The Lafourche Parish Public Library is happy to announce a $5,000 grant award that will help us to offer more after-school STEAM programming at all of our library branches.
First, what is STEAM?
STEAM is an acronym that stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math. Here at LPPL, we’ve been trying to increase the number of STEAM programs we offer for children and teens.
Why? A few reasons.
After-school STEAM programming helps children and teens to do better in school, and having STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) skills ultimately helps them to be more competitive in the workforce as adults.
Mobile Maker Fairs and More
So how does this recent grant award fit in?
The Lafourche Parish Public Library is a 2018 recipient of a $5,000 Strengthening Communities through Libraries grant award from the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association, with funding provided by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.
The library learned of the grant award on November 27, and we are super excited about it. We are one of only 14 library systems in the country to receive this grant award.
The grant funding will allow us to offer more out-of-school time STEAM activities in all of our library branches – from Thibodaux to Golden Meadow – and at a few outreach locations that provide after-school activities for children and teens.
In short, the grant funding will allow us to create three different types of STEAM kits – 10 kits in total – that we will circulate on a set schedule to our library branches and outreaches locations for a week at a time, one kit per location. These kits will provide STEAM learning resources for children as young as three years old, for tweens, and for teens.
What’s in the kits? In short, lots of really cool stuff.
Here’s a sample of resources that we’re able to add to our library system’s arsenal of STEAM technology, thanks to our ALSC grant:
iPad minis and Makey Makeys: Makey Makeys are invention kits that allow kids to do everything from play video games using Play-Doh to playing pianos using bananas.
Bloxels: Design (and play) your own video games with Bloxels, using the Bloxels game board, some blocks, and an iPad mini.
Robots: some solar-powered; some powered by saltwater, some that draw. Who doesn’t love robots?
And many more resources that focus on alternative energy, animal science, gravity, math, art, coding, electricity, magnetism, engineering, and other STEAM content areas.
The ALSC grant will also allow us to bring STEAM-related programs from outside presenters to children and teens at our main library branches: Thibodaux, Lockport, and South Lafourche. These include animal education programs, art workshops, and building workshops.
We’re in the early stages of planning these programs, but wanted to give you a heads-up about what’s coming up. We’ll be back soon with more info about these grant-related after-school STEAM programs.
Watch this space.