Hi everyone!
My name is Jen and I am the Activity Services Guide with the Pines & Plains Libraries located in a small rural county on the eastern plains of Colorado. I am honored to be part of the PLIX program and look forward to working with and learning from each of you. I may be periodically unavailable as I am due to deliver our baby girl in about two weeks but hope to be able to participate and engage as much as possible!
I canāt wait to find ways to develop programming for our library branches and bringing new and exciting STEAM projects to our community and kids.
Hello! This Renee from Bekkum Memorial Library in Westby, WI. I am working on Spatial Poetry and looking forward to the meeting today. Iām still trying to figure out how to post photos here! Yikes!
Iāll get there!
Hello! My name is Jessica Fouts and Iām the director at the Lied Battle Creek Public Library. Iām taking part in the phase 2 of the Rural and Tribal Libraries toolkit project. Iāve had a bit of difficulty figuring out this technology so I was here and disappeared and am back. Iām excited to being doing the inflatables and am brainstorming about how I can do this project with our community. I came on as the director about 4 years ago and have started some different STEAM programming with mixed results. When our systems director posted about this opportunity with PLIX, I had to investigate and am now amazed at how this resource will help me bring more STEAM opportunities to our community.
Hi, everyone! Iām Stephanie and Iām a lead library specialist with the Martin County Library System in Florida.
My job involves educating both the public and staff on emerging technologies, so joining PLIX was a natural fit for me, even before I got this position. I love combining tech with art and helping to solve the question āwhat is technology and why should we care?ā, a question a manager posed to me and has since informed my practice.
Along this line, I put together a Paper Circuits kit that will circulate through our six libraries. Iām doing my two branches first, then weāre moving it along to other branches. Weāre already full for both events! Weāre also planning on how to remix Paper Circuits at other events throughout the system using other equipment like our Cricut and Silhouette machines.
So this is another reason I joined PLIX: to get ideas for projects for my patrons. I largely work with adults, many of whom are reticent about getting involved with technology. Programs like Paper Circuits are my way of bridging that gap between reluctance and curiosity - and with something to take home that they made! I love MITās idea of āLifelong Kindergartenā and have shared the page with my team, hoping they will get some ideas for their own programs as well.
Iām so looking forward to working with and alongside everyone to make our library a more tech-friendly placeā¦for everyone!
Hi @spiccino Stephanie and welcome to the PLIX community!
I look forward to hearing more about your experiences with adults and hope youāll share some of your facilitation techniques with us as you learn about ours.
Hello, I am Daryl, I am a makerspace specialist at the Hutchinson Public Library in Kansas. Although we are a small community (population ~ 50 k) in central Kansas, we do have several unique resources, like the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Museum.
Currently, our makerspace is housed in the basement of the library, however, the library is embarking on a remodeling project that will see the makerspace moved to a prominent location on our first floor.
I joined PLIX in order to expand my knowledge and for it to serve as a catalyst as our makerspace and library grow. I am looking forward to taking the PLIX Mini-Course and leaning how to become a better facilitator of active learning at our makerspace.
Hello everyone! My name is Avi, I am a young adult librarian at an NYPL branch in the Bronx. I joined the PLIX community because I really want to provide STEAM based programs for my teens and am woefully inexperienced in it. I think this is a great opportunity to learn more so I can help my teen grow and provide them with the best experience at the library.
Hi @MsAvi! Working with teens is such a rewarding experience. Having the opportunity to not only provide them with a safe place to hangout, but also opening them up to creative side of STEAM activities, will create lifelong memories!
My name is Shannon Bismark and Iām the Teen Services Librarian at the Cleveland Bradley County Public Library. My super supervisor Keisha just finished the PLIX ambassadorship and wanted me to join in on the community as well! Weāre still in the throws of preparing our Creative Cottage for full use, trying to get permanent spaces for our makes and things.
A dream I have for the futures of libraries is being able to provide a space where people know they can come and create, either solo or collaborative projects, without the financial barriers that may have previously stood in their way. Giving access for community members to just TRY the thing. For creative programming with my teens I like to provide them the opportunity to either learn a new skill that could be either A) fun B) profitable or C) make them an important asset to have in a community in the event of a zombie apocalypse or dystopian disaster.
Recently we have made looms on our glow forge, sewn frog plushies, weāve been making D&D minis on our 3d printers, and this past week we did a hydro-dipping activity. This week Iām challenging the teens to an Automaton building challenge, and weāre making tea stained fantasy maps.
Welcome @Shannon_Bismark ! Weāre totally on board with your vision. I believe creative learning and thinking can help people overcome that first hurdle of financial and mental barriers. We havenāt thought about profitable skills or activities, except in the context of future STEM careers. Something to think about!
Also, I didnāt know hydro dipping could be a non-industrial activity. Love all the activities youāve mentioned!
Hello! My name is Trisha, and I work at the Clearview Library District in Windsor, CO. I wanted to join this community because I facilitate programs for our homeschool community. These programs are marketed as STEAM programs, and while I often hit the mark for the āAā of the acronym, I struggle to incorporate the others. I would like to learn ways to incorporate more self-guided science, tech, engineering, and math programs for our homeschool families to extend and expand their learning.
I am really interested in how libraries might offer virtual reality experiences for patrons. My dream for the future of libraries is for them to give patrons the opportunitiy to engage with VR. Maybe there could even be virtual library worlds where patrons could visit a library from home.
Recently, I made a treasure box out of cardboard.
Hi @Trisha ! Weāre glad to have you here with us.
Feel free to reach out, ask questions of anyone on the forum or of the PLIX team, and even share photos of your treasure box here. (We have a weekly Social Hour for the Mini Course on Fridays 1:30-2:30pm ET if youād like to connect synchronously. Register here)
Hello!
Iām Caroline from the North Hero Public Library in North Hero, VT. I am a solo librarian and serve a population of about 900.
While we serve many different people with many different programs, I struggle with creating and hosting STEM programs. I thought this would be a great opportunity to expand my knowledge and learn how to bring STEM to my patrons and community.
My dream for the future is to turn the library into a community hub where all feel welcome. We are becoming so much more than a house for books and am so excited to see where weāre going.
I recently created my first cosplay costume for a Fairy Tale Festival that my library is attending!
Welcome to PLIX, we are happy you are here! Creating STEM programs can be a challenge as it is, but adding that you are the only librarian for 900 people can definitely make it harder.
I love your vision ā libraries are way more than just books! The Fairy Tale Festival sounds fun. Each year in Atlanta (where I used to live) they do Dragon Con, which is a big cosplay convention of all different genres.
Hello. My name is Breezy Gutierrez and I am the volunteer library director for a small rural library by the name of David F. Cargo El Valle de Anton Chico Library. I was a classroom science, math, health and physical education teacher for 13 years and also facilitated adult learning in science curriculum. I develop the programs at the library and was excited to find PLIX to assist in our efforts of being able to provide a variety of programs to the patrons of our community. I am excited to complete this workshop and then offer it to those members interested in our community.
Thatās an awesomely long name for a small library. You have such a delightful variety of facilitation experiences. What are your thoughts on health and physical education in the context of STEM? Looking forward to learning from you too!
some of your facilitation techniques with us as you learn about ours.
from one Cambridge to another!
