Library hosts STEM Center

Wickliffe Public Library will have STEM Discovery Kits on site for kids

The Wickliffe Public Library is welcoming children who have started their school year with engaging on-site activity centers.

Specifically, STEM Discovery Kits have been made available to children with valid library cards for in-library usage.

These kits, which provide hands-on learning and engineering opportunities through a combination of gears and circuitry, aim to foster the development of math and science skills which mirror STEM-based learning models, according to the library’s Children Manager Shannon George.

Any child with a library card can use a Discovery Kit but none of the materials are permitted to leave the grounds. Children from kindergarten to fourth grade may check out a kit for use in the library’s Discovery Area as long as they are accompanied with an adult.

“We want parents or guardians with them so they can guide them along,” George explained. “The kids who are in fifth grade and older can do it on their own because they’re a bit more mature in that area.”

George highlights the various kits and their applications.

“One is a ‘techno gear,’” she said. “It is a wacky robot that children can build. They have to figure out how to read the directions and build it in order for it to turn on and go. It has engineering in it

and deals with electricity.”

“One kid built his own kind of robot,” she added. “It still worked. They can be creative. The more and more they learn, the more that they are able to do with the kits. It really encourages creativity. The other kit is called ‘snap circuits’. They have to follow orders, follow engineering. They’re really learning how electricity flows from circuit to circuit to make it work.”

The library feels that the Discovery Kits are a great starting point for future expansion.

“We want to gear (the school children) up to eventually do STEM night or a science fair night with some of the kids,” George said. “It’s just away to bring technology in for little kids that is safe and hands on and is a great learning experience.”

She feels the kits bridge the gap between schooling and recreation.

“Sometimes they just want to unwind because they’ve been in a classroom all day,” George said. “That hands-on, moving around, figuring things out, critical thinking is nice before they go home.”

If the kits prove successful, George said that additional kits may also be added into circulation as demand dictates.

There is currently no time restrictions for using the kits, but this may change as popularity increases.

“It’s still fairly new so we’re still trying to get our feet wet,” she says.

For more information, call the Wickliffe Public Library at 440-944-6010.

SUBMITTED A Wickliffe Public Library member dons a lab coat as they welcome schoolchildren to their new activity-based STEM Center.