Hands-on Learning & the Future of Learning

Libraries are at a juncture right now--a sort of identity crisis, if you will. Many libraries are reporting downward trends in circulation and other traditional output metrics. Yet many libraries are also seeing upticks in programming, gate count, etc.--indicators of participation in library spaces beyond materials use.

Libraries are using this juncture as an opportunity to assert ourselves as spaces for other valuable community resources, too: as hubs of democracy, as community hubs, and as learning centers, among other supplemental brandings. At ALA Midwinter’s Symposium on the Future of Libraries last weekend, I convened a panel of four librarians who, in our varied roles within varied institutions, have been thinking specifically about that role of libraries as learning centers. We shared what we’ve been thinking about learning in the public library. Today I’m sharing my perspective from my vantage point at my library.

At Skokie, we have age-specific program coordinators in our Learning Experiences department who operate on a level between the management team--who sets the strategic direction and goals--and the front-line programming staff, especially those in the youth and adult departments. It’s the program coordinators’ responsibility to translate the library’s programmatic objectives into practically implementable program strategies and offerings. We do this by taking the goals set by the management team above us, combined with knowledge we have about programs and attendees from the front-line programming staff, and figure out the best way to implement our institutional goals into programming priorities.

Based on what we’ve seen in program interactions in the past few years, what we’ve heard from our community, and what we’ve learned through our own explorations into the scholarship of learning, we’ve identified hands-on learning as a major priority for how we’re approaching learning-focused programming. Educational research points to hands-on learning as a successful strategy for facilitating meaningful learning at any age; in many educational communities, you’ll hear the phrase “hands-on learning is minds-on learning.” We’re taking what we’ve learned about hands-on learning and defined our focus broadly as workshops and opportunities that facilitate skill acquisition, practice, and ultimately creation. Hands-on learning is a core lens through which we’re considering, developing, and implementing educational programming options across all ages. If the library’s strategic goals and objectives are the bright light of a flashlight, hands-on learning is a lens that refracts that light into three key colors--or, in our case, three modes of thinking about hands-on learning.

Our first mode for thinking about hands-on learning is intentionally facilitating skills acquisition and application. We’re thinking a lot about how we can move beyond one-time exposure to a skill and better support patrons in creatively applying the skills they learn. Behavioral scientists call this moving from a task being “explicit declarative”--where you have to actively think about every step of a skill in order to execute it successfully--and moving to a task being “implicit procedural”--the type of thing you can execute and apply without much conscious attention. A great example of this in our library is our ongoing Be the Chef program series, a hands-on cooking class that incorporates simple cooking skill practice as well as following and executing recipes. Think about something like knife skills--that’s a perfect example of a discrete skill, and one that you really have to concentrate on when you first learn it. With time and practice, however, knife skills become just another skill in your overall toolbox. Participants no longer have to concentrate so hard on using a knife, and instead are able to apply their skill to larger projects. They’re able to do more and do things creatively because of a foundational skill they’ve acquired and refined.

Our second mode for hands-on programming is offering multi-day sustained learning opportunities--or more specifically, boot camp-style programs. These are multi-day programs on consecutive days that allow a smallish group of people--typically 12-16--to learn some basic skills, then put those into practice through guided challenges. For a robotics boot camp, for example, day one is about setting the stage with the basics: what is coding, what is the language and platform we’re using, what are the robots or objects we’re programming, etc. We spend that first day learning the foundations and taking baby steps putting it into practice. Then on day two, and sometimes day three, we really dig into those basic skills and creatively apply them in pursuit of a design challenge. It might be battle bots, or it might be robot races, or it might be creating a choreographed routine for a robot to follow. Whatever the challenge, it’s rooted in building sequentially on the basic skills. Multi-day sustained learning allows us to achieve deeper, more meaningful learning outcomes than traditional one-off programs, too, in which it might be days, weeks, or longer between when a patron comes to a program to learn a skill and when they ultimately have the opportunity to return and put that skill into practice. Multi-day boot camps build sequential learning over time into the fabric of the program.

CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, Skokie Public Library

Our third mode for hands-on learning is providing ongoing, facilitated access to equipment and supplies. This goes beyond traditional programs with finite learning goals and start times into the realm of staffed spaces like makerspaces, STEAM spaces, or DIY spaces. Whenever possible, if we’ve offered a class, a workshop, or an initiative centered around a particular skill--and especially a specific piece of equipment that the library has purchased--we’re going to think about ways to support patrons who dipped their toe into that skill in continuing to practice and apply their learning in a setting that works for them. With a program like Open Sew, for example, patrons who attended a Sewing Basics program--or even those who have basic sewing skills but no machine, or it’s been a while since they used a sewing machine--those patrons can come to our open hours with the sewing and embroidery machines and use the equipment. There’s always a staff person present who can help troubleshoot and give basic guidance, but really these types of facilitated learning times are about allowing patrons to practice, refine their skills, apply what they’ve learned to make discrete projects or to be creative. Open Sew becomes a hands-on learning opportunity where one patron is sewing a hem on a skirt, another is starting to piece together a quilt, and another is looking to talk to peers about sewing machines and simple projects.

These are the three modes of hands-on learning that we’re applying to our program offerings at my library--the program coordinators’ interpretation of what we can offer when we consider both institutional goals and the learning needs and interests of our community. I’m looking forward to applying the lens of hands-on learning as we think about our next round of programming.

How are you thinking about learning in your library?

The Boot Camp Model for Deeper Informal Learning

A few years back, I read about the Fayetteville Free Library's forays into Geek Girls Camp--a weeklong summertime program during which the same group of girls came to the library every day to explore, learn, and build on what they were doing each day. It's an intriguing model: more sustained learning for a core group of program participants than a typical one-off program, with the resulting outcomes of greater increases in skill and confidence among the attendees.

Now I don't know about your library, but at mine, we'd have to majorly shuffle around our program schedule in order to offer even one single all-day, weeklong camp program like this one. Considering our already robust, well-attended program schedule, reducing typical programs to add one really, really big one like this just isn't feasible at our current levels of capacity and community participation. The idea kept rattling around my brain, though. After all, if there's a way to support deeper informal learning for kids in the library, it's something I want to seriously consider. And consider it we did.

That's no rave... that's a Robot Dance Boot Camp!

Starting with winter break of last year, we've made our own foray into the camp-style program for kids: boot camps. For us, the boot camp model means a few things in terms of program formatting:

• Each boot camp program has a core theme, with all activities taking place during the sessions tying into that theme.
• Each boot camp has an intended age of attendees that will facilitate age-appropriate peer learning. We tend to offer boot camps for grades K-2 or grades 3-5, not spanning the elementary age range too far in any single program.
• Each boot camp meets at least two days in a row, potentially three. Depending on the age of attendees and content planned, each session ranges from 60-90 minutes long.
• Boot camps take place during weeks school is not in session: winter break, spring break, and during the summer.
• Boot camps benefit from multiple instructors: as a minimum, we try to have at least one lead instructor for all sessions on a theme with another staff member to assist each day.
• The boot camp topic determines the ideal number of participants, with a standard range being 12-20 kids.

A lot of these best practices for our kids' boot camp programs came from years of learning what does and doesn't work in our community when it comes to programs in a series--which is essentially what a boot camp program is. In years past, we'd offered multi-week series programs; for example, a 3D printing program that met every Monday for four weeks. As you can imagine, even though interest was extremely high for these programs, attendance was rough--we found it was difficult for families to commit to attend across multiple weeks because family schedules just aren't that consistent. And so we developed a boot camp model with back-to-back sessions on consecutive days, making it easier for families to schedule their kids to attend all sessions.

We also require that all attendees participate in all of the offered boot camp sessions. That is, if it's a three-day boot camp, the registered child can't be planning to miss even one of the days. That's been something of a shift from our default attitude about program attendance--many families had gotten used to signing up and then deciding to show up on the day-of, rather than clearly committing to attend or canceling should they be unable. That more lenient mode works for us for one-off programs, where we then fill vacant spots with wait list or walk-in participants. Not so for multi-day boot camps, however, where each day builds upon the last. Kids need to be present for all days for the boot camp to be meaningful.

To that end, we employ two core strategies. First is very detailed reminder calls to all registrants. Our library's program assistants call every single family with a child registered for a boot camp, and during that call they remind them a) of the schedule and b) of the expectation that the child will attend all days. Then the program assistant asks, "Will your child be able to attend all sessions?" If the answer is "no" the program assistant once more explains the expectations before removing the child from the registration list. Any time we remove a child from a boot camp because they won't be able to attend all days, we follow that explanation with an invitation to attend a similar upcoming one-off program event. So while a child might not be able to come to a boot camp because they're not available both days, we still leave them with options for other library programs. (We do something similar if a kid shows up on day 2 having missed day 1.)

The second strategy to facilitate all-days participation: the coolest stuff happens on the last day. If it's a boot camp with a creative or art component, that means the core project isn't completed and ready to take home until the end of the final session. If it's a tech or coding program, that means we don't show off the programs we've created until the end of the final day. When all activities in the boot camp build up to a final product or show-and-tell, motivation to participate throughout is strong.

As I mentioned, we've been offering this style of boot camps for three school breaks now, with another set coming up this winter break. In all those camps, we've averaged one child dropping out after day one at each camp--usually a kid who wasn't interested in the topic, but whose parent insisted they try it anyway. The rest of the kids are in it for the long haul, really developing their skills, honing their creations, having conversations with their fellow attendees, and overall engaging in deeper learning than we can typically support in a standalone one-hour program.

Curious what topics we've explored with boot camp programs for elementary age kids? My colleague Amy and I have led, and written about, our Scratch Jr. Code Boot Camp (grades K-2) and our Robot Dance Boot Camp (grades 3-5). We also offered a two-day DNA boot camp this past summer (grades 3-5), and we're about to offer a two-day Baking Chemistry Boot Camp (grades 2-5), where we'll explore the chemistry behind basic baking skills while making three yummy baked goods. Other staff have also lead camps on puppetry (sessions for grades K-2 & 3-5); enchanted forest-themed games, crafts, and stories (grades 1-4); basic video editing (grades 4-6); 3D printing (grades 3-5); and simple sewing (grades 3-5). Some colleagues will also be offering a winter nature-themed boot camp in early January, with sessions for grades K-2 and 3-5.

We've found this boot camp model to be really successful at our library: there's always plenty of interest (so that we're thinking about when to repeat camp topics); staff are invigorated to create boot camp activities in areas of their own interest and expertise to share with kids; and kids themselves get elbows-deep in a topic they might be exploring for the first time. When a kid can walk out of the final day of boot camp excited about coding, or proudly holding a handmade puppet or terrarium, or with a link to the video project they made, they're leaving the library not only with a new skill, but with a new interest that can connect them to even more exploration and learning in the future. That's why we offer boot camps for kids.

Program Kits for Summer Bookmobile Pop-Ups

Two summers ago, I wrote about our forays into pop-up programming for the summer. I mentioned in that post that I'd be assessing this volunteer-staffed, in-the-library, weekly activity model for the following summer, and my youth program team and I definitely considered all aspects of the program. What we ended up with last summer was an in-library program schedule with a much higher volume of activities--which meant we could focus our pop-up energies elsewhere. And so we did: to the bookmobile. What we discovered last summer is that we can pretty simply pop-up with activities for bookmobile patrons, but we have to provide staffing for every pop-up; our bookmobile staff see such a high volume of patrons at each stop that they can't lend one of their regular staffers to lead an activity.

So for this summer, we considered what we'd learned, then iterated again. For 2017, we're sending activities out to the bookmobile once again. Since we know providing staffing is vital, and scheduling staff can be difficult during the summer, we needed to be really flexible to ensure that any staff member could confidently and competently lead a pop-up program with the bookmobile, little advance training necessary. And so we created Bookmobile Program Kits, each with video instructions that we can play at the pop-up.

Ribbon Cutting for New Bookmobile by Skokie Public Library, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

See, we got a magnificent new bookmobile a little over a year ago. This gorgeous library on wheels boasts an exterior awning, under which we can set up a folding table and lead activities. Also under the awning, beneath a panel on the exterior wall of the bookmobile, there is a flat-screen television. Which means we can play videos while we're set up under the awning leading activities. Thus our idea of how-to videos for bookmobile programming was born.

This summer we've got five different bookmobile program kits available, each with a bin full of supplies and a how-to video featuring a library staff member of community volunteer who has experience leading that same activity in a formal library program or space. Our kits, all with a STEAM connection:

• Nature Paints
• Paper Airplanes
• Paper Lotuses
• Pixel Art
• Sharpie Tie-Dye

We've only made a few pop-up appearances with the bookmobile so far this summer, but word is they're going quite well. The short videos help to reinforce to bookmobile patrons that they can participate in the activity even if they only have five minutes--we've found most patrons plan enough time for browsing and checking out books, but don't plan to stay for a longer activity. Staff leading the activities have shared that the kits work well logistically: all the supplies are easily accessible, the activities don't require a huge amount of space for patrons to engage, and the video allows ease of participation even when there's a larger size group of eager participants. And no one forgets how to do an activity, because you have the how-to on a loop.

At this point in the summer, we're considering these Bookmobile Program Kits a success. And a bonus: we didn't specifically brand the how-to videos as pertaining to the bookmobile pop-ups, so we can reuse them in so many potential programs and spaces in the future.

Actually, She Did That: The Civic Lab for Women's History Month

The team of folks here at my library who curate the Civic Lab were having a meeting a few weeks ago where we were discussing potential topics for future Civic Lab pop-ups. Sometimes we tie our pop-ups to formal programs on our calendar, sometimes to topics in the news, sometimes to installations in the library, and sometimes to specific days or months of import or conversation. We were brainstorming what topic to focus on for Women's History Month, and we had plenty to choose from--there's a lot going on right now affecting women, have you noticed? You might be surprised, then, to hear that the person who came up in conversation was Kanye.

Or maybe you're not too surprised, because he came up in the context of one particularly annoying and eye-roll-inducing line from Famous: "I made that bitch famous," said in reference to Taylor Swift. As if he, a man, made her, a huge pop star who is a woman, famous because he physically took the stage and microphone away from her while she was winning an award. Gross.

And so we had our topic for the Civic Lab for Women's History Month: women who have accomplished something, but who do not get their deserved credit (often it goes to a man or group of men), or they are better known for something irrelevant to their accomplishments.

We called it "Actually, She Did That"--taking the mansplainer's favorite opening word of "actually" and shedding light on some excellent women throughout history whom many do not know and whose accomplishments have been snatched from them.

The central activity in "Actually, She Did That" was a game of sorts. On a column constructed out of our multipurpose crates, we affixed large images of 11 different women who fit our criteria stated above. (As one of the mother/daughter participant pairs said, these 11 are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to women not getting the credit due to them.) Each image included the woman's name and date of birth (as well as death, where relevant). On the table next to the column, we had 11 slips of paper. Each slip noted the accomplishment of one of these women, with a parenthetical about how or why she hasn't gotten credit for that accomplishment. The goal was to try to match the woman to her accomplishment, learning more about these 11 fantastic women along the way.

Our 11 featured women were:

• Nellie Bly (1864-1922) - Bly was a brilliant, pioneering journalist, despite popular opinion that she couldn't be a good journalist because she was a woman. Bly was an early undercover investigative journalist, checking herself into a mental asylum and writing articles exposing the despicable treatment of (mostly female) patients in these facilities.
• Selma Burke (1900-1995) - A sculptor, Burke was the artist behind the FDR profile that was used on the dime. Yet the (male) engraver typically gets credit for the design, rather than Burke.
• Laverne Cox (1984- ) - Cox is the first transgender actress to be nominated for an Emmy in an acting category. Yet despite her talent and prowess as an actress, much media coverage of Cox returns to questions about her gender assigned at birth--regardless of its lack of relevance to her career.
• Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958) - Franklin's research led to her discovery of the double helix structure of DNA. Her male lab partner stole her findings and gave them to Crick and Watson, who went on to win the Nobel Prize for DNA discoveries.
• Katherine Johnson (1918- ) - One of NASA's "human computers" whose supreme math skills allowed early astronauts to safely start to explore space, Johnson and her colleagues have only recently started to get recognition due to the book and film Hidden Figures.
• Regina Jonas (1902-1944) - The first female rabbi, Jonas was refused ordination for years despite having gone through the same training as her male colleagues. She was finally ordained before being sent to a concentration camp. She died in Auschwitz.
• Hedy Lamarr (1914-2000) - Lamarr was a brilliant inventor, developing spread spectrum communication and frequency hopping technology which are now the basis for cell phones and wi-fi. Yet she is often known only for being a beautiful actress.
• Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) - She wrote the first computer program, although her male friend Charles Babbage is usually credited as the first computer programmer. Lovelace is usually first credited as daughter of Lord Byron. So not only does she not get credit for what she did, but she's defined in relation to her male relative.
• Wilma Mankiller (1945-2010) - Mankiller was the first female chief of the Cherokee Nation. Many American history texts ignore her leadership and maintain there has never been a female head of state in the U.S.
• Arati Prabhakar (1959- ) - Prabhakar was the head of DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, from 2012 until January of this year. Research and developments under her watch have included huge strides in biomedical technology like prosthetics. Credit is typically given to the presidential administration at the time of the invention.
• Chien-Shiung Wu (1912-1997) - Called the "First Lady of Physics," Wu worked on the Manhattan Project. Her work in nuclear physics won a Nobel Prize for her male colleagues, but she was not recognized. Even though the winning experiment was called the "Wu Experiment."

We had some really wonderful conversations with patrons as they engaged in this activity. Many recognized a few names or pictures, but couldn't place their finger on where they'd seen or heard of these women before. We share biographical facts with participants, many of them shaking their heads in frustration at just how common this type of credit-stealing is. One teen girl, participating with a friend, remarked after hearing the stories of several of the women, "Why do they keep giving away credit?" We talked about how it wasn't a question of these accomplished women giving away credit, but rather them having credit taken from them or given to someone else. These teens got mad. They demand better, for the world to see them and their friends and other women. As it should be.

Alongside this activity of matching women to their accomplishments, we also had a few other elements available for Civic Lab participants. We had a number of great titles on offer for folks interested in learning about more women and their accomplishments, including:

• 50 Unbelievable Women and Their Fascinating (And True!) Stories by Saundra Mitchell, illustrated by Cara Petrus
• Bad Girls Throughout History: 100 Remarkable Women Who Changed the World by Ann Shen
• The Book of Heroines: Tales of History's Gutsiest Gals by Stephanie Warren Drimmer
• Dead Feminists: Historic Heroines in Living Color by Chandler O'Leary & Jessica Spring
• Rad American Women A-Z by Kate Schatz, illustrated by Miriam Klein Stahl
• Wonder Women: 25 Innovators, Inventors, and Trailblazers Who Changed History by Sam Maggs, illustrated by Sophia Foster-Dimino

We also put together a handout with resources for hearing more women's stories through an email newsletter, podcasts, and online videos. (See the handout here.)

The handout also includes three questions to get folks considering the stories of women in their own lives, as well as how they can make space to hear and share the stories of women:

1. What have women in your life accomplished? Have they gotten credit for these accomplishments?
2. What would you say to them in acknowledgement of what they have accomplished?
3. How can you help to share the stories of women and their work?

We intentionally posed that first question on one of our crates, and we provided sticky notes and pencils for participants to weigh in. During the two hours a coworker and I facilitated "Actually, She Did That," however, no one wrote a response to the question. We don't think it was from lack of interest, but rather from the greater appeal of learning about the women whose images were front and center in the installation. We're hopeful that the public question, as well as the handout, provided fodder for reflecting on the women in participants' lives.

Monday was appearance number one for "Actually, She Did That." We'll be popping up again this Friday, and we're eager to see what types of interactions are prompted this time around. From there, we want to think about how to continue this idea of making clear space for women and women's stories beyond just Women's History Month.

Together at the Table: A Civic Lab Program for MLK Day

My library aims to observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day each year with multigenerational programming that engages our community on issues from Dr. King's work and themes in his speeches and writing. When it came to planning for MLK Day 2017, the new Civic Lab here at the library felt like a completely natural connection. We wanted to intentionally connect our goals for civic engagement with Dr. King's vision for a truly united country, starting with our library community. And so our 2017 event was created: Together at the Table.

The title Together at the Table is lifted from Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech from the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom:

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

Our Together at the Table program was, at its core, a drop-in community gathering meant to foster feelings of empathy and belonging among all the many people who live in Skokie and who use the library. From noon until 8 p.m. on that Monday, Together at the Table took place in our larger multi-purpose programming space which is adjoined with a kitchen. We pushed together four of our tables, end to end, to create a long banquet-style table with chairs. Spread across the tabletops were tent talkers to get conversations started; we chose 6 questions from "The 36 Questions That Lead to Love." We purchased many dozens of muffins (all kosher) and set out hot coffee, hot water and tea, and ice water as well. And so the stage was set.

A snapshot from Together at the Table,
by adult program librarian Mimosa Shah.

Throughout that day, four excellent high school volunteers helped facilitate the program alongside library staff. Those high schoolers greeted patrons at the door--and we indeed saw patrons of every age. After encouraging (and in some cases helping) patrons to make a name tag, the volunteers led them to a seat. New arrivals were seated next to people already in the program, and so the volunteer would make introductions--nobody in the room was a stranger, nobody without someone to talk with. The volunteers would then go to the kitchen to get a muffin for each participant. More often than not, before the volunteer could even come back with the muffin, the patrons were diving into conversations with their tablemates.

As I pitched this program to my fellow programming team members and staff, I kept coming back to the central idea that participants would be able to break bread with one another and get to know fellow community members. I had the support of supervisors throughout the library that these conversations be open to staff at every level as well--and we did have about two dozen staff drop in to meet and talk with patrons throughout the day. Breaking bread is such a strong human interaction that seems to span all cultures; friendships and family are made over a shared meal. We wanted to facilitate that feeling of goodwill and community in our library--in particular at a moment, and at the beginning of the week of the inauguration, when many in our community were feeling unsettled, isolated, and worried.

Was the day successful? To be honest, I would have counted Together at the Table a success if even a single conversation took place in that space. I wanted to foster a space for meaningful interaction--something deeper than a rote "How are you?" / "Fine, and you?" back and forth or a conversation about the weather. And with that modest goal, I was blown away by the interactions that took place and the relationships that were formed.

Some snippets of the interactions, almost all between people who came to the shared table as strangers:

• "We discovered that we have friends in common!" A patron who participated without knowing anyone struck up a conversation with someone seated near them, and they discovered that they share mutual friends. They remarked about feeling like the community is a close-knit, interconnected one.
• A girl scout leader in the program with her troop connected with our deputy director, who leads a troop in a neighboring town. The two groups have made plans to get together.
• An older elementary boy, who spends many of his out-of-school hours at the library, expressed delight and excitement at not only learning the library director is, in his words, "Korean like me!" but in being able to have a conversation with him as well.
• Two young men who entered the program separately and were seated next to one another became friends in the course of their conversation, trading numbers before leaving so they could meet up again.
• One woman responded to the prompt about something she's dreamed of doing with her desire to open a female-friendly auto repair garage. After talking about this dream with her seatmates, one identified himself as a person in real estate and he shared with the woman information on how to find a location for her business. They exchanged numbers and made plans to continue their conversation.
• A 21-year-old man shared that the day of the program marked his twentieth day since coming to the U.S. from Afghanistan. In the course of his conversations with his tablemates and one of the teen volunteers, he became curious about the library's volunteer opportunities as a way to meet people and improve his English. He ended up talking with our volunteer coordinator, who had come into the room.

These are just a handful of the interactions that played out across the shared table. Our community embraced the ethos of Together at the Table wholeheartedly. I was struck by how open-hearted and honest the conversations I had, and the conversations I heard about, were. By how willing our community is to forge bonds with one another.

We had several participants ask if we plan to do this sort of program again, and many of us on staff and in our administration want to. If a root of civic engagement is feeling invested in one's community, Together at the Table certainly showed we have strong foundation in Skokie for this work.

In the Civic Lab: Let's Talk About Standing Rock

When we started the Civic Lab at the end of this past summer, we knew one of our major goals would be to engage our community in conversations around current events and issues in a landscape with disappearing local news sources. Like many libraries and other institutions dedicated to access to information, we've felt this particular goal explode in import over the past few weeks. Or, rather, it was always important; the past few weeks simply cast the need in a more urgent light. To that end, many of our staff are scouring news and current events to think about topics about which our community can discuss and learn.

This past week, we focused on Standing Rock.

This pop-up of the Civic Lab had a simple statement to bring people to the space: Let's talk about Standing Rock. I worked with a coworker (who is a bookmobile librarian and a philosophy professor) who had gone out to Standing Rock in early November; with lots of input from his experience, research, and resources, we determined that our pop-up would explore three core questions:

1. How do the collective economic gains of the Dakota Access Pipeline weigh against its environmental impact, both actual and potential?
2. To what extent should the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock be considered in the context of the history of interactions between Native Americans* and the United States government?
3. How should the government respond to the presence of water protectors?

It should be clear from these core questions that our goal was to provide all of the information, resources, and perspectives our patrons would need to be able to make an informed opinion of their own.

To that end, we gathered and curated a number of resources. These included:

• key definitions (including Standing Rock, sovereignty, Dakota Access Pipeline, protest, and water protector)
• map of the full pipeline from Energy Transfer (the company building the pipeline)
• map of the pipeline, including its original proposed route, overlaid with the Native American territory and treaty boundaries since 1851 (from NYC Stands with Standing Rock**)
• timeline for historical context of Standing Rock (on a laptop)
• Mni Wiconi: The Stand at Standing Rock (8.5-minute documentary; on a laptop)
• "The Conflicts Along 1,172 Miles of the Dakota Access Pipeline" from the New York Times (which explores other conflicts along the pipeline route, not just those at Standing Rock; on a laptop)
• image from Redhawk that was shared on the Standing Rock Rising Facebook page (as an entry point for talking about peaceful protest and government response)
• special issue of the publication Indian Country Today focused on the movement against the Dakota Access Pipeline
• my coworker's jacket he had worn to Standing Rock, on which a water protector had pinned a sign (this certainly caught many patrons' attention)
• relevant books from the library collections

This Civic Lab installation popped up for community conversation last Wednesday evening for 2 hours. In that time, we had some really outstanding conversations with patrons ranging from junior high-age through seniors, and all across the political spectrum. Those participants also ran the gamut in terms of previous knowledge they brought to the conversation; plenty had known nothing, while a small handful were already up on many of the details. While several patrons did feel the urge to identify themselves politically, none of the conversations were overtly political; rather, everyone seemed really eager (and relieved) to have conversations about issues rather than partisan posturing. Only one of our conversations lasted fewer than 10 minutes--that's the level of engagement we're talking about.

This photo from the library's Instagram account shows the
Civic Lab pop-up space and several of the participants.

Through the course of our conversations, we learned that 35% of the folks who stopped to talk had not heard of Standing Rock before they came to the Civic Lab. About 30% of the participants took copies of resources with them and/or expressed a desire to share what they were learning with others; one gentleman snapped some photos of resources to share on his Facebook page on the spot. And, when all was said and done, about 80% of the people who stopped to talk about Standing Rock indicated that they had learned something in the course of the conversation.

What we're learning in these Civic Lab pop-ups is that our community is really interested in having thoughtful and resource-based conversations about topics--both ones they've seen a bit on the news, and ones that are totally new to them as well. Are you finding this in your communities as well?

We're also learning that many patrons want to know when these pop-ups will be happening; they want to be sure they plan to come participate, and a few even said they'd do some advance research to come better prepared. These pop-ups thus far have been true pop-ups in the sense that they aren't advertised anywhere; staff know when they're happening and on what topics (so that we can plan), but patrons participate only if they happen to be in the library when the Civic Lab appears. We're going to change that model in coming weeks; while we want to retain the flexibility to pop up around topics as they emerge, we'll take steps to advertise pop-ups on our website and events calendar (and, potentially, via social media if the topic warrants). If the people in our community want to have these conversations, we certainly want to give them tools they need to do so.

Right now we're in planning stages for what's next for the Civic Lab. Staff are scouring the news and thinking about models for civic engagement that may resonate with our community. As we reflect and plan, I'd love to hear how you're thinking about civic engagement in your own libraries.

*You'll note that we used the term "Native Americans" rather than "First/Native Nations" in referring to indigenous groups participating in the Standing Rock action. We used this terminology because it was the express preference of the water protectors my colleague stood alongside when he was at Standing Rock.

**The #StandingRockSyllabus from NYC Stands with Standing Rock was incredibly valuable in allowing us to curate the content for the Civic Lab; if you've not yet explored it, I recommend you take the time to do so. We also looked to a variety of news sources--big networks and national papers as well as the international coverage and, particularly importantly, coverage from within indigenous communities. 

Pop-Up Stories & Discussion in the Civic Lab

In this first iteration of our Civic Lab here at my library, most of the modes for participation are passive: voting on the major question, browsing the resources, and reflecting on or responding to the conversation starter questions. This first appearance of the Civic Lab has been largely unstaffed--which is decidedly different from how we plan to proceed when we get to round two.

But there has been a specific active component for youth in conjunction with the Civic Lab's debut: pop-up stories and discussion.

I facilitated each of these pop-ups, one for each of our six topic areas. During the days we were focused on each topic, I grabbed the picture book from that topic's micro-collection and headed into the youth services department. I looked for the areas where kids were playing or hanging out, then introduced myself and invited them to participate in one story with some talking afterward. As is usual in our busy library, only a handful of kids were willing to put down the activity they'd been engaged in to participate--but that's fine, as it ensured our groups were small and cozy, better for thoughtful shared reading.

Then, when we were settled around a table, or in a circle on the floor, I'd open the book and start to read. Depending on the particular title, we might immediately start talking about what we saw in the pictures, or words that we were hearing in the story that weren't familiar. The goal of the pop-up stories was to engage kids in the focus topic in a developmentally appropriate way; and in many instances, the reading was the first encounter with the topic. It felt important to share the story together and to think about it, to ask questions and to encourage kids to ask them, too, and to respond with information, or more questions, when appropriate.

Here are the books we discussed:

• I, Too, Am America by Langston Hughes, illustrated by Bryan Collier (Black Lives Matter)
• Where's the Elephant? by Barroux (Climate Change)
• Two White Rabbits by Jairo Buitrago, illustrated by Rafael Yockteng, translated by Elisa Amado (Immigration)
• Yard Sale by Even Bunting, illustrated by Lauren Castillo (Income Inequality)
• Donovan's Big Day by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Mike Dutton (LGBTQQI)
• My Body Belongs to Me: A Book About Body Safety by Jill Starishevsky, illustrated by Angela Padron (Reproductive Justice)

My favorite, and probably most successful, of these pop-up stories and discussions was with the title Where's the Elephant? In that gorgeous picture book, kids are asked on the first, lush spread to try to find the elephant, snake, and parrot. It's a familiar type of book-sharing for kids--the seek and find. They get really into it, applying laser focus to each spread to find those animals. It gets easier and easier to spot them on each spread, as with each page turn, more and more of the lush forest in which they've lived is cut down. Eventually, the animals are hiding among houses, not trees, until finally they end up in the zoo. Easy to spot? Absolutely. And that visual storytelling makes it so impactful to finish the book and ask the kids, "So what do you think the story was really about?"

Spread from Barroux's Where's the Elephant?

Spread from Barroux's Where's the Elephant?

Where's the Elephant? spurred great conversations about how humans impact our environment, and how that has effects on other living creatures as well as on ourselves. It was a unique approach to the larger topic of climate change, which ties back to humans' impacts on our world. The simple story gave kids a frame for thinking about the topic.

I think this type of activity could be easily replicated outside of a larger initiative like our Civic Lab. A storytime leader could easily add one of these picture books into storytime and have a quick little chat after the story. If parents are present at the story sharing, the story gives them the opportunity to think about how they might have that conversation with their kids. We've anecdotally found that parents do want to talk to their kids about these major topics in the world, but they don't always know how to go about doing so. Sharing stories that connect to major topics can show parents that there are resources to support those conversations, and that their library is a place to go for those resources and for their own support.

Sharing these types of stories gets us engaged in conversation with each other in ways that build community bonds--whether among a family, a neighborhood, or an entire community. Give it a try.

The Civic Lab: Skokie's Civic Engagement Library

Civic engagement is on our minds at my library. Not just because this is an election year--although that certainly adds a layer to the conversation and mood around civic engagement in our community. Civic engagement has been on our mind for several years, and it's informed public programs and initiatives as well as discussions around our strategic plan. We've seen teens and adults having conversations about issues and things they see in the news, and children and their parents trying to figure out how to process those same issues and news items. After seeing The Uni Project in New York, this idea of civic engagement in the library seemed to coalesce for us around the idea of a mobile, pop-up space. And so after a few months' discussions, followed by a few weeks of planning and resource-making, we debuted our civic engagement space at the end of August.

Welcome to the Civic Lab at Skokie Public Library.

The Civic Lab is a mobile, pop-up library with resources and activities. Its first appearance is situated in the library itself--specifically, in our Boutique space, which features seasonal and themed collections throughout the year. The Civic Lab as a concept is meant to offer information and thought-provoking activities meant to support dialogue and engagement on issues that affect our community. For this two-month residency in the library, the Civic Lab is exploring six main issues of impact and importance to our community: Black Lives Matter; climate change; immigration; income inequality; LGBTQQI; and reproductive justice.

This debut Civic Lab includes elements of collection, activities, and facilitated programming.

Six micro-collections comprise the bulk of the materials available in the Civic Lab. Each of our six focus topics is supported by six core resources: two for adults, two for teens, and two for children and families. These lists have been carefully curated, with library staff in nearly every department having input. We've curated these lists not to be neutral, but rather to provide introductions and perspectives on our six topics. Lists for further reading--which also live on our library website--provide even more choices for exploring a topic. All the core resources, further reading, key definitions, and conversation starters appear on handouts in the space. They're also available here:

• Black Lives Matter handout
• Climate Change handout
• Immigration handout
• Income Inequality handout
• LGBTQQI handout
• Reproductive Justice handout

We're rotating some of the interactive components of the exhibit so that each of our six topics has an opportunity for closer focus and engagement over these two months. On one wall of the Civic Lab, we pose a general question relating to that featured topic; when we opened with the Black Lives Matter focus, we asked: "Has the Black Lives Matter movement challenged you to think about racism in Skokie?" The question sits atop a large board for voting, with bright-colored sticky notes ready to be placed on the sections for "Yes," "No," or somewhere in between. Pencils in the space allow patrons to write any comments on their sticky notes, too; and the longer the Civic Lab is up, the more comments people are sharing.

This type of voting component is taking place on a display unit in our youth services department as well. While the questions may be phrased differently for kids and families to be developmentally appropriate, they get at the same ideas and concepts.

We've also set a kitchen table of sorts in the Civic Lab. With boxes surrounding the table for sitting, and a box atop the table with conversation starters on it, the table is meant to be a place to stop and have a kitchen table conversation about these issues. We've left postcards on the table as well, encouraging patrons to share their thoughts--with a friend or family member, or just with the library in general--by writing them down and placing their postcard in our mailbox. These conversation starters are also the basis for some of our facilitated conversations taking place in the Civic Lab--more on those types of programs later.

Today I wanted to share an overview of this first appearance of our Civic Lab. I'll be back in a few weeks to talk about some of the programming elements that accompanied this first iteration, and in coming moths I'll share details about additional instances when and where the Civic Lab pops up. In the meantime, explore the resource lists we've created; have a conversation with a friend or colleague around a topic of import to your community; and make a point of recognizing instances of civic engagement in your library practice.

Wrapping up Summer Reading with a Field Day

We wrapped up summer reading at my library 10 days ago after an eleven-week program. Our reading clubs committee, which comprises folks from youth, adult, programming, and marketing, created our own theme: Camp Curiosity. We had all things camp- and outdoors-related this summer, so it only seemed fitting that we'd match our summer reading finale with an outdoorsy-flavored event: an all-ages Field Day.

On a sunny, not-too-hot Sunday afternoon, we spilled out onto the Village Green adjacent to the library for our Field Day festivities. Almost 200 people, mostly families, participated in the range of activities available over a two-hour span. Here's what we offered.

Self-Paced Field Day Activities

The majority of our activities at Field Day were self-paced, with each activity set out at a station that families could approach as they pleased:

Compass and orienteering mini-workshops from L.L.Bean - The L.L.Bean store at the mall in Skokie was hugely supportive of our summer reading club this summer, and the manager brought one final activity to the Field Day. He set up a table with maps and compasses and gave at least a dozen mini-workshops on orienteering for folks who were interested. This activity spanned all ages quite easily.

A community mural - Our staff artist, who works in the youth department, created two large-scale line-drawing murals on white foam core: one showed a daytime outdoor image, the other a nighttime one. The tone aligned with our summer reading Camp Curiosity theme perfectly, and Field Day attendees were invited to grab some markers and help to color in the murals. This activity had lots of sustained engagement from kids and adults who wanted to get their large-scale coloring on.

Chalk art - We blocked off the driveway between the library and the Village Green, giving the event a bit of a block party feel. Kids got creative in adding chalk art on the drive. It was great to be able to redirect young kids to the chalk art--if they were too young for the community mural (i.e., would scribble rather than color), they could do as they pleased with chalk on the ground.

Jumbo lawn games - We brought out our sets of giant Jenga and giant dominoes for families to play with. Bonus: kids too young for Jenga are pleased as punch to use those Jenga blocks for stacking and building, too.

Read-outs - One of the features of Camp Curiosity this summer was the Tuesday afternoon read-out, when teen volunteers took out camp chairs and a selection of books to the Village Green to encourage people on their way into, out of, or near the library to stay a few minutes to read and chat with neighbors. We brought out the chairs for a final read-out at the Field Day.

Inflatable obstacle course - This is the component for which we hired folks for the Field Day: we rented a giant kids inflatable obstacle course and two attendants to staff it. Kids of every age were happy to kick off their shoes and try the obstacle course, with nearly everyone going through many, many times. We will be bringing these folks back for future events--such a huge hit.

Group Field Day Activities

A few of the Field Day activities were scheduled so that all interested folks could participate together:

Group photo - It's tradition that anyone who completes the summer reading program gets a t-shirt. This is longstanding tradition--we see patrons of every age wearing their summer reading shirts from years past pretty much on a daily basis. Our staff photographer snapped a photo of the folks at the Field Day who wore their shirts (including a few family members who forgot theirs at home).

Balloon toss - Field Day participants paired up with partners for this event on the patio of the Village Green. All pairs stood the same distance apart, and each pair got a water balloon. Then, one by one, each pair tried to toss their balloon from one partner to the next. If the balloon popped, the team was out. Teams remaining after each round took giant steps back and repeated the process until a single pair was left victorious. We did three rounds of the balloon toss.

Ice pops - Even though it wasn't an extremely hot day, it was still warm, and the sharing of ice pops was quite welcome by attendees and staff alike. We brought out a cooler with the ice pops and folks could come select the flavor of their choosing from one of our staff.

Water balloon fight - We hadn't advertised that there would be a water balloon fight--we weren't sure how many folks would show up, so we modestly stuck with the balloon toss as the main event. After three rounds of the balloon toss and we still had about 120 balloons left, however, we gathered interested folks for a water balloon fight. We had two rules: 1) no throwing at faces, and 2) if you throw a balloon, you help pick up the pieces when the fight is over. Each participant got two balloons, and on the count of three, we had a quick, damp little battle.

~~*~~

So that was our Summer Reading Finale Field Day. In comparing notes after the event, several of my colleagues and I reflected that we had a particularly high number of positive comments from families about this event. They were singing the praises of the Camp Curiosity program, but they were also massively appreciative that they could attend the Field Day. It seems that, in an age where almost every public event involves the temptation to spend money (that cotton candy booth at the fair is there whether you want to spend money or not), families really appreciate getting to attend something fun and totally free.

We are happy to oblige.

Storytime in the Wild

Over the past year or so, we've been putting a fair amount of intention behind the partitioning of our youth department into spaces designated for specific age ranges. Part of the impetus for this delineation of space is to ensure that all ages of youth who visit have an area to go to that is suited to their developmental needs and has materials and other items that are appropriate to them. One prime example is the Little Learners area, which is designated for youth ages 4-7--prime early and emerging literacy years. I've written before about the themed pocket collections we've developed for this space, and major programs we've hosted have often had elements take place in this area, too (think our Family Science Expo and Curious George Birthday Party, both huge events). This summer we've started doing something else in the space on the regular: storytimes.

I like to call this kind of initiative going out "in the wild" of the library--those spaces where people are every single day, but don't often have a formal mode of interacting with the space. It's our goal that, in offering age-specific programming in these age-delineated spaces, we're helping patrons develop a level of familiarity with the areas we're tailoring to them. It's a work in progress, but we're seeing these types of repeated program offerings reinforcing the models of use we optimally want to see.

When it comes to offering storytime in our Little Learners area, it means making slight furniture adjustments within the somewhat-partitioned area we've already got. The space is generally blocked off from the main thoroughfare of the library by a set of zig-zag shelves (on which we display our Little Learners take-home backpacks on one side, and most wanted picture books and readers on the other); there's still plenty of room to accessibly get into the space, but there is a visual sense of distinction. There's also one of the themed bins that helps create a lane along an architectural wall. Usually, there are two tables with kid-sized chairs in the space; for storytime, we orient those tables and chairs so they're facing a set of display shelves beneath a colorful mural--a perfect backdrop for a storytime leader. Kids have plenty of space to sit on the carpet in the front, and there are chairs for caregivers. Anecdotally, I think that caregiver participation is perhaps higher than we see in larger storytime spaces simply because the area is so cozy. The end result is a storytime that is engaging and inviting--anyone walking by can see and join if they want--while also introducing families to a space created specifically for their use with their kids ages 4-7.

We've been making other experiments in bringing programming into the wild in the past few months, too, with particular adventures this summer. I'll report back with more later on!

Until then, I'm curious: how do you think about taking programs into the wilds of the library, if you do so at all? Have you found it works better with certain programs with others? Certain ages?

And in case you're mostly curious about my storytime...

We read:

• The Crocodile and the Scorpion by Rebecca Emberley and Ed Emberley
• There's a Nightmare in My Closet by Mercer Mayer
• Mix It Up! by Hervé Tullet
• That Is Not a Good Idea! by Mo Willems

We sang:

• "Open, Shut Them"
• "Herman the Worm"
• "Five Little Monkeys Swinging in a Tree"
• "If You're Happy and You Know It"

The Many Tastes of Salsa

Every winter/early spring at my library is marked by our participation in a community-wide initiative, Coming Together in Skokie and Niles Township*. This year, the initiative is called ¡Viva! and the overall goal is to explore and learn about the diverse Latino cultures and experiences in our community.

Latino culture is not monolithic--there are myriad cultures, traditions, allegiances, and values underneath that larger term. And so in creating a program for youth that could begin to reflect this reality of nuance and multiculturalism, we looked to a concept shared by all: food. Here's the program that resulted.

The Many Tastes of Salsa

Photo by Skokie Public Library, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

I kicked off this program (aimed at elementary-age children and their families) with a bit of introduction. I asked attendees what types of foods they really like, what foods and flavors make them think of home and family. This line of conversation set the stage for the read-aloud for the program: Salsa: A Cooking Poem by Jorge Argueta. The gorgeous text, accompanied by beautiful illustrations by Duncan Tonatiuh, is the story of one child's family traditions around salsa--of making it every weekend, and of dancing to salsa music during the process. The short, lyrical book provides a basic introduction to what salsa is and how it is made, and along the way the reader/listener gets to learn the family and cultural significance of the dish in the child's life.

After the read-aloud, I projected some images onto our big screen to show many of the common elements and ingredients of making salsa. We talked about the common tools--molcajete and tejolote--and most common ingredients--tomatoes, onions, chilies, lime. Then we also explored other ingredients that go into the salsas of folks from different geographic and cultural Latino backgrounds. We talked about difference in spiciness; tomatoes versus tomatillos; additional flavors like garlic, corn, and fruit. We talked, in short, about how different folks have different go-to salsas, and how a single type of recipe can be adapted and embraced by lots of different people.

Photo by Skokie Public Library, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Then the largest chunk of the program, and the part during which there was most natural social discussion: the salsa tasting. One of the major benefits of living in an area as diverse as Skokie and its surrounding towns and cities is the availability of great foods. For our tasting, we used a range of types of salsas, all made in-house by a local international produce shop. Using Chicago-made tortilla chips, kids tried a mild red salsa; salsa roja, with a bit more heat; a salsa with corn and beans added in; salsa verde made with tomatillos and dried chilies; a mango salsa; and a hot red salsa.

Photo by Skokie Public Library, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Now, if you've never done programs for kids that involve food tastings, let me tell you two things I've learned: 1) kids who attend are by and large willing to try just about any foods; and 2) breaking bread--or, in this case, scooping salsa--together is the single best way I've found to nurture comfortable, kitchen table-style conversations among kids in the library. This program was no exception. Some kids came knowing a friend or a family member, but once the food was out at the tables, everyone was congenially talking to their tablemates--about favorite foods, family traditions, preference for spiciness, etc. Food can facilitate those social connections by providing us with shared experience and an opening for talking about something we have in common.

So that was the program: an exploration of how different cultural groups within a larger cultural identifier embrace a food and make it their own. Our conversations were rich, and our taste buds satisfied.

~~*~~

*For a bit of quick back story on Coming Together in Skokie and Niles Township: Skokie is extremely diverse (think 70+ languages spoken in our elementary schools), and the community currently includes, and has historically included, high numbers of immigrants. About 25 years ago, members of the community put together an annual initiative called the Festival of Cultures to celebrate this diversity. More recently--in 2010--community leaders wanted to add a large community initiative that would have more of an education component. That is, where the Festival of Cultures celebrates all the community's diversity, Coming Together focuses on an ethnic or cultural group with a major presence in Skokie to allow all community members opportunity to learn more about that group--their neighbors. 2015 was something of an outlier year, where instead of focusing in on a single culture or cultural group, we tackled race.

Tabletop Coding, plus more resources for coding with kids from WisCode Literati

I'm a fan of coding and other computer science activities in libraries--and I hope more and more folks will be inspired in this area, too, what with President Obama requesting $4 billion in the next budget specifically for K-12 computer science (CS) education. I love that coding activities are simultaneously versatile and engaging. Also, there's some indication that those activities kids intentionally spend time on are the ones preparing them for future jobs we have yet to even imagine. That's a strong argument for making sure CS and coding are part of library offerings, if you ask me.

In my relatively short career thus far, I've had the opportunity to work in libraries with both limited and advanced tech materials when it comes to kids' programming. What hardware a library has access to certainly factors into what type of computer science programming they can offer, but hardware doesn't have to be correlated with your intent to program around coding. We can get kids started with fundamental coding concepts in plenty of no- and low-tech ways.

All you need for a simple coding
activity is a grid board, some
tokens, and blank index cards.

With that in mind, I put together a Tabletop Coding activity for elementary ages and older. I've offered it as one of a range of stations on our Afternoon of Code here at Skokie, but it can also be a standalone pop-up activity, a competitive program--you name it. The materials are simple: a gridded game board, like for chess or checkers; a few game pieces or other tokens; and 20+ blank index cards, plus a writing utensil. With these simple materials at your fingertips, you can get kids in the mindset for coding. Full details on running the activity are here.

You see, rather than specifically share this full program activity how-to here on the blog, I wrote it up for a tremendous, free coding resource made by and for librarians: WisCode Literati. Their website hosts a growing number of CS activities, called "kits," that cover the full spectrum from no-tech to high-tech activities. Basically, there's something there for every library to offer, regardless of the tech you have at your disposal. Each activity has a thorough description, most often with helpful pictures, to get library staffers at a point where their comfort level matches their enthusiasm for offering coding activities. You should check out all of the great program and activity ideas, all of which have been vetted by librarians.

What are some of your favorite coding resources?

Early Elementary STEAM: Vegetable (& Fruit) Prints

We have two-month program cycles at my library, and during each cycle, we aim to have formal, registered STEAM program opportunities for each of the age ranges in my purview as Youth & Family Program Coordinator--that is, preschool, early elementary (K-2nd), and older elementary (3rd-5th). When we can, the other youth programming staff and I like to tie in the themes and concepts in these age-specific programs to align with the theme in the BOOMbox, our STEAM space. The following program activity aligned with our recent Textiles rotation, where folks of all ages explore sewing, weaving, prints, dying, knitting, batik, and more.

Vegetable Prints

Target age: kindergarten through second grade (our room fits about 16 comfortably)

Key concepts: print-making; visual thinking; shapes of fruits and vegetables from different perspectives

Supplies:

• tempera (or other washable--trust me, this gets messy) paint, in an assortment of colors
• vegetables and fruits of different types, sizes, and shapes (for the best result, cut them into halves/pieces at least 6 hours in advance of the program to allow the exposed edges to harden a bit)
• heavy paper (like construction or watercolor paper) and/or fabric squares
• trays to hold the paint
• paintbrushes
• cups with water to rinse brushes
• paper toweling for blotting wet brushes

Once kids were settled into our craft room for the program, I encouraged kids to put on painting smocks in anticipation of the mess. Then I prompted them to look at the materials on the tables. What did they see? Could they identify the different fruits and vegetables? Could they make any guesses at what we'd be doing with the materials in front of them?

After kids were clear that we'd be exploring print-making with paint and natural materials, we talked for a few minutes about what different shapes, patterns, and prints the different fruits and veg would make if painted and applied to the paper/fabric in different ways. I encouraged kids to pick up the veg pieces to look at them from different perspectives, trying to imagine the prints each side would make.

Then it was time to make some prints! We started off with everyone applying paint to their chosen fruits and veg using the paintbrushes, but after a while most kids defaulted to dipping their natural materials straight into the paint. (Told you it would get messy!)

We did this as a 45-minute program, and an integral part of using that full time frame was having multiple surfaces on which the kids could make prints. Everyone started off with a small sheet of paper to get a hang of the technique, then after maybe 10-15 minutes they each got a larger sheet of paper to plan out a larger, more intricate print (if they wanted). We talked about patterns and repetition, color choices, and other factors that print-makers consider at this point. Then, the final 15-20 minutes were spent with kids diligently creating a final print on a piece of muslin fabric. The idea was for the dried fabric to serve as a wall or door hanging, so we attached dowels with string to the top of each child's fabric so that the finished print could be displayed more easily.

It was so interesting to me to see how different kids really connected with different aspects of this activity. Some were totally into color mixing, while others favored a consistent palate. Some wanted to get the full effect of a single veg or two from every angle (a sort of natural cubism), while others wanted to explore every single shape and texture available. By the end, one or two kids even started repurposing the veg as paintbrushes, using them to draw and write on their final prints. Simple activity, so many possibilities!