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.

Be Crafty - Be a Maker

  

The Library's 3D printer (purchased by the Friends of the Library) arrived here a few weeks ago. Since then library staff have been learning how to use it, and making things; ranging from cookie cutters to phone covers to bookmarks to a Dr. Who sonic screwdriver. For my first object I downloaded a container design from Thingiverse, and then opened it in the Makerware program, and manipulated the size of the container so that it would hold scrap paper at the Reference desk. I also downloaded a Mockingjay file, printed several copies of the object, and then spray painted and glued on pin backs. The Mockingjay pins I made will be given away as prizes in a teen program. Last night I showed members of the Library's Teen Think Tank how to use the 3D printer.  We made dragon bookmarks. Starting in January you will be able to make an appointment at the Reference desk to use the printer. If you have any questions, or want to stop by and see the printer in action, let me know.
Feeling crafty? Below are some resources to help you get started:

Online Resources

See Safari Books Online, found on the Library's Electronic Resources page.  Safari Books Online is an on-demand, digital library that provides access to thousands of technology books by major information technology publishers.  For example, I did a search for 3D, Blender, and Sketchup, and found 24 books that you can read online.
Blender :  Blender is a free and open source 3D animation suite that you can download.
Google Sketchup :  Sketchup is a free 3D drawing program that you can download.  It is used by architects, designers, builders, makers and engineers.
Tinkercad : Free software to quickly turn your idea into a CAD model for a 3D printer.

H-W "Maker" Magazines You Can Borrow

• Crafts 'N Things  
• Interweave Knits  Patterns, projects, and articles.
• Kiki   Uses the college fashion design curriculum to tap into creativity. Through fashion, readers explore business, fine art, craft, history, world culture, math, and even chemistry.
• Martha Stewart Living  Crafts, projects, recipes.
• MAKE   A magazine that celebrates your right to tweak, hack, and bend any technology to your own will.
• Popular Mechanics   Features regular sections on automotive, home, outdoors, science, and technology.
• The Quilter Magazine  
• Wired   WIRED magazine is about how ideas and innovation are changing the world.

Craft Resources in the Catalog

Click on the following subjects for nonfiction resources in our online catalog.

Basketry   Beads   Bookmaking   Calligraphy   Clay   Collage   Crafts & Hobbies   Crochet   Embroidery   Fabric   Felting   Fibers   Glass   Handicraft   Jewelry-making   Knitting   Lego   Mobiles   Paper   Pottery   Sewing   3-D   Toy-making   Metalwork   Mosaics   Origami   Quilting   Robotics   Weaving   Wire   Woodwork 

Below are some of the craft books in the H-W Library's Young Adult nonfiction collection.  For more resources on a craft that interests you click on the above subjects to browse our consortium's collection on that topic.

An Eye for Art: Focusing on Great Artists and their Work, National Gallery of Art, 2013.  This family-oriented art resource introduces more than 50 great artists and their work, with corresponding activities and explorations to inspire artistic development, focused looking, and creative writing.


Born Again Vintage: 25 Ways to Deconstruct, Reinvent + Recycle Your Wardrobe, by Bridgett Artise, & Jen Karetnick, 2008.  Vintage garments that have lost their luster get another chance at being fashionable.

Crochet Jewelry: 40 Beautiful and Unique Designs, by Waejong Kim & Anna Pulvermakher, 2007.  Step-by-step photographs and instructions adapted from simple crochet techniques. Featured projects include multicolored bead and crochet necklaces, lacy spider web chokers, delicate yarn and wire bracelets, lively cherry earrings, mohair flower pins, and pretty cocktail rings embellished with beads and stones.

D.I.Y. Girl : The Real Girl's Guide to Making Everything From Lip Gloss to Lamps, by Jennifer Bonnell, 2003. A step-by-step guide to making clothes, beauty products, fashion accessories, and decorative items for the home using commonly available materials.

Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt, by Megan Nicolay, 2006. Explains how to transform the ordinary T-shirt into a wide variety of fashionable clothing, accessories, and other items, with detailed instructions for more than 120 projects, including braided rugs, tablecloths, pillows, skirts, a purse, and more.


Hip Handbag Book: 25 Easy-to-Make Totes, Purses, and Bags, by Sherri Haab, 2004. Provides patterns and instructions for making handbags and purses, using embroidery, old jeans, newspaper, beads, feathers, silk flowers, and other materials.

The Hot Air Balloon Book: Build and Launch Kongming Lanterns, Solar Tetroons, and More, by Clive Catterall, 2013. Author and inventor Clive Catterall provides illustrated, step-by-step instructions for eight different homemade models, as well as the science and history behind them.

How to Draw Superheroes; How to Draw Supernatural Beings; How to Draw Graphic Novel-Style, by Andy Fish, 2010, 2011.




How to Make Books: Fold, Cut and Stitch Your Way to a One-of-a-Kind Book, by Esther K. Smith, 2007.  From zines you can fold in a minute to journals and sketchbooks, How to Make Books will walk you through the basics of bookmaking.

Knits for Nerds: 30 Projects : Science Fiction, Comic Books, Fantasy, by Joan of Dark, a.k.a. Toni Carr, 2012.  Patterns for 30 iconic clothing and accessory items inspired by popular TV shows, books, films, comics, and more--including "Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars," and "Firefly."

Microcrafts: Tiny Treasures to Make and Share, compiled by Margaret McGuire, Alicia Kachmar, Katie Hatz and friends, 2011.  Step-by-step instructions for making tiny teddy bears, little ladybugs, petite porcupines, itsy-bitsy bikinis, books, boats, bottle-cap frames and much more.

Scraps: An Inspirational Field Guide to Collage, by Elsebeth Gynther and Christine Clemmensen, 2009. Few artistic pursuits lend themselves to free-form creativity like collage: using paper, cloth, old maps, memorabilia, and more. The authors provide tips on texture and coloring techniques, photocopying and image transfer ideas, and creating stamps and stitching on the surface.

Sew Subversive: Down & Dirty DIY for the Fabulous Fashionista, by Melissa Rannels, Melissa Alvarado, Hope Meng, 2006.  Explains how to embellish, customize, and transform off-the-rack clothing to make it unique, offering detailed instructions and twenty-two innovative projects from turning a t-shirt into a skirt or to turning a sweater into a halter-top.

Star Wars Craft Book, by Bonnie Burton, 2011.  Chewbacca sock puppets. Jabba the Hutt body pillows. Hanukkah droidels.

Steampunk Jewelry: Victorian, Fantasy, and Mechanical Necklaces, Bracelets, and Earrings, by Jean Campbell, 2009.

Subversive Seamster: Transform Thrift Store Threads into Street Couture, by Melissa Alvarado, Hope Meng, Melissa Rannels, 2007. Transform tacky bridesmaid gowns and pleated pants into picture-perfect tops, skirts and accessories. The two Melissas and a Hope deliver 30 projects that are achievable for even the new sewer.

Tape It and Make It: 101 Duct Tape Activities, by Richela Fabian Morgan, 2012. Offers dozens of creative ideas and easy-to-follow instructions for making everything from wallets and coin purses to novelty neckties and household decorations out of duct tape.

Thirty Minute Earrings: 60 Quick & Creative Projects for Jewelers, by Marthe Le Van, 2010.





The Unofficial LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 Inventor's Guide, by David J. Perdue with Laurens Valk, 2011.  Instructions for building and programming six robots. 

Vampire Knits: Projects to Keep You Knitting From Twilight to Dawn, by Genevieve Miller, 2010.  If you adore Twilight, True Blood, or The Vampire Diaries , this collection of 28 imaginative and beautiful projects is sure to captivate.

Woodturning Chessmen, by Mike Darlow, 2008.  Featuring a gallery of chess sets and pieces, this guide explores the symbolism of chessman and contains detailed instructions on designing, turning, and carving each piece. Ten patterns are included, enabling woodworkers of any skill level to produce their own complete set of turned chessmen.