Michael Jackson-BCPL

Name of Program: Teen STEM Break

Target Audience: Students aged 11-17
Program Description:
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) greatly influences our daily lives. For example,
science involves the study of animals and natural disasters. Technology deals with computers and smartphones.
Engineering is concerned with designing simple and complex structures. We use math when doing taxes.
Recognizing the importance of STEM, the Randallstown Branch of the Baltimore Public Library has
decided to put on a week-long STEM program during the Baltimore County Public Schools' Spring Break period.
During the week, teens from ages 11-17 will work in groups to complete 4-H National Youth Science Day
Experiments. 4-H is the largest youth development program in the nation and is associated with the U.S.
Department of Agriculture. 4-H National Youth Science Day is the premier event for 4-H Science programming.
It brings together the students, volunteers and educators from the nation's 109 land-grant colleges and universities
that partner with 4-H in order to simultaneously complete the National Youth Day Science Experiment.
During Teen STEM Break, teens will complete three 4-H National Science Youth Science Day
experiments from previous years. First, they will design and engineer stomp rockets in order to simulate
developing aerodynamic food transportation devices to help victims of natural disasters. They'll also become
robotics engineers and develop Eco-Bots in order to control surfaces and learn how to manage an environmental
clean-up. Lastly, teens will engineer renewable energy technologies and learn how they are positively impacting
communities across the nation.
Need for the Program:
The need for the program is based on serving the teens in the local area and the greater Baltimore area as
whole. The needs of teens are met simply because of the amazing options that are associated with STEM careers.
In 2013, The U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration released a report entitled
STEM: Good Jobs Now and for the Future that found that STEM jobs grow much quicker than non-STEM jobs,
STEM workers were less likely to experience joblessness and command higher wages
In addition, the Baltimore area suffers from a lack of skilled STEM workers. In 2014, a Brookings
Institution study found that the Baltimore area had the 8th highest percentage of job openings in STEM fields.
This is due to the fact that large segments of the Baltimore population do not have the opportunity to participate in
the STEM economy.
By introducing students to advanced STEM concepts at an early age, they will be set down a path towards
possible participation in a STEM career, thereby benefiting the students and Baltimore.
Potential Community Partners: University of Maryland's 4-H Youth Development Program
Steps to create the program:
1. Contact the University of Maryland's 4-H Youth Development program in order develop partnership
2. Have staff from UMD's 4-H program train BCPL staff on the National Youth Science Day Experiments and
provide materials
3. Staff will then use the information and materials develop to develop their own programs in-branch
4. Advertise the program through BCPL's teen Facebook page, Twitter, and Datelines programming newsletter

5. The turbine and Eco-bot experiments will last two days each and the stomp rocket experiment will be done in
one day.
6. Program will be registration only and will take a maximum of 15 teens. The first half of each experiment will
deal with covering background information and for the second half, the students will apply what they have
learned. Students will get into groups of 2-3 to perform the experiments.
How Program fits with Library Mission: Teen STEM Break program will help teens develop problem-solving
skills that will help them as they continue their education and eventually pick a career. This is consistent with
BCPL's mission to provide opportunities for members of the community to explore, learn, create and connect.
How the Program will be evaluated: At the end of the week, teens will be surveyed on what they liked about the
program and what aspects of the program can be improved upon.

March 2016
Press Release: Baltimore County Public Library
Contact:
Michael Jackson
BCPL Randallstown
8604 Liberty Road
Randallstown, MD 21133
410-887-0770

For Immediate Release

March 1st, 2016

Teen STEM Break

Teens between the ages of 11 and 17:

No plans for Spring Break? Want something fun and creative to do? Well, don't worry. We've got you
covered at the Randallstown Library. We're running a week-long Teen STEM program during Spring
Break, April 11-15. There will be exciting programs every day. We'll be building wind turbines to
explore how renewable energy technologies are positively impacting our communities. We will also

create Eco-Bots to manage an environmental clean-up. Lastly, we'll build bottle rockets in order to
investigate safely delivering food to victims of natural disasters! For more information, visit the
Randallstown Branch or call at 410-887-0770. Information can also be found on the Baltimore County
Public Library's website at www.bcpl.info.
Program will be advertised on BCPL's teen Facebook page, Twitter, Datelines newsletter and also
through flyers placed in-branch and throughout the community. Advertisements will start approximately
one month in advance of the program.
A program of this type as already been done at BCPL and there is a strong possibility that similar
themed programs for teens will be put on in the future.