I developed a 9-week Summer Learning Program with the goal of creating hands-on learning that integrates science and art, while fostering social skills and teamwork. Each week we created a unique STEAM project that really excited and appealed to teens in our community. Here is a brief description of each project.
To kick-off this summer program we started with tie-dye tee shirts outside in our garden. Tie-dye is not only in style, it is a science experiment and art project all rolled into one! You can discuss how the dying process works and how the different shirt folding techniques influences the pattern. The best part is that all the designs always look amazing.
In a shout out to pop culture we created Wonder Woman frames to proudly display a favorite Wonder Woman in our life. To create these frames I purchased plain wood frames at a craft store and used Mod Podge to glue Wonder Woman comic book images to the pre-painted frame. This was a super fun activity because we discussed the female heroes in our own life and how we can all Build a Better World through helping and being kind to each other.
We had a blast at Slime Time where we learned the science of creating slime. Not only is slime super popular, but it provides an excellent opportunity to discuss the chemistry of slime and how it all works. We made glitter slime, glow in the dark slime, floam (slime with styrofoam beads), and every color slime imaginable. In the end, teens had a cool concoction that provides hours of fun.
An amazingly fun project requiring only paper and markers was the 3-D Hand Optical Illusion. There are lots of tutorials available on-line to learn how to complete.
Another great Make It project was Bath Bombs. These are easily made using cupcake cups and two dry chemicals-cream of tartar and baking soda- which react together once they are immersed in water. Add some essential oils and food coloring and your teens will have some homemade bath bombs.
A fun up-cycled project that was a hit this summer was No Sew Upcycled Tee Shirt Tote Bags. This is a really simple project that only requires an interesting tee shirt and a good pair of fabric scissors. After you make the bag it is fun to decorate with fabric paint using a stencil or splatter technique.
Type: Active
Age: Middle school
Optimal size: 11-20
Estimated cost: $51 - $100
Planning time: <2 hours
Frequency: Weekly
Learning outcomes
The foundation of these activities is to build strong peer relationship, foster respect for diversity, and provide quality STEAM summer learning for teens. The primary goal of our teen programming all year round is to provide learning opportunities for teens to stretch their imaginations while fostering social interactions among our diverse population though quality programs at the library. To meet this goal we offered daily summer learning activities targeting multicultural students with the intent of integrating these students into the community and fostering new peer friendships. We hope to promote the Library as a fun and welcoming destination for teens who will view the library as a place where fun things are always happening for them.
Instructions
There are many resources for all of the projects in this series of activities. I choose these activities after discussing with my core group of teens to determine what projects would bring a diverse group of teens together in the summer to have fun and meet my objectives. Here are some good websites with instructions for these projects:
Slime Time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgKOO0-TvTI
Bath Bombs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEqcpMx-6C0
3D Hand Optical Illusion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naMb5b4_QaY
Tie Dye Tees
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sm6qYaz_H_U
No Sew Upcycled Tee Shirt Tote Bags
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O33Wq_uz6Y
Evaluation
The success of this summer learning series was measured by the fact many teens new to the community visited the library this summer. We also had an increase in the number of teens who registered for summer reading and attended summer learning programs. The wide variety of programs we offered helped to build relationships among the teens that already frequent the library with teens that are new to the library, thus building positive peer relationships. We also had an increased issuance of new library cards to teens, increased circulation of Young Adult books, repeat attendance at summer learning library programs, and increased usage of library resources by the teen community (computers, iPad, games).