Fun Friday Program – Water Experiments & Maker Spaces

We had a lot of fun at our Fun Friday program last week!  There were 25 kids from 1st – 4th grade that showed up to experiment with water at the library.  We first read the book Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen and then we did some hypothesizing and experimenting.  I gave each child a piece of paper with 15 items listed on a chart with a column for them to guess whether the item would sink or float. The chart had another column for when we tested each item to record our results. 

The kids had such a great time guessing what things would do… and they were so excited when they got it right and had some great questions when they didn’t.  We tested everything from blocks, pennies, aluminum foil, soda, an orange, and more! 

The kids especially like the things that would sink and float, such as the orange.  With the peel on, an orange will float and without a peel an orange will sink.  After all of our testing was over, we talked about why some things floated and others sank.  The kids had some great explanations and I didn’t give them a complex definition, but we had fun learning. 

Afterward, the kids were given the chance to create a boat that would float.  They could work individually or in groups and each group was given just a single sheet of aluminum foil.

Creating a Maker Space

I just read a blog post last week about the simplicity of creating a maker space for kids in the library. These spaces encourage children to problem solve, use their creativity, and work in teams.  A number of public libraries are offering 3D printers, computers for music recording, and more. But, maker spaces can be as easy as offering a  Lego program or gardening or cooking… basically any program where something is created counts not only as a Maker program, but often as a STEM program as well (another hot buzzword in the library world!)  Definitely take a look at the blog post in School Library Journal about how simple maker spaces can be!

I found that these types of STEM programs provide children with open space and few instructions allows children to explore, create, and use their own imaginations.  Some children thrive in this environment while others really want more instruction and to know how to “do it right.”  I encourage these children to work together with another child in the hopes of merging some ideas together. Or to try and create something and I later come around giving children a few pointers or prompts if they look like they are completely lost.  I like giving children the ability to create something new – it makes them feel proud and accomplished!