Camarena’s summer reading picks up STEAM at interactive class.
CALEXICO — Just because school is on summer recess does not mean students cannot keep fertile minds sharp, especially with a chock-o-block schedule of activities in the Summer Family Reading Program at Camarena Memorial Library.
Wednesday afternoons are STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics) lessons at the library and for a final burst of STEAM children had a blast learning to make slime kits at the concluding class.
Lizeth Legaspi, reference librarian who leads craft programs, brought all the ingredients the mega-slime kits provide, sold by big box stores. It was more an accent on creativity than science yet there was certain element of chemistry, Legaspi noted.
“One thing I learned when I mixed glue and liquid starch, if the mixture turned out too liquid, I thought I needed more glue but it was just the opposite,” Legaspi said. “It needed more starch to give it body.”
Along with the aforementioned, Legaspi provided food coloring, beads, glitter and shaving cream for aspiring sculptors. It is a very popular activity she remarked with national retailers such as Walmart and Michaels offering many slime kits to choose.
“It’s similar to play dough but more hands-on and a good home learning project in hot weather,” Legaspi said.
It was no wonder perhaps one of the more adept to fashion her slime mixture to make a malleable stand-alone sculpture was Venessa Legaspi, Lizeth’s daughter. After practicing several weeks this summer, the younger Legaspi arrived at an ideal recipe for a pliable batch of slime with cake batter consistency.
“I just look on YouTube at the videos for slime,” she said. “Whenever I get mad, I just play with it and then I feel better.”
Venessa’s tablemate, Fernanda Soberanes, devised a lime-green slime that bore a canny resemblance to the Loch Ness Monster. “Just like (Venessa) it puts me in a better mood,” said Fernanda. “At my birthday in May I had a couple of friends come over to make slime and it was a lot of fun.”
Creative possibility seems endless for Bethzy Buelna, who tried to make a foamy slime sculpture with little beads like the stuffing in pillows. She tried to make a snake coil but it didn’t work out. But when a crafter takes care with proper formulas, “it comes out fluffy and pretty,” she noted.
“I’m not really the professional at this,” said Bethzy. “My friends are the professionals. They’ve been to the tutorials on slime. They were born with it.”
Camarena’s Summer Family Reading Program emphasized the theme, build a better world and is geared for children from toddlers to teens. Activities are Monday through Friday from late morning for younger ages through late afternoon for older ones. This summer saw 500 children register. Activities include: crafts, bingo, Loteria, artist-at-the-library and an awards party for children. Activities span from June 19 until Aug. 10
“Today we had Dippy Duck, the Imperial Irrigation District mascot and the children got a goody bag and their picture taken with Dippy Duck,” said Legaspi. “We want kids to keep reading in summer so we provide them with incentives. At Story Time on Tuesday evenings they hear a story, sing a song and do a craft. We want them to know the library as a gathering, fun place, where they can meet other kids and socialize.”