Making & Doing This Summer

I read a great article in The New York Times yesterday about allowing kids to make and do things this summer that they don’t normally get the chance to make and do!  And I loved the author of the article because her first idea was visit the library!  She points out that many libraries are offering STEM programs for kids (little does she know the summer reading theme!) and that many libraries are also dabbling in the Makerspace arena as well.  Now, our library has not yet gotten the chance to jump on that bandwagon, but as I’ve said in the past, you don’t need fancy pieces and parts to allow children to make something!

This year, we have plenty of art exploration activities for kids as well as a slime science workshop and a catapult workshop, compliments of Lisa’ Libraryland.  We’re also trying a take apart day where kids and their parents can try their hand at taking apart some familiar household small appliances and pieces of technology.  Rather than figuring a way to get rid of all the parts, we’re then going to be offering a DIY Robot Workshop using the leftover pieces from take apart day as well as recycled materials.

As I said, we don’t have the fancy 3D printer, or littleBits, but we’re definitely still making and doing all summer long!  If you have anything you’re really excited about this summer – share with me, I’d love to hear about it!