Note: this is not an advertisement or a sponsored post. Just a librarian’s honest opinion on a wonderful product. When I first heard of Big Blue Blocks, I knew that I wanted to bring them to my library. Not only do they encourage imaginative play and physical literacy, but they are durable, lightweight, and surprisingly… Read More Using Big Blue Blocks at the Library
This program was a huge draw (sorry I had to!) Kids come together and learn how to draw cute animals step by step. They also learn how to develop their own personal style, and how to infuse their drawings with characterization. It’s about drawing skills, yes. But it’s also about characterization skills. Storytelling. Humor. Artistic… Read More Draw Cute Animals – Tween Program Outline
A sewing program might seem a little traditional for a library, but let me assure you: that’s part of its charm! I was surprised when the kids in an afterschool program kept requesting needles, thread, and fabric. To make what? Anything! Pouches for knick knacks, pencil cases, and the most exciting of them all: stuffies.… Read More DIY Donut Stuffies for Kids
My favourite program ideas come directly from kids. After completing a class trip to the library where they learned about 3D printing and completed a zombie themed escape room, a girl came up to me. She said “next time you should do a 3D printer themed escape room.” After thinking about it for approximately 0.5… Read More 3D Printer Escape Room at the Library
UPDATE: School Library Journal asked me to create an instructional craft video, so you can now find video instructions here: Slime + glitter + ombre + mason jars? Let’s just add all the trendiest things together and see what happens! The slime trend is still as strong as ever at my library, but I imagine… Read More Homemade Layered Slime Jars with Ombre Effect
Stop Motion Factory is a great way to introduce kids to the concept of animation! I ran this as a 4 week series for about 15 kids during the summer, and it was a ton of fun. Icebreaker Activity – Monster Factory On the first session, I had an ice breaker to help them get… Read More Stop Motion Factory in the Library
In my mind, makerspace has two sides: the tangible creation and the design work. Tangible creations draw from DIY/mechanical skills, and design work draws from digital skills. Most makerspace activities are a combination of both: in 3D printing you use digital skills to design a 3D model. Then you use mechanical skills to load the… Read More How to Run a Robot Club in your Library
Sarcasm, pizza, candy, and cutting toys apart to glue them back together…is there any better was for teens to celebrate Anti-Valentines Day? This was a super fun and unique event for our teens – I had 14 participants. Almost all high school aged, and an even mix of boys and girls. FrankenToy This was easily… Read More Anti Valentines Day Frankentoy Program
Video Games and libraries are a perfect mix! Video games are all about storytelling, fun, and artwork. Libraries can run dynamic video game programs for teens – and you don’t need expensive video game consoles to do it. I decided to run a Video Game Party for the end of the year maker lunch in… Read More Teen Programming: Video Game Party in the Library
The Cambridge Idea Exchange has some exciting news: we’ve added button makers to our branches! While policy is still in the works, as of now, patrons can create a limited number of buttons for free. I ran an introductory maker space at the high school branch – at which over 60 buttons were made in… Read More Teen Button Makerspace
Ontarian Librarian 