Tompkins County Public Library

Friday, October 28, 2016

Library to Partner with Cornell EYES for STEAM Book Club




Children ages 8-12 are invited to explore science, technology, engineering, art and math through lively book discussions and hands-on activities during Tompkins County Public Library’s monthly STEAM Book Club.

Continuing Wednesday, November 16 with a discussion of “Josh Baxter Levels Up” by Gavin Brown, the STEAM Book Club will encourage area students to improve their understanding of current core competencies through critical thinking and book-related activities.

Josh Baxter decides that the only way to survive his third school in two years is to go unnoticed, but his plan unravels when his mom sees his terrible grades and takes away his beloved video games.  Josh needs to formulate a  new plan, or he'll never make it to the next level, let alone the next grade. 

This month participants will be joined by Encouraging Young Engineers and Scientists (EYES), a student-run volunteer organization at Cornell University. EYES will be leading club members in a hands-on activity that explores computer science using LEGO® bricks. 

The club will meet in the Library’s Thaler/Howell Programming Room at 3:45 p.m. for discussion and refreshments. 

Free copies of “Josh Baxter Levels Up” can be picked up at the Youth Services Reference Desk. 

For more information, contact Kate DeVoe at (607) 272-4557 extension 277 or kdevoe@tcpl.org.

The 'STEAM Book Club' has been made possible by the Tompkins County Public Library Foundation with support from the Michael Kammen Children's Fund and the Bradford Endowment for Youth Services Programming.





Library to Host Family Science Program


Tompkins County Public Library invites parents to cultivate a lifelong love of science Sunday, November 6 as the Library partners with Cornell University’s Science, Engineering and Educational Development (SEED) program for a hands-on STEAM workshop.

Families with children ages five and up will participate in a variety of hands-on science experiments that will explore robot programming, reflexes, the Stroop Effect, DNA modeling and more.   

This free program begins at 2 p.m. in the Library’s Thaler/Howell Programming Room.
For more information, contact Gabrielle Villafana at gkv5@cornell.edu.

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Library to Host National Novel Writing Month “Write-Ins”


Tompkins County Public Library invites writers to experience the energy of writing in a shared space select Thursday evenings and Saturday afternoons in November as it hosts National Novel Writing Month Write-Ins.

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) encourages writers of all ages and abilities to begin writing a 50,000-word novel during the month of November.  An estimated 500,000 writers from all seven continents will participate in NaNoWriMo events and activities, making it the largest writing event in the world.

The Library’s Write-Ins will be held Thursdays, November 3, 10 and 17 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays, November 5, 12 and 19 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Library’s Tompkins Trust Company Study Room.  These programs are free and open to participants of all ages.

For more information about NaNoWriMo, visit http://nanowrimo.org/. For more information about the Library’s Write-Ins, contact Teresa Vadakin at tvadakin@tcpl.org or Joyce Wheatley at jwheatley@tcpl.org.

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Library to Offer Family Science Program


Tompkins County Public Library and Cornell University’s Center for Materials Research with host “Playing with Polymers” Saturday, November 12 from 1-2 p.m. in the Library’s BorgWarner Community Room.

Families will find out what a polymer is and how we can use them through a variety of hands-on activities.

Families Learning Science Together is a free program designed to help children develop an early love of science through hands-on participation. These programs are offered at the 
Library on the second Saturday of each month.

FLST programs are free and open to the public, but space is limited. To register, email ccmr_outreach@cornell.edu. Please include the name and age of all children in the email. 

More information about Families Learning Science Together workshops can be found at http://ccmr.prod.academicsweb.com/education/community-programs/families-learning-science-together/.