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18 STEAM Books with Crafts & Experiments
When my library re-opened after the COVID shutdown, we looked for ways to provide programming for kids without having too many people together in the same area. We started providing Grab-and-Go kits for families – simple crafts and science experiments with most of the materials needed to complete the project.…
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#blogbookaday: Charlotte the Scientist Is Squished
Summary: “Charlotte is a serious scientist. She solves important problems by following the scientific method. She has all the right equipment: protective glasses, a lab coat, a clipboard, and a magnifying glass. What she doesn’t have is space. She has so many brothers and sisters (she is a rabbit, after all) that she…
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14 Picture Books to Introduce Math Concepts
We are often asked at our library for science and math books for young children and while we keep a few workbook style options that families can copy pages from for practice, I much prefer being able to use a great story to introduce math concepts to young children and…
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18 STEM Picture Book Biographies
Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine by Laurie Wallmark, illustrated by April Chu The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdos by Deborah Heiligman, illustrated by LeUyen Pham The Girl Who Thought in Pictures: The Story of Dr. Temple Grandin by Julia Finley Mosca, illustrated by Daniel Rieley Grace Hopper: Queen of Computer Code by Laurie Wallmark, illustrated by Katy Wu Lighter Than Air: Sophie Blanchard, the First Woman Pilot by Matthew Clark Smith, illustrated by Matt Tavares Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau by Jennifer Berne, illustrated by Éric Puybaret Margaret and the Moon: How Margaret Hamilton Saved the First Lunar Landing by Dean Robbins, illustrated by Lucy Knisley Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines by Jeanne Walker…
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Maker Monday: Squishy Circuits
Our last Maker Monday workshop this summer was all about Squishy Circuits. If you’re not familiar with Squishy Circuits, they were created at the University of St. Thomas as a basic way to teach children about circuitry through (basically) play dough. Two types of dough are created – one is…
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Maker Monday: Stop Motion Animation
Our program is geared toward children entering 3rd – 6th grade in the fall. We only register 20 kids for the program because we only have 10 iPads and with technology and science programs, less is more. This is our second Maker Monday program of the summer featuring our iPads…
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Maker Monday: Coding
Our first Maker Monday was a lot of fun! Our program is geared toward children entering 3rd – 6th grade in the fall. We only register 20 kids for the program because we only have 10 iPads and with technology and science programs, less is more. I’m always a little…
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Flannel Friday: Quack and Count
I made some simple ducks using Microsoft Word shapes and the kids had fun adding up the ducks in different ways to always equal seven using the book Quack and Count by Keith Baker. I put them all in a line on our flannel board and I made sure to…
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Crazy 8s Math Workshop – Math Fun for Everyone!
We just finished an 8-week session of math classes with Bedtime Math’s Crazy 8s Club for students in 3rd – 5th grades. I was a little worried that the kids would attend all eight weeks, but we registered 22 kids and had between 16-22 kids every week. The Bedtime Math…
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STEAM: Bristlebot Workshop
Even with all the snow, we carried on and still offered a Bristlebot Workshop for kids in grades 4 – 8 on Monday night. I started off the program talking about circuitry and although it probably didn’t make the most sense, I think the kids figured out the difference between…
