LIBRARY AS MAKERSPACE

I just finished a 3 part stay alone series exploring basic science concepts with Legos for 45 minutes with 4 & 5 year olds.  Why Legos? Well, they are very popular from a marketing standpoint, they are plentiful at my library, and easy to clean. I have done a series of Preschool Science classes before so these were the same concepts just with Legos added. We started each session with a picture of a Lego scientist and we talked about what they do and what body part they do it with.  Any tools that we were using for the program I introduced at this point and modeled what we were going to do with them. Make Observations Ask Questions Use Tools Week 1: Lego Volcanoes Materials: Legos (could color match if you want for volcano colors) Duplos  (always good to have depending on fine motor skills) Baking Soda Test tubes (but u could use cut water bottles or cups)- Lakeshore Learning Supplies Droppers-Lakeshore Plastic trays-Lakeshore Vinegar Towels ...

Circulating toys can be challenging. How many parts is too many? What to do about replacements? What about propriety software?  I would not recommend kits like Lego Robotics WeDo or Mindstorms to go out of the building. First, the programming software is proprietary and second having all the parts is important to each of the pre-designed constructions. Sparkfun Inventor's Kit , an Arduino beginner's package, is also something I wouldn't circulate. The parts are very small (less than a penny in size), including 2 different color coded resistors that need up close examination to determine which is which. That being said, there are plenty of small reusable kits that can circulate without hassle to any departments. As I write this, we have just bought Sphero, an already built "ball" robot that focuses on coding through free apps as our newest circulated STEM toy. We already have two successful STEM kits that circulate for 2 weeks and are holdable by patrons with a ...

I have come across two products that would make cardboard/recyclable construction creations (especially for younger kids) much easier without all that scotch tape, staples, and box cutters. Strawbees Strawbees securely connect to straws to allow them to move and build crazy contraptions. After watching the video, I was sold. The opportunities are endless: bridges, masks, even a lantern fish that actually works! They come in sets ranging from $20-$80 through their store with a $15 standard flat rate shipping. I bought the $40 box which includes 368 connector pieces.  Could I have printed out my own on a 3D printer? Possibly. I'll have to see when the kit comes in. We have LOTS of straws at the library that I discovered after cleaning the craft closet.  They could be left out on a makerspace cart for students to explore on their own time or built into an already designed program. This will be used in our Tinkering Tuesday STEM programs as well as our drop in building pr...

In just 15 minutes (besides the fight I had with our laptops not having a .zip file extractor) I was able to create a 3D action figure using AutoCad's Tinkerplay app for the iPad. That's the easiest part. Tinkerplay, from the makers of Tinkercad, comes with already made parts that anyone can select to build a customized action figure in minutes. Although the options are a bit limited, tinkerplay could be a jumping off point for kids interested in designing their own toys with connectable parts. Once the app is opened,you are brought to a blank plane. The top right corner allows you to select each part. The outer line of the wheel are the available options, while the wheel before displays the location of the part (head, chest, feet, hands).   Once the grey part is selected merely drag it with your finger onto the plane. A simple tap of your finger on the part will bring up deleting or moving options. Once you have built your figure, press the bright ...

Looking for a fun way to empower the local crafter? Check out Etsy , an internet based shopping website that allows anyone to buy and sell their hand made merchandise. 3D printed materials still count in the "hand made" universe. All you need to do is set up a shop and take pictures of your work. If someone were to print with our $1 an hour charge, they could make earrings for a product cost to them of $1-3 (based on size), use a dremel or small drill to make a hole, and go to Michaels, or another local craft store, for the stainless steel earring hooks and you are in business for profit! (beware of copyright infringement such as printing items from Nintendo, Disney, etc.) This is from Fish3Ddesigns , which prints using a Makerbot Replicator 3D printer in PLA. It sells for $22.00 on Etsy plus shipping. I'd be interested to hear from an Etsy shop owner how good business is but with such a low start up cost it would be worth a try anyway.  Just another way to s...

After a fun month of building, painting, attaching, coding, 3D printing, our Arduino Interactive Wall has all the components in place! Still some painting and touch up to do. I plan to document all the circuitry and code so we can make sure it is safe to move to a new location. It was a BIG commitment of resources, time and treasure, but I felt it was worth it. One of the things I love about it is how we were able to collaborate with artist, Sally Dean, AND engineer, Kevin Osborn. They led us all in the concept and creation of it - adults and teens alike. It felt like we were taken on a creative journey together, following the lead of two seasoned experts. Is this tinkering? Not on the grander scale, but it was certainly problem-solving and skill-building. Some of the teens learned C++ coding, we all perfected our skills with Tinkercad 3D design work, and the movable parts were somewhat dictated by the teens' interests. All in all, about 12 library patrons participated in t...

We are starting to paint our garden, designed and facilitated by Duxbury artist, Sally Dean, on the plastic blue partition wall. The garden elements are being 3D printed by the kids and teens and today we will begin learning from Kevin Osborn, how to write Arduino code to make the servos that power the interactivity work! This is a big, on-going project, which is just the kind of thing we feel sparks creativity and BIG thinking in a Makerspace. Tools and equipment: Portable Partition from Minnesota company Acrylic paints , brushes, drop clothes, etc. Gridding out the garden design with a wax pencil Arduino kits from Sparkfun Lots of extra sensors and stuff from Adafruit Riley thought to glue gun details on that she had 3Doodled.

Things can't get much better than having another organization (Cape Cod Makers) promote your library, highlighting in their own words your values, your activities and your outreach. A goal I am setting for FY 2016: Be a more visible presence in the life of our community. Don't just wait for people to come into the library, bring the library to the people! If you are in the Southeastern Massachusetts area on Saturday, May 30, swing by the gymnasium of the Cape Cod Community College (Exit 6 off the Mid Cape Highway, Route 6, turn north towards Barnstable, the entrance is immediately on your right.). We'll be there from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. along with many, many other cool organizations and individual inventors and creators! There's a kayak made exclusively of duct tape! http://capecodmakerfaire.com/ Meet the Makers: Duxbury Free Library "One of the great things about a Maker Faire is the opportunity for people of all ages to learn new things. The  Duxbury ...

littleBits has rolled out it's latest collaborative venture, global chapters . Global chapters have an 8 event commitment per year which is easy for any library or school with a variety of littleBits collections and regular after school science programming.  Why not use this as a stepping stone into a year wide goal of science programming?  8 events is not even once a month and we are already planning for 3 events this summer with the superhero theme. In our Mad Science Mondays littleBits will be out for use in setting superhero traps/gadgets and building lairs or hideouts. In our Cardboard Car Drive In, littleBits will be out to add horns and lights as design options for the cars. Kids will watch a short film after they decorate their cars. In exchange for becoming a chapter, you can get lots of swag, a global resource of educators to share ideas with in monthly support calls, and free event marketing from the littleBits website. The only chapter so far in Massachusetts i...

I was so glad that this year's ALA National Library Week was "Unlimited Possibilities @ Your Library" because I feel that way in my job most days. Today I'm designing displays, tomorrow I'm coming up with a new marketing campaign, and the day after I could be 3D Printing. The profession itself is full of possibilities that can tap into a wide array of talents. I am rarely bored. This year we have made many updates to our collection and the library itself to include checking out hobby/science kits, ROKUs, interactive displays, a Digital Media Lab, and 3D printers to change the way the community sees the library and to invite new collaborators to share in our experiences. We have had the chance to meet inventors and fellow makers due to our Makerspace initiatives that didn't consider themselves regular library users in the past. In honor of National Library Week, Ellen made 3D printed pins for us and the children's department hosted a science based program ...

What I love about Lego WeDo kits as opposed to Lego Mindstorms is how "out of the box ready" they are.  Keep in mind LegoWeDos are geared for lower elementary school students but they can still serve as an introductory lesson for middle school students. In February, we are conducting a 4 week, 1 hour Lego Robotics program for the Middle School DIY Club. We decided for the first lesson, we would introduce the concept of Lego Robotics with the WeDo kits. Even before we turned on the computers, they were off and running. Once the software was installed, it was literally plug and play. A note about software: if you do not have Apple laptops with CD/DVD drivers, it takes a bit of computer know-how to trick the mac into thinking the CD is there (our windows laptops were no problem!). WeDo projects can be made in under an hour, unlike the Mindstorms Gyro robot I've spent about 6 hours building only to find out that I must have missed a step somewhere and need to ta...

Just got my Lego We-Do and Mindstorms robotics shipment thanks to a generous grant. It took me about 30 minutes from out of the box to my first finished We Do project which always boosts my self esteem as a scientist. It helped to have background familiarity with a simple coding program like Scratch or Hopscotch and Lego instructions. The curriculum suggests as young as 2nd grade and I can see that this would be right up their alley not to mention filling a gap in our programming for 2nd and 3rd graders. I ended up purchasing the 16 person classroom set from Lego Education which includes 8 We Do sets, a site license, and curriculum binder so I can put it on as many computers as I need for a total of almost $1500 (you can buy them separately for a much cheaper price). I wanted a site license because we don't have enough laptops necessary for single licenses to run a program and I wanted the freedom of downloading them to as many computers in house as I could. The teacher curri...

I recently received a hot tip at a workshop about GoldieBlox (thanks Sudbury!) for ages 4-9.  GoldieBlox sets include a story about Goldieblox and pieces to build your own themed project. You can follow along and build with the story or make something of your own. The pieces of each kit are interchangeable with other kits. The kits are $19.99 each and are sold online or at Toys'R'us.  They even had their own float this year in the Macy's Day Parade and a commercial spot at last year's Super Bowl. These could easily be circulated as kits and considered a library material! Plus the first page of the book (which includes the amount of materials with pictures and number of items in the kit) could be photocopied so the circulation staff knows what goes in it. At first my hackles were up, these are just like "pink" Lego Friends for girls all over again! Why do girls need their own separate Legos? But think of the marketing, Goldieblox has her own dol...