In August, I ran a survey to see what sort of virtual library programs families wanted me to offer and a monthly Science Club got a lot of interest, so I started one up this month even though STEM is definitely not my thing. But I decided this month to kill two birds with one stone and draw on my current hyperfixation for inspiration. So this morning, I talked with the kids about robotics and we made super cool robot hands with cardboard, straws, and string. I didn’t directly mention Data, but he was most definitely there in spirit, especially on my powerpoint slide on androids ;P
Doing what children’s librarians do best - incorporating hyperfixations into educational children’s programming.
I recently did a "make your own squishy" program at the library and it was a huge hit. At first all the kids were just like o.o but then they let their creativity and inspiration flow and came up with some awesome squishy designs (my favorite was a nintendo switch).
This program is actually pretty simple and cheap!
Materials:
Acrylic Paints
Paintbrushes
Water Cups
Paint Palettes
Pens
Memory Foam (I used Morning Glory 22 x 22 x 2 from Walmart and it was around $8)
Scissors
Length of time: 1 hour
Steps:
I did my program for 16 participants (grades 3-6), so I cut up my big block of foam into 5x5x2 squares. This was perfect and left me a little bit to make some samples out of.
Everyone got their foam pieces and could make whatever they want (or multiples). It was good to have different size examples because it really got them thinking about what they could build. Some of the kids went for the easy triangle-shaped things (pizza, watermelon slices), others made cupcakes, pokeballs, etc.
The pens were to help draw what they wanted to create and figure out the best way to cut into their foam. Since it was so thick and they were using child scissors, they had to get the hang of cutting small bits (even adult scissors didn't cut through the thick piece of foam in one easy cut). Some of them also just cut a bit and ripped, but that was a little risky.
Once they had their pieces cut, we smoothed them out as best as possible by trimming. Then we figured out what colors we wanted to paint! I like the acrylic paint because it took to the foam well. You can't use markers because they just bleed and get all over everything. The acrylic paint dried pretty quickly too, depending on how much was used.
They also had a lot of extra foam pieces which they were happy to take home to make more creations.
TAKEAWAYS: When I do this program again, I'm definitely going to do less kids at one time. It was just a little chaotic because everyone was on different steps and needed different help, but if you have helpers it would probably be okay or if it was geared more towards just teens.
Today we took some concrete mix, water, some gems, seashells, and beads to make stepping stones. They came out great, and overall these stepping stones made for a really simple and unique crafting idea.
Our recipe included a basic concrete mix (dry) purchased from a hardware store that we mixed with water in plastic buckets. We put on some masks, and kept stirring the mix until it could be poured into small aluminum pans. Once poured into pans, we allowed the concrete to sit for about before putting any decorative items on top.
This extra sitting time allows the concrete to become more stiff, so when you put gems or beads on it, those small pieces won't sink in the muck.
And without further ado, some pictures:
As you can see we had all age groups come out. It's a really fun craft to do, and it's surprisingly simple to do if you have extra stones, buttons, and gems lying about. But note these garden stones are largely for decoration. Anything more permanent would require broken tile.
Other tips and suggestions:
-Really make sure the concrete sits for an hour, or you have some method to remove access water from the concrete. (Dabbing with paper towels worked just fine.) After the surface of the concrete begins to stiffen, then apply the decorative items.
-Press hard when applying gems, stones, beads, etc, into the mix. The more concrete they have holding them in, the more they will survive outside weather/wear and tear.
-Let these stones dry for (at least) two days. Then, you can peel them out of the metal pans quite easily. Enjoy!
We are opening up the Youth Service craft room for your disposal (anything within legal means, kids), for one last day: January 4, at 11-2PM.
Open Crafts is a series of events we do every year over the holiday break. It gives kids who are at home a space to be creative over the holiday break. Please head over for our very last day. We have seen a huge turnout so far!
Here are some pictures of one group we had:
A few of our staff spent some time today over lunch to assemble some WWI-era paper dolls and paper models, printed from newspapers in our digital library. Some of these were quite complicated, but we prevailed!
For those who want to play along at home, here are links to some of the paper dolls and paper models in our collections.
The three we assembled today:
Cutout of an American Tank
Chicago Ledger, v. XLVI, no. 27, Saturday, July 6, 1918, p. 26.
http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:372345
Cutout of an Ambulance
Chicago Ledger, v. XLVI, no. 31, Saturday, August 3, 1918, p. 26.
http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:370705
A Dear Little French Orphan Who Wants a Mother
Public Ledger, Color Supplement, August 31, 1919, p. 8.
http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:298665
More WWI cutouts can be found here:
Cutout of a U-Boat's Foe--A Destroyer
Chicago Ledger, v. XLVI, no. 28, Saturday, July 13, 1918, p. 26.
http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:370861
Cutout of an Armored Motor Car
Chicago Ledger, v. XLVI, no. 29, Saturday, July 20, 1918, p. 26.
http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:372078
Cutout of an American Biplane
Chicago Ledger, v. XLVI, no. 30, Saturday, July 27, 1918, p. 26.
http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:371149
Cutout of a Submarine
Chicago Ledger, v. XLVI, no. 32, Saturday, August 10, 1918, p. 26.
http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:372374
Cutout of a Patriotic Dollie
Chicago Ledger, v. XLVI, no. 33, Saturday, August 17, 1918, p. 26.
http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:372878
And a couple non-WWI cutouts:
Tommy Goes to the Circus
Public Ledger, Color Supplement, June 8, 1919, p. 4.
http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:298635
The Three Bears and Goldilocks (partial)
Public Ledger, Color Supplement, September 21, 1919, p. 8.
http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:298645
Some more superhero friends to celebrate our superhero summer reading program! We’re so excited to fly them around our children’s area!
(Teen Titan’s Raven, however, does not look excited.)
