Save the Dates: STEM Program Sneak Preview

The Hamilton-Wenham Library has won an important grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Library Services and Technology Act administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

The $7,500 grant entitled Science is Everywhere – It’s Hands-On at Your Library!  will help the library offer Science-Technology-Engineering-Math (STEM) programs for children and teens who are in grades 3-8. Local teachers, Jeffrey Walsh and Bryan Sheckells, will be offering a wide variety of programs at the library including CAD workshops (utilizing the library’s 3-D printer), bicycle mechanics, rockets, and electronics.The federal funds will also be used to purchase new science books and DVDs for the library’s collection.

Plans are underway for a grant Kick-off Week in December. Here is your sneak preview of the year long free STEM-related workshops we have planned for Science Is Everywhere - It's Hands-On At Your Library!  A brochure of all programs will be ready the first week of December.

December 2014

December 1 through December 13: A two week grant kickoff for Science Is Everywhere - It's Hands-On At Your Library!  During these two weeks you will be able to sign-up for the Winter and Spring STEM programs; pick up a program brochure; check out our newly purchased STEM-related videos and books; play a quiz game to win a prize; see displays of STEM creations distributed around the library.

January 2015

Wednesday, January 7, 3:30 to 5:00 PM - Electronics with Jeffrey Walsh - for grades 5 to 8.  An introduction to electronics. Using Tronix Lab kits, you will have a hands-on opportunity to learn about resistors, LEDs, simple wiring, switches, and more.

Saturday, January 24, 1:30 to 3:30 PM  RESCHEDULED for: Wednesday, February 4, 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM - Rhode Island Computer Museum's Robots on the Run Workshop - for grades 4 to 8.  Learn about the interactive “Arduino” software and create your own sample “Robot.” This workshop will explain basic circuits and will include instruction on how to build a simple robot. You will learn programmable electronics, on how to make lights blink, motors run, sounds and a lot more.

February 2015

Wednesday, February 4, 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM - Rhode Island Computer Museum's Robots on the Run Workshop - for grades 4 to 8.  Learn about the interactive “Arduino” software and create your own sample “Robot.” This workshop will explain basic circuits and will include instruction on how to build a simple robot. You will learn programmable electronics, on how to make lights blink, motors run, sounds and a lot more.

Wednesday, February 18, 2:00 to 3:00 PM - Making Roller Coasters with Bryan Sheckells - for grades 3 to 5. What goes up, must come down...the other side of the roller coaster. Come explore potential and kinetic energy along with the design process as we design and build our own roller coasters

March 2015

Wednesday, March 4, 3:30 to 5:00 PM - CAD 1 with Jeffrey Walsh - for grades 5 to 8.  What is 3-D design,why it's important, and how is it used in our everyday life.This is an introductory workshop to the world of three-dimensional design using a free design program (either Google Sketch-Up or Tinkercad. Learn how to use a design program to build your first 3-D object. Participants must bring their own laptop for this workshop with either Tinkercad or Google Sketch-Up already downloaded.


Wednesday, March 11, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM - Robots Are People, Too  - for teens & adults.  Recently, technologies like self-driving cars, drones, and artificial intelligence have appeared frequently in the news and reports about the future of jobs. Boston attorney John Frank Weaver, contributing writer for Slate, and author of Robots are People, Too, will discuss some of the legal challenges these developments introduce and propose changes to our laws and public policies to address them.


Pi Day! Saturday, March 14,  1:30 PM - 3:00 PM - Rhode Island Computer Museum's Sonic Pi Synthesizer Workshop - for grades 4 to 9. Interested in building a synthesizer & unmasking the mystery of making computer music? Sonic Pi is a programming environment that allows you to make sound with the Raspberry Pi, a tiny credit-card-sized computer, developed in the United Kingdom by the Raspberry Pi Foundation. It runs a variant of Debian Linux known as Raspian, and it uses Python and Scratch as entry-level programming environments. The Raspberry Pi computer is a miniature ARM (phone)-based PC which can do many things a desktop PC can do like word processing, games, playing back high-definition video and making MIDI music.

Wednesday, March 18, 3:30 to 5:00 PM - CAD 2 with Jeffrey Walsh - for grades 5 to 8.  A more advanced 3-D design workshop.  In this workshop you will combine what was learned in CAD 1 with new features to create more advanced parts, which could be printed on the library's 3-D printer. Participants must bring their own laptop for this workshop.

April 2015

Wednesday, April 8, 3:30 to 4:30 PM - Physical/Chemical Reactions Workshop with Bryan Sheckells - for grades 3 to 5.  Solids, liquids, and gases, oh my! Explore compounds and chemical reactions as we find out how amazing chemistry can be using common household materials.

Tuesday, April 21, 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM - Boston Museum of Science: Super-Cold Science Program - for grades K and up.  Amazing things happen when matter changes temperature. With the help of a Museum educator and an intensely cold liquid, participants will experience the remarkable changes in size, form, and behavior that occur when a variety of objects and substances are super-cooled.

Wednesday, April 22, 2:00 to 3:00 PM - Rocket Launchers Workshop with Bryan Sheckells - for grades 3 to 5.  3, 2, 1... Rockets! Explore the different types of thrust that can be used to create rockets of various sizes and shapes using materials that can be found around the house.

May 2015

Saturday, May 2, 10:30 AM to Noon - Bicycle Mechanics with Jeffrey Walsh - for grades 4 to 9.  Learn simple tricks to keep your bicycle in tip top shape.You will learn step by step how to fix a flat tire, and the best ways to avoid getting a flat in the first place. Bring your own bike to the workshop.

Wednesday, May 13, 3:30 to 4:30 PM - Slimy Polymers Concoctions Workshop with Bryan Sheckells, for grades 3 to 5. Squelch, splat, flop...polymers! With the right combination of things from around the house, you can create some materials with unique properties to amaze your senses! Join us for the chemistry fun!

June 2015

Saturday, June 20, 10:30 AM to Noon - CAD 1 with Jeffrey Walsh - for grades 5 to 8.  What is 3-D design,why it's important, and how is it used in our everyday life. This is an introductory workshop to the world of three-dimensional design using a free design program (either Google Sketch-Up or Tinkercad. Learn how to use a design program to build your first 3-D object. Participants must bring their own laptop for this workshop with Tinkercad or Google Sketch-Up already downloaded.

Thursday, June 25, 3:30 to 5:30 PM - Catapults Workshop with Jeffrey Walsh - for ages 11 to 15.  Have you ever wanted to create your very own catapult? If so, then this is the workshop for you. In this workshop you will create a mini, wooden catapult. The first half of the workshop will be spent creating the catapult. In the second half you will be testing the catapult and improving your design.

July 2015

Thursday, July 9, 3:00 to 4:00 PM - Motion Photography Workshop with Toni Carolina - for ages 11 to 16. Learn how to capture motion in your photographs, then come back three weeks later on Wednesday, July 29 at 3:00 PM, with prints of your captured motion shots and create a photography exhibit in the Young Adult area.

Friday, July 10, It's Nikola Tesla Day!

Thursday, July 16, 3:00 to 5:00 PM - Airplane Workshop with Jeffrey Walsh - for ages 11 to 15. Build an elastic powered airplane made from balsa wood and paper. When your airplane is completed, compete with other workshop participants to see how long you can keep your airplane in the air. Learn how adjusting different parts can change the way it flies, and find out what is actually happening when an airplane takes flight.

Thursday, July 23,  Walk Along Glider Workshop with Phil Rossoni
Two sessions: for ages 9-11: 2:00 to 3:00 PM, and for ages 12-15: 3:30 to 4:30 PM .  Workshop participants will learn how to build and pilot a tumblewing paper airplane. There will be duration competitions to hone your flying skills. Learn and experiment with wing loading and how an airplane is trimmed for optimum gliding flight. Participants will have opportunities to fly gliders of varying size and weight.

Thursday, July 23, 6:00 to 8:00 PM, Metamorphosis: A Pastel Painting Workshop with Gregory Maichack - for ages 11- adult.  Metamorphosize! Become an artist in this hands-on pastel painting workshop. Greg will incorporate fabulous reference photos of insects from a personal trip to Montreal’s Insectarium. All of the professional grade pastels, paper and materials are included.

Thursday, July 30, 2:30 to 5:00 PM, Rockets Workshop with Jeffrey Walsh - for ages 11-15. Create your very own chrome rocket that can soar up to 800 feet in the air. Once the rockets have been built, you will take them outside to the field and prepare for take off.

August 2015

Thursday, August 6, Time TBD - Boston Museum of Science STARLAB Portable Planetarium Show: One Sky, Many Stories - Three sessions: for Grades K-2, Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8.

Date TBD - North Shore Amateur Astronomy Club Star Party Program and Telescope Viewing - for ages 10 to adult.  An astronomy program inside our meeting room, followed by observation of the night sky through club telescopes on the field behind the library.

Shaking Out Third Quarter Favorites

Catching my breath here from all the 5th, 6th, and 8th grade field trips and class visits to recommend ten favorite reads from the past few months.

Fantasy

The Caller, by Juliet Marillier, 2014. In the final book of the Shadowfell trilogy, Neryn, the rebels, and the Good Folk must work together to survive their final confrontation with King Keldec.




Eleanor, by Johnny Worthen, 2014.  Shapeshifter Eleanor lives the life of a teenager in rural Wyoming until the only person who knows her secret shows up and challenges her existence and everything she hopes to be.

The Stepsister's Tale, by Tracy Barrett, 2014.  A retelling of "Cinderella" which takes the viewpoint of the supposedly evil stepsisters and turns the story inside out.





Realistic


Grandmaster, by David Klass, 2014.  Daniel Pratzer. a freshman and a newbie to chess—or patzer in chess lingo—is approached by the senior chess club co-captains of his high school. A father-son weekend tournament is coming up, and Daniel and his father are more required than requested to be there. First prize is $10,000, but Daniel’s father doesn’t play chess. At least, that’s what Daniel thinks.


100 Sideways Miles, by Andrew Smith, 2014. Finn Easton, sixteen and epileptic, struggles to feel like more than just a character in his father's cult-classic novels with the help of his best friend, Cade Hernandez, and first love, Julia, until Julia moves away.



Stupid Fast, by Geoff Herbach, 2011. Just before his sixteenth birthday, Felton Reinstein has a sudden growth spurt that turns him from a small, jumpy, picked-on boy with the nickname of "Squirrel Nut" to a powerful athlete, leading to new friends, his first love, and the courage to confront his family's past and current problems.

Tangerine, by Edward Bloor, 1997. Twelve-year-old Paul, who lives in the shadow of his football hero brother Erik, fights for the right to play soccer despite his near blindness and slowly begins to remember the incident that damaged his eyesight.




Science Fiction

Partials, by Dan Wells, 2012. In a post-apocalyptic eastern seaboard ravaged by disease and war with a manmade race of people called Partials, the chance at a future rests in the hands of Kira Walker, a sixteen-year-old medic in training.

Adult Books for Teens

Red Rising, by Pierce Brown, 2014. A tale set in a bleak future society torn by class divisions follows the experiences of secret revolutionary Darrow, who after witnessing his wife's execution by an oppressive government joins a revolutionary cell and attempts to infiltrate an elite military academy.


Universe Versus Alex Woods, by Gavin Extence, 2013.  Alex Woods was struck by a meteorite when he was ten years old, leaving scars that marked him for an extraordinary life. The son of a fortune teller, bookish, and an easy target for bullies, he hasn't had the most conventional childhood. When he meets curmudgeonly widower Mr. Peterson, he finds an unlikely friend. Someone who teaches him that that you only get one shot at life. That you have to make it count. So when, aged seventeen, Alex is stopped at Dover customs with 113 grams of marijuana, an urn full of ashes on the passenger seat, and an entire nation in uproar, he's fairly sure he's done the right thing.