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STEM and STEAM learning

Oh my gosh! You have to come to the library and play our banana piano. This is strictly a BYOB (bring our own six bananas) activity. And, you must meet Dot and Dash, our amazing, new, cute programmable robots. Oh, I can hear what you are thinking. “The library is for books and computers, making photocopies and sending faxes. Why are they spending money on this stuff?”

Public libraries across the nation, and here in Mifflin and Juniata counties, have entered the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) arena. First introduced in the mid-1990s, the emphasis on STEM education focuses on the push to create an innovative workforce to meet technology challenges. The earlier we engage young children, boys and girls, in these subjects/disciplines the more integrated the concepts become in developing critical thinking skills.

While I am a supporter of STEM learning, I am a far bigger fan of the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the ARTS and mathematics) movement. Interspersing and integrating STEM learning in and through the arts takes these disciplines to a new level.

Case in point. That great banana piano was created using a circuitry kit that connects bananas to a computer so you have science, technology and engineering. But, were you paying attention to how many bananas are needed? Six. How many notes are in a music scale? Seven. Well, duh. If the science geek who created that circuitry kit had talked to a musician we’d actually have a better tool to help young children learn.

3D printers are all the rage and I do admit to wanting one but not until they are more stable, easier to operate and cost less. Despite the mechanical marvel of these machines, it’s the visual “art” they create that is the wow factor. Again, it’s about the combination of STEM and STEAM learning that makes it so exciting and appealing for youngsters and the young at heart.

Next time you visit the library look around, see, and participate in our STEAM activities. Some of the items, such as puzzles and blocks, may be familiar to you. We also have Magna-Tiles which are translucent magnetic tiles to explore geometry concepts. Starbuilders snap together to create snowflakes and if you squint a little they look like those molecular structures from chemistry class or DNA strands from biology lab.

Then there are the little robots, Dot and Dash. I wonder if they are the Barbie and Ken of the 21st century? However, unlike the dolls these tools have to be charged so sometimes they take naps if they have a busy morning.

Finally, just when you were thinking about calling me to ask why we would spend tax dollars on these “toys,” I can tell you we received some of the items from a grant and others came as part of Trish Forshey’s participation in the ILEAD program. So, I guess our taxes did pay for this, but not from our library budget.

If you aren’t interested in STEM-ing or STEAM-ing you can always come to the Library for READ-ing.

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Molly S. Kinney is the director at the Mifflin County Library. She is currently reading Bill O’Reilly’s “Legends and Lies: The Civil War.” Well, to be honest she’s looking at the pictures and skimming the text.

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