Float or Won’t: Boat Building!
littleBits in your Library’s STEAM Programming (Part 1)
littleBits in your Library’s STEAM Programming (Part 2)
Marble Drops (Gravity, and Inclined Planes!)
Marble Maze (Push and Pull Physics!)
STEM Resources:
StarNet: Science and Technology Resources for Libraries