South County Libraries Host Bay Area Discovery Museum’s Engaging ‘Lab on Wheels’
THE COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA, CALIF. — Two of the biggest challenges for parents during the hot months of summer are finding fun educational activities for their children and keeping them off screens.
The Santa Clara County Library District is coming to the rescue this month in South County by hosting the Bay Area Discovery Museum’s Try It Truck, a mobile engineering lab for elementary-school children.
With a motto of “Think, Make, Try,” the truck offers hands-on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) activities that invite children to play, explore and learn, from building mazes for vibrating “hexbugs” to racing cars down a ramp and taking apart old DVD players. After visiting the Gilroy Library last week, the truck will come to the Morgan Hill Library on July 27.
More than 150 parents and children tried out the Try It Truck on July 12 at the Gilroy Library, which hosted the event from noon to 2 p.m. so that children who participate in the library’s free Grab ‘n Go lunch program could stop by.
Gael and Marco Jimenez started with the Up, Up and Away station, where they created flying machines out of household materials like coffee filters, paper straws, pipe cleaners and paper water cups. With help from Try It Truck staff, the brothers assembled their floating inventions, sent them up a 4-foot wind tunnel, then tinkered with their designs to get them to soar higher and faster.
The boys responded to the experimental nature of the station.
“You can actually build something,” said Marco, 8. “You can test it out, see if it works, and, if you need to, make it better.”
“Use the scientific method,” added Gael, 10.
Madeleine LePere, coordinator of school and community programs for the Bay Area Discovery Museum, said the Try It Truck aims to empower kids, spark their imagination and encourage them to collaborate. The museum launched the rolling lab in 2017. It has reached more than 8,000 people so far this year.
A crowd of parents and children enjoy the Try It Truck on a warm and sunny afternoon in Gilroy.
“We try to create playful opportunities that are free and accessible and inspire a passion for discovery,” LePere said. “The Try It Truck programs offer a beautiful moment for children and parents to slow down and play, experiment and create together.”
After the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, parent Alex Kassel was heartened to see her kids working and sharing with other children. The whole family enjoyed the exhibits.
“Kids nowadays are so attached to electronics they don’t get the experience of working with reusable materials and just seeing where your mind takes you,” said Kassel, who runs a day care. “Trying, failing and trying again. All these things help you, especially later in life.”
For the library, events like the Try It Truck are a great way to engage children and get them involved in other summer programs designed to keep them reading and learning to prevent the “summer slide,” according to Sharon Kelly, Children’s Supervising Librarian for the Gilroy Library.
The Try It Truck will be at the Morgan Hill Library, located at 660 W. Main Ave., from noon to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, July 27.
For more information about the Try It Truck, visit the website of the Bay Area Discovery Museum. To learn more about Santa Clara County Library District programs and services, go to: sccld.org.