by Jennifer Nicholson Rowan Public Library
Most of us have heard of the acronym STEM,
from teachers, leaders in education, scientists, to even presidents of the
United States. But what does that really
mean? STEM stands for Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics; another acronym that is sometimes
used alternately is STEAM, which includes Art.
But what does this really mean, and why is STEM or STEAM so important?
In March 2015, then President Barack Obama
said, "[Science] is more than a school
subject, or the periodic table, or the properties of waves. It is an
approach to the world, a critical way to understand and explore and engage with
the world, and then have the capacity to change that world...". STEM is not just studying these set subjects,
but rather a different way of thinking.
The US Department of Education stated it best as, “In a world that’s becoming increasingly
complex, where success is driven not only by what you know,
but by what you can do with what you know, it’s more important
than ever for our youth to be equipped with the knowledge and skills to solve
tough problems, gather and evaluate evidence, and make sense of
information.” STEM education is about critical thinking, observation, and
creativity.
Projections
done by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2010-2020 predicts employment in
STEM related fields to grow by 18.7%, while other career fields are predicted by
14.3%. Meaning STEM is becoming the
future, thus, the reason for the US Department of Education to create new
initiatives to help recruit more teachers focused on STEM and improving STEM
education in preschools and in elementary schools to help better prepare our
children for the future.
However,
this initiative is not only being seen in schools and preschools, but also
after school care, extracurricular activities, and also within public libraries. The Rowan Public Library has been making
great strives this year in creating programs and finding resources that are
STEM focused. RPL has also been
recipients of several grants this year, including one with the partnership of
Catawba College Teacher Education Department, has helped create and boost our
makerspace or “The Coop”, to include Makey-Makeys, Raspberry Pi, and a green
screen for film making, to name just a few items. Another grant was given to RPL from the Association
for Library Service to Children (ALSC), which has allowed RPL to purchase
several robots to help boost STEM and coding programing, for children as young
as 4 years old and up to 11 years old. RPL
has been and will continue to host several events in which families and
children can come, meet, and play with robots.
RPL will host a Preschool Robotics program on Saturday, April 7th
at 11:00 am at the East Branch, Rockwell location. Children and families can come and meet
Cubetto, a wooden robot, that requires no special device or screen technology
to code. Come join Cubetto has he goes
on specialize adventures, with his own storybook and map!
RPL also
this year has been a recipient of the Star Party kit part of the 2018 North
Carolina Science Festival, which is supported from the North Carolina Space
Grant and produced by UNC’s Morehead Planetarium and Science Center. RPL is one of 37 sites to receive this kit,
with this year being the first year that the NC Science Festival has included
public libraries, making RPL one of 6 public libraries in the state to receive
this kit. RPL will be hosting the Star
Party and celebrating everything space related on Friday, April 20th
from 7:30 pm-10:30 pm, at South Rowan Regional Library, China Grove. For information or to find more science theme
activities in North Carolina, please check out the NC Science Festival website
at: https://www.ncsciencefestival.org/ or RPL’s website at www.rowanpubliclibrary.org.
Want to
play with more robots? What happens when
robots meet Legos? RPL will host a STEAM
into Adventure: Robots and Legos event on Saturday, April 28th at
11:00 am. Children 5-11 years old, and families
can come and play with Lego WeDo 2.0, Dash, and Cubelets, and see what happens
if you mix them! How well can robots and
Legos get along?
For more
information on upcoming STEM programs and other programs, please check out our
website at www.rowanpubliclibrary.org.
Jennifer Nicholson
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