News from Youth Services Category: Engineering

Outdoor Zipline Racers Program for Grades 4-6

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On your mark, get set, race! Register and join us next, Tuesday, May 11, 2021 from 4:30-5 in the Library’s Parking Garage, and make your own flying machine using simple craft materials and a small propeller. These creations will then be put the test as we propel them across ziplines.  

outdoor zipline racer

This program is for patrons in grades 4-6.  

To help keep everyone safe, space in this program is limited. Participants will be socially distanced from each other and required to wear masks. This program is weather permitting; participants will be notified in the event of cancellation.  

Register here: https://bit.ly/3h7xk7j

STEAM Saturday: 3-D Printing for Kids

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3-D Printing is available again at the Mount Prospect Public Library and kids can submit print files to be printed. For kids to print, permission is required by a parent or guardian.  

MPPL is now accepting 3-D print submissions

How Does 3-D Printing Work at MPPL (Condensed Version): 

  1. Design your 3-D print and save it as an .stl file. 
  2. Go to the website: https://mppl.org/services/computers-equipment/#3D-printing
  3. Fill out the submission form at the bottom of the page and attch your print file.  
  4. Once it is submitted, someone from the Library will contact you about your print.  
  5. Once everything is approved, the Library will add your print to the queue to print. 

For more information on printing rules, helpful tips, and the submission, go to: https://mppl.org/services/computers-equipment/#3D-printing

Maker Monday: Build a Braced Tower

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John Hancock Center

Photo of John Hancock Center by Drew Hays on Unsplash

February’s STEAM at Home program featured Awesome Architecture and fun building activities. We learned that x-bracing (seen here on the John Hancock Center in Chicago) is one way that helps keep buildings straight and tall when wind blows on them. X-braces and shear walls collect wind forces and carry them to the foundation. Build your own braced tower at home with a few simple materials! Idea and images from Building Structures and Towers by Tammy Enz.

  • Supplies:
  • spaghetti
  • mini marshmallows (the book shows gumdrops, but we used marshmallows)
  • ruler (optional)

Instructions:

Break 4 noodles in half and make sure they are roughly the same length. Put marshmallows in the corners to connect them into 2 squares.

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Break off about 1 inch from 4 more noodles and use these to connect your 2 squares. What happens when you push on the tower?

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Add 2 noodles to one side make an X. Repeat on all 4 sides of your tower. Try pushing again. Now what happens?

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As the marshmallows harden, your structure will get even stronger. What other structures can you build?

For more books and projects that explore engineering, check out one of these STEAM Kits.

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Harper College Experience Day

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little girl painting a small pumpkin

Do you know what you want to be when you grow up? Harper College is having a month-long event to give students of all ages interactive and fun learning opportunities. Maybe this will give you some ideas about what you’d like to study!

Each Wednesday in October, a new activity will be posted and is designed for 3rd-8th graders. Here are some of the things you could learn about: 

  • Build a BristleBot
  • Clouds in a Jar
  • Make a Spooky Votive
  • Predator vs. Prey

If you’re interested in participating, you can REGISTER HERE.

Kits will be available to pick up from the Mount Prospect Main Library and South Branch, among other locations. 

For now, you can do your own Nature Scavenger Hunt. When you go for a walk outside, can you find:

  • Leaves from different kinds of trees? What kind of leaf is it? 
  • Birds and other creatures? Can you make a sound like that animal? Can you move like that animal? 
  • A seed from a plant? That could look like a white dandelion, a pine cone, an acorn, or a berry. 
  • Insects? How does the insect get around (flying, crawling, jumping…)? 

Maker Monday: Enchanted Engineering

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Who knew that reading fairy tales could lead to engineering experiments?

Last month at our Zoom STEAM at Home event, we led kids through these fun building activities that were inspired by fairy tales. These projects are easy to do with stuff you probably already have around the house.

pencil bow and arrow

Robin Hood’s Bow and Arrow

Supplies: 2 popsicle sticks, (duct) tape, string, and an unsharpened pencil. 

You can experiment with different types of string and various lengths to see what works best. After you build it, place your pencil with the eraser on the string, pull back, and see how far your pencil goes! Just don’t aim at any screens or people please! 

The Three Little Pigs, Rapunzel, and Goldilocks and the Three Bears

For The Three Little Pigs, experiment with different materials to see what house is the strongest. You can use toothpicks, straws, LEGO bricks, or many other things you have at home. 

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For Rapunzel, try building a slide for Rapunzel to escape the tower. Our slide was made of toilet paper/paper towel rolls and tape. You can experiment with making the slide steeper so she slides faster, or more gradual so it’s slower. 

For Goldilocks and the Three Bears, try to build a bed that can hold the most weight (we used coins). Some ideas for materials are cardboard, bubble wrap, tin foil, and cupcake liners, but there are many things that would work for this activity. Once you’ve built your bed, stack coins and see how many it holds.

Have fun and keep building! For more activities to do at home, check out this page.