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Holiday STEM wonders at city of fairfax regional library

January 3rd, 2024

Through the generosity and initiative of the City of Fairfax Regional Library, we were able to host multiple valuable workshops over one week following Christmas. Dozens of students attended each workshop, focusing on topics such as engineering and medicine.

Continuing from previous workshops, students were expected to learn about the principles about kinematics, and apply that to their building of a powerful catapult. They were shown designs of 3 different types of catapults, each differing in complexity to suit each skill level of the students. The students competed using their catapult in terms of accuracy, power, and range.

In another workshop, students were taught about the intricacy of the human body. Each student selected a system of the body they wanted to study more in depth, choosing to focus on nervous, cardiovascular, digestive, etc. Then, students teamed up to show their skills by creating a full body diagram on a canvas, creating drawings of all the systems that they learned about. These diagrams were presented, and deserved applause for the extensive detail created through just paper, markers, felt, and tape.

Of course, an electrical engineering workshop had to have been included, and to cater to the younger group of students that had little experience with computers, we simplified the workshop into paper circuits, creating various circuits using copper tape, paper, LEDs, and batteries. By their own creativity, students used these materials to make advanced circuits that even some of our volunteers were surprised at.

The workshops hosted by the City of Fairfax Regional Library were a big success. Students had a blast learning about catapults, the human body, and paper circuits. The hands-on activities sparked creativity, and everyone, from beginners to experienced students, got involved. These workshops not only showed the library's dedication to the community but also made learning fun and engaging for everyone involved.