43
Photo
Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Two of the children at the Boardman library learning center grand opening on Sept. 10 played with the new circuit wall that lights up and makes a fan blow when different buttons are pressed.
Photo
Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.One of the boys attending the grand opening of the new learning centers at the Boardman library on Sept. 10 played with the steering wheel which helped with learning right and left.
Photo
Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.The new Fort at the Boardman library outdoor STEAM station allowed children to drape clothes over the building to create a building of their choice.
Photo
Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Children painted on the paint wall at the outdoor STEAM station at the Boardman library grand opening of the new learning stations on Sept. 10.
Photo
Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Three brothers attended the Boardman library on Sept. 10 to play with the Cause and Effect wall at the grand opening of the new outdoor STEAM areaon.
Photo
Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Oliver played with the magnetic cog wall at the Boardman library on Sept. 10 during the grand opening of the indoor and outdoor learning stations.
By ALEXIS BARTOLOMUCCI
The Boardman library had the grand opening of the new indoor and outdoor early learning spaces on Sept. 10.
The new learning spaces were created with the idea of expanding the children’s knowledge of STEAM - Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics - and to work on building literacy skills. The outdoor exhibits promote STEAM and the indoor exhibits promote literacy. The outdoor STEAM area was created for children who are between the ages of 3 and 8-years-old and the indoor literacy area was created for younger children, although children of all ages have been utilizing both the indoor and outdoor exhibits.
“There seems to be always two to three families here almost at all times during the day. We think that once word gets out, we’ll have many more kids using it,” said Youth Services and Program Director Jo Nolfine.
The library staff members involved in the project worked with RedBox Workshop to come up with exhibits that would gain the interest of children while allowing them to expand their knowledge in different areas. The library and RedBox Workshop collaborated and talked about the learning domains the library wanted to incorporate. RedBox Workshop then came up with suggestions for the library to choose from.
Each of the areas outside have a sign next to them with educational explanations of why each station was selection and suggestions for parents on how to expand the learning.
“I think we are going to see libraries all across the country add play areas that are designed to foster learning. Each location that we do is unique, so you have many opportunities to make learning fun for the kids,” said Nolfine.
With the popularity of the STEAM exhibits at the Boardman and Canfield libraries, the administrative staff is looking to expand the STEAM and literacy exhibits to other libraries in the Mahoning Valley. This will create more opportunities for children to explore and learn.