STEM is the name of the game these days, and a generous grant is enabling Frisco Public Library to help lead the educational charge. Michael C. Waters, Chairman and Commissioner of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC), and Mark Smith, State Librarian and Director of TSLAC, will present a grant in excess of $40,000 to the Library at the November 17th City Council Meeting. This award will fund the development of STEM-based resources for Library members from kindergarten through adulthood.
“The Frisco Library is honored to receive financial support from The Institute of Museums and Library Services and the Texas State Library and Archives Commission,” says Shelley Holley, Director of Frisco Public Library. “This new service demonstrates the Library’s commitment to equal education for all, and was designed to address emerging science and technology needs by providing hands-on learning experiences with new tools and technology.”
The grant will fund 50 additional STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) backpacks for this wildly popular collection. Cells and DNA, Forensics, and Simple Machines are a few of the 10 new themes young minds will get to explore. These will be a welcome supplement to the existing five themes for which members sometimes wait weeks or months due to a huge demand.
The 66 new Maker Kits will show Library members from sixth grade through adulthood just how much fun it can be to learn about and experience new concepts. Topics including: 3D Printing, Digital Design, the Internet of Things, Basic Electronics, Robotics, and Video Editing are featured in the kits made possible by this grant.
Other funding will go to development of technology classes with which students from the Frisco ISD Career and Technology Education Center will assist. The CTEC is a state-of-the-art facility for Frisco ISD students where they get hands-on training for careers in: Information Technology, Health Science, and many other fields of study.
City Council Meetings are open to the public and everyone is encouraged to attend. The November 17th meeting will be at City Hall, 6101 Frisco Square Blvd., in Council Chambers. The open meeting begins at 6:30pm.
Find more information about Frisco Public Library and all of its STEM offerings at friscolibrary.com. Learn more about the CTEC at http://schools.friscoisd.org/spc/cte.