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Neighbors | Zack Shively.Boardman library had a crafting portion of their Science Stories with Ryan Martino event. The children and parents made cars from foam parts and drew racetracks on large sheets of paper.
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Neighbors | Zack Shively.Librarian Karen Saunders and a child raced their foam cars at Boardman library. The foam cars did not roll very well, so they had to push or flick them. The children made their finish lines using tape, straws and strings.
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Neighbors | Zack Shively.At the end of the Science Stories event, guest Ryan Martino signed autographs for the children at the Boardman library.
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Neighbors | Zack Shively.The library hosted Science Stories with Ryan Martino on Sept. 18. During the event, the children learned about weight distribution on racecars using toy cars and a plastic track. If a car lifted off the track or failed to go striaght on the hardwood floor of the meeting room, Martino and the children taped bolts to the toy cars to make them run better.
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Neighbors | Zack Shively.Drag racer Ryan Martino read a book to the children during the Science Stories with Ryan Martino on Sept. 18 at the Boardman library. Martino expressed the importance of the library and literacy.
By ZACK SHIVELY
The Boardman library invited drag racer Ryan Martino to the library to teach children science through his knowledge of racing for their Science Stories event with Ryan Martino event on Sept. 18.
Martino coordinated the event with the library and led the event with librarian Karen Saunders. The event, which took place in the main meeting room, included a story, an activity and a craft.
Martino had gone to the library often as a child and wanted to partner with the PLYMC when he got older. He has worked with the library in the past and holds events at many other libraries. He stressed the importance of literacy and libraries, calling the latter an importance resource. His efforts at the library have led to other racing teams contacting him to see how they could hold similar events.
The event began with Martino reading the story “Dino Racing.“ He placed the book on a table in the front with a number of other racing and automotive related books that the families could check out.
After reading, he explained the differences between drag racing and NASCAR, which may be more familiar with the families. He explained the drag strip, the grad stands and the gear that the racers use.
The children walked up to the front of the room where Saunders and Martino prepared a racing strip for the children. They had toy cars and plastic racing lanes that dropped from the table to the floor to build momentum. The cars went down the racing strip and across the hardwood floor of the meeting room.
If a car lifted off the track or struggled to stay straight on the floor, Martino and the children made adjustments by taping bolts to the cars. This adjustment taught the children about the importance of weight distribution on race cars. Small adjustments could make a car either fall off the track or travel all the way to the far wall.
The children went to the back of the room for their craft after the activity. Saunders gave the children foam car bodies and other foam car parts to create a race car. She then supplied the children with markers, a large sheet of paper, straws and string to create a race track. The children drew the race track with the markers and used the string and straws to make a finish line.
Martino handed out coloring sheets of a dragster for the children to color at the end of the event. He also autographed photos and gave them to the children.