Library Explorers Club builds teamwork, problem solving skills among kids
The Library Explorers Club fosters teamwork and problem-solving skills among kids while building their creativity.
This series highlights children in the community, along with their families, teachers and mentors to recognize the Week of the Young Child, a national celebration of early learning and child development.
The celebration runs from April 11-17 with themed days-of-the-week, highlighting the critical role of play, creativity and collaboration in a child’s development.
Part three corresponds with Work-together Wednesday.
KIMBALL -- The Library Explorers Club fosters teamwork and problem-solving skills among kids while building their creativity.
Kindergarten through sixth graders are welcome to join the club every Thursday from 4 – 5 p.m. where the kids do activities and experiments centered around science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning.
“We try to do a lot of coding if we can, we’ve been doing different experiments, we did a mini volcano – the kids love that. I have more boys than girls so anything explosive they love,” Children’s Librarian Ray Moreno said.
They’ve also built miniature windmills, balloon rockets, newspaper towers, electronic circuit snaps, robots, and many more.
Moreno said the club provides kids with a fun atmosphere outside of school where they are still learning.
“We try to make something fun and sneak in the learning for them,” she said.
One experiment they created magnetic slime where they mixed together glue, water, baking soda, and food coloring to make the slime. Then, they added iron oxide powder and slowly mixed in contact solution, which activated the slime, allowing them to use a magnet to move the slime around.
Moreno said she used this experiment to teach them about meteorites and how magnetic force affects materials containing iron-bearing materials.
“They thought that was so cool, so they get to experience real life events in a fun environment,” she said.
The projects also serve as team building exercises where the kids work together to create something and solve problems along the way.
Moreno encourages parents to send their kids to the club to meet other kids from the community and surrounding communities and to grow their love for the library.
“They get to learn and love their library," she said. "I know when I was a kid, coming to the library was really fun, so having an extra program where they can just have fun and be silly, is fun for them."