Homeschool STEM Program

The Program Services Coordinator for our library district asked if I would help out with a homeschool group interseted in STEM programming. I said OF COURSE!

This was their first of a monthly series. I was told to expect 10-12 kids ranging in age from 8-12 years old.  It ended up being a few extra kids! This program will alternate between La Center and Woodland, so I took some notes to help out the next librarian. :)

Program Overview:
44 kids + 12 adults and several little ones
10:10-10:25 Introduction
10:25-11:15 Circuits
11:15-11:40 Makey Makey

Notes
We started with a basic introduction. The kids didn't want to sit on the floor, so they set up and tore down all the chairs (which was awesome).
We talked about making, circuits, and how we're learning things that can be tricky, so it's okay to not get things right the first time, just keep exploring! 
I was surprised that most of the kids present didn't have very much making/tinkering experience (8-10 year olds have generally done some coding) ~15 minutes
I think this would be a good group for any and all science you can throw at them!
The room had 4 tables set up, so we broke the group out into 4 stations with an adult in charge of each station (roughly 10 kids).
It worked out at first to have adults help monitor and make sure everyone was sharing supplies, but I noticed they were more hesitant to help when we got to the part of experimenting with different conductive materials.
It might help to give a head's up on the upcoming project to the adults who will be present so they feel a little more confident to help the kids.
We did some basic circuits using 9 volt batteries with battery caps, an LED and different conductive materials (alligator clips, play dough, silverware, aluminum foil, graphite) ~45 minutes
This was fun and the kids had a great time exploring. With a little encouragement, the kids who had early success helped others who were struggling.
Our second activity was making game pads for Makey Makey (with the Chromebooks) ~45 minutes
I had a heart-stopping moment while I was there that the Chromebooks wouldn't connect to WiFi, but I only ended up having one out of six that didn't work. It worked fine when I brought it back to OC.
I've continued to have mixed success with Makey Makey and am pretty much convinced I will stop using them in large group programs.
One-on-one or in controlled, focused environments, the Makey Makey can be fun. Several parents wrote down the Makey Makey information to explore with their kid later, which I think could work well.
Some kids excel at wiring a Makey Makey up and adding components to build gamepads
...most kids quickly give up and use the keyboard, touch the Makey Makey directly, or (in the case of our Chromebooks) touch the screen to run the apps. Even after several attempts to redirect, the kids went right back to what they were doing. :(
We were all tuckered out around 11:30 am. Some couldn't take the noise of that many people in the room, some couldn't get quality time with the objects, and some just got too hot with that many people in the room
I received a lot of feedback from parents and kids that they enjoyed the program, learned something new, and were excited to try more things!

Suggestions Moving Forward   
If interest continues to be high, I’d recommend running 2 one-hour sessions of repeat content and have families sign up for one or the other and hoping for no more than 25/session
Smaller groups to provide more quality hands-on time
More supplies to go around
More comfortable in space
More attention given to each group
There were several little ones (under 6). Some of them tried the activity and did fine, but I’d planned on 8-12 year old kids. I’d think about either having a concurrent STEM story time for the younger ones or split the younger and older kids up so everyone gets a challenge
Have a resource list (like a book list) for kids to take after the program to continue exploring
Meet with the parent volunteers ahead of time, or at least send out the project details so they’re more prepared to help during the program
Stay away from anything that relies on Wifi

Program Suggestions:
Tech Take Apart
ArtBots/BrushBots
Edison Robots (Program Services)
Zoob & Strawbees (Program Services)
Penny Boats
Build tetrahedron pyramids out of newspaper
Paper Circuits
3D Design/Printing, but Design relies on Tinkercad (which is web-based == Internet needed)
Coding (web-based == Internet needed), we could try Arduino microcontrollers with Arduino and do some basic C, we could also do “unplugged” coding activities
Water Experiments and molecules
Rockets & Aerodynamics
Solar ovens and sun activities

2018 Cardboard Challenge

It's October! That means it is time for CARDBOARD CHALLENGE! If you aren't aware of cardboard challenge, take a moment to catch up!

Our Teen Librarian procured a large amount of amazing, double cell corrugated cardboard sheets from a local box manufacturing company. In terms of cardboard ratings, these sheets would be A+++. They are sturdy, large, and super fun. But they're kind of tricky for kids to cut up. So, we decided to work on larger projects with these sheets.

Over the summer, the Teen Librarian worked with our Facilities department to cut a bunch of the cardboard to create this geodesic dome. The first attempt, during summer, was to try and build it with binder clips (as we would have to break it down after the program). This proved to have quite enough tensile strength once they started pushing the dome up.

We looked into 3D printing our own plastic fasteners, but realized how many we'd have to print for it to work. My Senior Assistant, Elsbeth, came up with the great idea of using zip ties. A lot of zip ties.  Like, and insane amount of zip ties.

So, Cardboard Challenge 1: build a geodesic dome!

Elsbeth also had a bunch of uniformly sized boxes from a supply order. These boxes packed flat (genius) and were the perfect size for open building.

Cardboard Challenge 2: build with boxes!

Even with the geodesic dome cuts, we STILL had a lot of beautiful cardboard sheets left over. I recruited our summer Teen volunteer, Olivia, to sketch out bowling pin templates, based on this lasercutting schematic. We've had some interns assisting us with programs this fall, so I set them to cutting and assembling pins with the public.

Cardboard Challenge 3: Assemble Bowling Pins (or We Should Get a Laser Cutter)!

2018 September Experiential Learning Round Up!

Programming:
VA introduced 2 new maker tools this month:  sewing machines and Cricut. 

SLA led the first Intro to Machine Sewing workshop. She planned this introductory workshop including an easy-to-make drawstring bag project. Several staff members helped them refine their workshop by trying out the first project and providing feedback. The sewing machines will also be used during the Cosplay Collective Program.

I led the first Intro to Cricut workshop. Our first project was a 3 dimensional paper gift bag. Feedback indicated a need to promote this program as project-specific to help people better understand the utility of this tool.

SLA led the Make a Better World program. The group has decided to work on capes for children. The project will continue through October and be donated by the end of the month.

SLA continues to lead the weekly Craft Connections adult crafting program.

SLA led the monthly Intro to 3D Design and SLA led the 3D Printing Open Lab.  Due to popular demand, I led a workshop on 3D printing for Tabletop Gaming.

Youth SLAs resumed weekly story time programs with a revamped, more manageable schedule, as well as worked on collection maintenance, including the move of the hanging audiobook kits to the beginning of audiobooks and adding space for the new integrated audiobook items.  The youth services team has also worked hard to rearrange the youth services office in preparation for the start of the new Early Learning Librarian.

SLA led her popular Intro to Google Drive workshop, which was attending by SLA Melanie from Reference Services.

SLA facilitated the return of Girls Who Code with our volunteer facilitator, Regina.  We are working on a 9-week curriculum this year. I met the new club and am working with Regina to taylor the curriculum to stretch the girls a bit further out of their coding comfort zone.

VA’s newest 3D printer, Ruth Bader Printsburg, was sent back to Lulzbot due to a faulty extruder, after only being in use for two months.  VA’s older printer, Freddie Prints Jr. has been implemented into weekly use during VA’s Saturday D&D group.

Community Connections:
Our Maker Faire booth interacted with over 1,000 attendees. Full Maker Faire report.

District Collaboration:
11 staff members from around the district participated in the Maker Faire project.

I coordinated a meeting to push the district-wide 3D printer project forward. We all met and looked at our options for making the 3D printers as easy-to-use as possible and were able to come to an agreement. Amy, Bonnie, Sarah, and I will be working on training documentation for the other branches who are receiving a 3D printer.

Staff Development:
Dre and I are partnering on a building-wide project to involve all staff in developing building-wide service point training around a core set of expectations. This will provide an opportunity for every member of the leadership team to grow as a leader and facilitate conversation and cooperation among VA-staff who normally don’t work together. This will also provide VA staff the opportunity to have a voice in decision-making in the building regarding tasks they have the most knowledge and experience performing.  The ultimate goals are: 1). a cohesive training program that allows all staff the ability to get up-to-speed on all service points in a timely manner and 2). consistent expectations throughout the building.

Professional Development:
I have taken up the post-ASD evaluation and 2019 planning tasks for this project. I look forward to recruiting and working with a diverse sub-section of the district on the 2019 event.

Maker Outreach: Maker Faire

Outreach: Portland Mini Maker Faire
Location: OMSI
Dates: Saturday/Sunday, 9/15-9/16, 2018
Maker Project: low-cost screen printing
Completed projects: 500 (estimated)
Participation: ~1,000
Staff: 11 staff members, 4 branches, program services, all awesome

We had a difficult time counting attendees as it was all-hands-on-deck for most of the day Saturday and Sunday. OMSI gave us a great location right next to the entrance, so there were few people who didn’t see our booth. FVRLibraries booth was also one of only a few booths who provided a hands-on activity that allowed participants to take home their finished creation. Attendees at Maker Faire included hobbyists, educators, commercial makers, and lots of parents and their children. We continue to see interest and appreciation for maker activities that allow inter-generational collaboration. Saturday we completed well over 350 prints with most prints worked on by a child and at least one parent. Sunday we finished off the last of the fabric (~120 pieces) and continued printing on paper. Special shout-out to Elsbeth who provided connectagons as an easy activity for smaller makers on Saturday as well as scratch art when we had to put the printing supply away to dry for Sunday (even though it rained Sunday).  And shout-out to Dre for picking up the leadership role on Sunday so Jamie could be in-branch.

Visitors seemed surprised and delighted to see the library doing something so hands-on, and many of them asked about how they could access the materials to re-create the project at home. We also had some conversations about other maker offerings at the library.  More than one participant mentioned that they were teachers looking for ideas they could recreate in the classroom and loved our screen printing idea.

Staffing was pretty much perfect for the set-up we had. We definitely felt a crunch when someone ducked out for their lunch break, but altogether we worked out a system. Generally, three people were able to keep up with the flow of people visiting our table, while the other two rinsed screens and stencils, hung them out to dry, dumped and fetched water, assembled screens and other materials, etc.

It would have been ideal to have more time for networking. Jamie spoke to two librarians from Multnomah County who took our What’s Happening for other Maker booths asking about our programs. Dre did have the opportunity to speak to a librarian from Hillsboro who was stationed next to us, and to touch base with Blake Swenson from Tinker Camp (who was a presenter at All Staff Day). Overall, though, we did the most important work: engaging with members of the community in an enriching way. It was messy and relentless and entirely awesome.

It was an incredibly fun and rewarding experience.  I felt the project was perfect for a wide range of ages and abilities; and the kids loved it!  I was surprised when I went to check out the other booths that not very many were like ours and made me realize why we were so popular.  One of the things that made the experience so awesome was the sheer number of folks who came to our booth!  It was exhausting but completely worth it.  I also enjoyed getting to work with my awesome co-workers in a new environment.  We definitely learned some things that would make it easier on staff for next time; knowing the high volume of participants.  I would love to do it again!  It was a great day!

Staff Training on Maker Tools

With a generous community donation, VA has acquired several new pieces of equipment to enhance our experiential learning opportunities for the public. Several staff members have requested training on the different equipment we offer to the public. I sent out a survey in July to gauge interest from staff.

Through the month of August, we conducted the following trainings on the most-requested equipment:

3D printer: 25 staff trained ( I made a lot of keychains this month...)

Side note: I am in love with Polymaker Polylite PLA. We just bought a 3K spool and we're respooling it onto all the empty 1K spools.

Cricut: 17 staff trained (we named our Cricut to help staff remember how to pronounce "cricut" correctly)

Soldering: 6 staff trained

STEM Toys: 12 staff trained

Sewing: 8 staff trained

Following training, staff have been more enthusiastic about asking questions and using the equipment. They speak confidently to visitors and patrons about the equipment and what they are currently working on. Having a better working knowledge of the new experiences we provide the public helps us better market our experiential learning opportunities to the public.  Several of the projects completed after training will be marketed at the libraries’ booth at Rose City Comic Con in September and Maker Faire at OMSI.

2018 August Experiential Learning RoundUp!

Programming:
Most experiential maker programming took a break in August to focus on staff training on the new VA equipment. (see staff development).

SLA reported that the Make a Better World attendees wanted to continue to meet through August. They met informally throughout August and continued to work on plastic mats. We are planning on continuing MaBW into the fall and hope to keep the enthusiasm and momentum currently held by this group.

SLA continues to lead the weekly Craft Connections adult crafting program.

Youth SLAs continued weekly story time programs and summer reading programming, finishing with BubbleFest the weekend of August 11. All story time and children’s programming are on break until Sept 4. Youth Services staff are working on their fall/winter programs and supply inventory after another successful summer reading program.

Community Connections:
I met with 5 librarians from Multnomah County Library District: They are all relatively new in position at MultCo and are working on expanding the makerspace offerings to a wider age range. We visited the Teen Room as well as the many places we hold maker programming throughout VA. We discussed wider collaboration and idea sharing moving forward with a quarterly maker meetup for librarians in our area.  I explained our challenges and how we successfully integrate all-ages programming into our various spaces.  We also discussed staff training and utilization of staff based on skills and interest.  MultCo was very interested in learning how we decide which programs we offer. I told them the most valuable feedback comes from direct interaction with our patrons during other maker programs and listening to their questions and ideas.  MultCo asked about my training and I told them I am largely self-trained. I ask patrons what they want to learn, and then I learn enough to help patrons get started. MultCo was impressed with my attitude and have co-opted my motto as their own for 2019: “What do you want to learn? We can learn all this crap.”

District Collaboration:
I attended orientation for OMSI PDX Mini-Maker Faire in September. I have coordinated district-wide staff to represent our libraries during the event. 11 staff members will all assist during the 2-day event with a hands-on interactive booth and will also have the opportunity to attend the Faire and meet other makers in the area.

We invited IT and Program Services to attend our staff trainings on 3D printing. Aaron from IT and Janet from Marketing joined us. Aaron indicated he enjoyed learning more about how we train and work with the public on 3D printing projects.

I went out to WA to assist with 3D printer setup and demonstration. SLA and I created a short how-to video on unboxing the 3D printer that anyone in the district can view, should they need help getting the equipment set up.



Professional Development:
I attended a virtual tour of the Boise State University makerspace within Albertsons’ Library. It was a treat to see this makerspace currently moving into a new 4,000 square foot space as I originally met with their Emerging Technologies and Experiential Learning Librarian, Amy Vecchione, in 2014 when they first started down this path with a reprap 3D printer on an A/V cart.

Both of my proposals will be included in the ALA publication 50 Coding Libraries for Libraries. My proposals focus on projects developed for VA’s Learn2Code program.

Outreach with a 3D Printer

A public library having a 3D printer for free use to the public still wows our community.

I had the opportunity to show off TWO of our Lulzbot Minis! During a recent Tool Library Meeting, I reconnected with the Neighborhood Liaison for City of Vancouver.  He connected me with a member of the Watershed Monitoring Network, who is working with the City of Vancouver Water Resource Center for Second Saturday. They were very interested in having the library at their July Second Satruday: Design Zone Day -- Engineer Your Creativity. Event description:

Explore your creativity with the Water Resources Education Center’s new exhibition – Design Zone! July’s Second Saturday event will become ‘Design Zone Day,’ and allow inquisitive minds to engineer and explore their own creativity. Design Zone is a highly interactive, hands-on exhibition where visitors can explore concepts highlighting the importance of science and mathematical thinking in areas critical to building creativity and innovation, especially in art, music and engineering. The expanded Second Saturday event, from 1 to 4 p.m., offers time to explore the Design Zone exhibit and also participate in design challenges, demonstrations and hands-on science-based learning.

Design Zone is presented at the Water Center with partner, JACOBS, and will be on display through the end of August. The Water Center is free to the public with general hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mondays through Friday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. The creation of Design Zone was made possible by the generous support of the National Science Foundation. The exhibition was produced and is toured by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI).

I loaded up my Chevy Sonic with an A/V cart and two of our minis (Freddie Prints Jr. and FRVLibraries, if you care to know) and drove them down to the Center. We had a great spot inside their air-conditioned building with the local high school robotics club, Repair Clark County, and JACOBS.

For this event, I wanted to demonstrate the practicality of 3D printing.  And I also wanted a print that would be (relatively) quick. I chose these gecko earbud holders. Our minis can print two every ~56 minutes, so I printed 50 beforehand and produced 12 more during the event.

Along with the earbuds patrons could take, I made sure to have some neat examples on-hand, including the Raptor Reloaded, spiral vase, fish fossilz, and the chessmen from the British Museum.

My conversations with the public included a discussion of how they can get access to print their own things (through Intro to 3D Design, Open Lab, and Certification) as well as the types of things other certified users have created. In addition to the many families I spoke with, I made contacts with the Boys & Girls Clubs, Boy Scouts of America, and UL to work on partnerships to create learning opportunities for their groups.

I love these types of outreach events and the second look people give the 3D printer after I tell them they can learn how to use the equipment for themselves for free.