This presentation was done by 3 librarians from libraries
located in the Silicon Valley, offering their knowledge on how to fund
successful and innovative STEM programs, without necessarily using a lot of
funds. There are of course science kits and other materials that can be
purchased that are very expensive, but there are still a lot of ways to bring this
type of programming to your patrons while spending very little of your own
money.
One of the libraries mentioned put on a “Cube Club” program,
where kids can come together on a regular basis to learn how to solve the Rubik’s
Cube or act as mentors to those who need assistance with it (peer to peer
teaching). There are also a lot of kids apparently who practice “speedcubing,”
solving the puzzles as quickly as they can, so there is a space for those kids
to mingle and share tips. Parents and kids really liked this program because it
not only allowed the kids to be able to use their math skills, but also to develop
their social skills at the same time. This program only ended up costing about
$200 to purchase a bunch of cubes for the kids to use, and many would bring
their own as well.
Other important notes from this portion of the presentation:
- Be aware of the community’s needs and talents
- Be a talent scout (be open to looking for community members with unique talents and interests)
- Start small and ask volunteer presenters for a program proposal; also gauge that material is up to standards of that which would be provided by staff
- Support volunteers (Provide registration, publicity, volunteer recruitment, staff oversight)
- Also cultivate enthusiastic volunteers-show them love!
There are also a lot of other STEM related games/puzzles that
could be turned into a “club” type program (Sudoku, chess, backgammon, etc.).
The second segment of this presentation focused on doing
STEM programming on the “cheap.” A lot of fun and educational things can be
done with items that we have readily available or are super low cost (building
bridges with toothpicks and mini marshmallows; building boats with foil, glue,
and corks; doing Lego club with donated Legos; etc.)
Some tips they gave:
- Use cheap materials or Leftovers from other programs
- Ask for donations or discounts when possible
- Utilize books In your collection
- Replace more expensive components
- Learn a few ‘teachable’ points on science concepts (make it FUN, this isn’t school where they are going to be tested on it)
One of the main things I took away from this part of the
presentation is that as librarians, we are not “content experts” and we don’t
have to be. We are experts though on finding information and resources, so we
can seek out those people who can help us bring our STEM programming ideas into
fruition. There are robotics clubs, high school STEM clubs, local engineers,
parenting groups, and other people who are out there and would be willing to
volunteer their time to come out and help put on a program.
Some websites to check out:
100 Awesome STEM http://milkandcookiesblog.com/100-awesome-stem-resources/
Show Me Librarian: http://showmelibrarian.blogspot.com/p/all-things-steam.html?_sm_au_=iVVknh5T2mWr5qMN
One particular thing they talked about that I did not know a lot about before was coding programs. Oftentimes they are geared towards older kids, but there are materials available to make it accessible for even kindergarten aged kids. They mentioned:
- "Coder Bunnies (didn't quite catch the info on this one)"
- "Math & Coding (website with coding games and worksheets available http://www.mathandcoding.org/)"
- "Cubetto" (programmable robot for kids ages 3 and up; uses colors for coding https://www.primotoys.com/)
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| Cubetto |
The third segment of the presentation was all about how to
get money for STEM programming (i.e. grant, asking for money from Friends/Foundations,
approaching business). A lot of this information was familiar from the SIF
training portion about Grants :)
- Make sure you look at needs of community; also get staff buy in
- Create a plan, timeline, and detailed budget
- Where to find $: Look for local companies (often will donate time, may lead to monetary benefits); LSTA grants; Databases; Solicit patrons for connections; FOL and Foundation; YALSA, ALA, CLA
- Keep detailed notes/stats during grant period; track every $; take pics and statements
Lots of good info and ideas to explore!
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