The April STEM meeting will be the last session during this school term. We will begin our summer hours in June.
Complete details about summer programs will be available beginning May 31 during Summer Reading Sign-up.
Thank you for allowing us to share this time with your children, it has been a great experience for all of us.
Our new STEM Science Club meets the 4th Wednesday of the month.
This program is for students in grades 4~6. We have to limit the number of participants each month.
The slots fill up fast when we announce enrollment is open. You don’t know until you call whether there is room for your student!
SQUISHY CIRCUITS April STEM Meeting
Supplies ready for making our own squishy circuits using two types of homemade dough, conductive dough and insulating dough and our re-purposed battery pack. Household items-conductors or insulators?
Making ooey gooey dough.My own squishy circuit.
Squishy Circuits help us understand electrical circuitry.Parallel circuit with 3 LED lights. Too bad you can’t see better that the lights are on and working on this circuit!
A series circuit was needing more”juice” than 3AAA batteries could muster.
What would you suppose Spaghetti and linked paper clips have in common? In one way they give us a glimpse in a seeable way what the molecules of a POLYMER may look like.Before hands-on-polymer-making, we learned what POLYMER molecules are why they are different than other molecules.
Lab stations were prepared ahead for all participants.Ethylene molecules above will link together and make chains then called poly(many) ethylene.Polyethylene creates plastics and if you look closely at a piece of trash bag plastic you can discover the presence of a chain-like structure.The young scientists created silly putty and glow-in-the-dark bouncy balls.The linking of the moiecular chains would be like a glob of spaghetti. The air pockets created in this type of structure is similar to the air pockets in a water-absorbing polymer.Thus, this gummy bear soaked in water over night has more than doubled its size. For those who were brave enough to taste it, agreed the manufacturer has the recipe right. We ended the meeting by making our own gumdrops! Science AND a snack! Can’t beat that!
At our first meeting in January the students created simple individual hydraulic systems.
Sounds impressive, right? The quote of the day: “This is more fun than computer games!”
This picture shows an enclosed system. And a very happy boy.It moves! another picture of 1/3 of the claw completed. She looks happy too, doesn’t she?This is also an enclosed system. If I remember correctly, she is the only one in the bunch to complete her system before leaving that day! Congratulations!It is important to read ALL of the instructions. This is 1/3 of the claw complete and it worked!!
Gerald wanted to get a closer look at the contraption on display. He was very impressed!
Oh! How the children love Gerald, our pet giraffe! He loves all the hugs.
But he also loves to be read to. We need your help! Gerald is signed up to read 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten.
The Library Ladies don’t always have time to sit and read to him.
We ask children and parents to read to him or let them listen in when they take time to read a book.
Then remember to make a tally mark on his reading log, the kids like to do that too.
Gerald has good listening skills. This youngster came in several times while visiting grandma to read to him.Kylie, our Seneca Area Chamber/SDI director, brought Gerald a crown to wear in celebration of Seneca being in the top 15 Favorite Small Towns in Kansas vote.Just another quick hug before leaving the Library.When Gerald hears a story being read, he goes looking for the source so he can see the pictures too!Gerald stands by the children’s table, waiting for someone to read to him. This was a lucky day! Two girls read to him! He also enjoys watching children play with the puzzles and other games sitting there.This young lady enjoyed showing him the pictures along with reading the story.
The April STEM meeting will be the last session during this school term. We will begin our summer hours in June.
