Looking Back: Our First Little Maker Program
Children testing out the wind tunnel
Well we were supposed to get this program up and running in the early spring of 2019, but as happens with many major construction projects ours was delayed and we didn’t have full occupancy until July 2019. Beginning in April 2019 we had some abbreviated programs in the children’s story room.
We really wanted to start off with a bang, so for our first program we introduced the wind tunnel. In addition to the wind tunnel, not an everyday household item. We provided an assortment of materials such as paper, cardboard, straws, pipe cleaners, fabric, plastic containers, assorted balls, and cars for children to experiment with. We had several crafting tables with scissors, glue, tape etc… so children could make something to fly in the wind. Sorting boxes were placed around the room labeled hard, soft, heavy, light. We hung vocabulary words without definitions on the walls and relevant picture books around the room. There were two staff people facilitating the program who engaged by modeling asking how and why questions, and encouraging adults to follow the child’s lead. For instance: to not immediately identify objects that were too heavy, but let the child discover for themselves.
The program was scheduled for 2 hours on Saturday from 10 – 12 and advertised as a family program with a target audience of children ages 2 – 6. We started the program by reading The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins. Then we turned on the wind tunnel and let them have at it.
About 15 families with multiple children showed up on time and stayed for the duration. Several other families who were visiting the library drifted in and out. We think that a program with a narrow focus such as this could have been just as successful with a 90-minute time frame. While the wind tunnel held the older children’s interest, younger children became tired and moved on to other less exciting things. Some of the children were so excited by the novelty of the wind machine that they didn’t have an interest in anything else in the room. Others did quite a bit of constructing and testing to see what would happen to their object in the wind tunnel. One child made a bird-like object that had too wide a wingspan and his mother did a good job helping him discover why it wouldn’t work in the tunnel. Other children were interested in crafting objects but then didn’t want to risk damaging them by experimenting with them in the wind tunnel. We suggested they make two . . . one to try and one to take home.
After doing this first program, we realized we need a larger space with having making activities and playing with things flying all about. Since the program is intended to provide co-learning opportunities for adults and children, having space for chairs for adults to sit while playing with the kids would help them engage. We noticed that when they stood, they were more likely to stand apart from the kids and talk with other adults.
Overall, we were really satisfied with this first program. People were excited and grateful for our efforts. People wanted to know more about the program and were eager for more. We were encouraged to plan the next program and thought about linking the activities more closely with the book we read. For instance, providing similar objects from the story to play with the wind tunnel. We still wonder if we need to be that direct, or just have faith in and encourage children to make their own connections.