While libraries have enthusiastically met the challenge to positively influence kids’ and teens’ attitudes, skills, and knowledge about STEM topics, adult-centered science programs are scarce in libraries. Youth have access to many creative, engaging, hands-on programs that use informal learning to develop exploration, experimentation, and computational thinking. But why are kids having all the fun (and skill enrichment)? As citizens and voters, adults are asked to make decisions that increasingly involve complex science. Join this webinar to learn about programs that make adult science learning fun and enticing, and that get people involved in investigating their environment. Join the conversation about expanding adult learning to include identifying environmental issues, applying science-based strategies, and working together to find solutions and take action for their communities.

Presented by: Betha Gutsche, WebJunction Program Manager; Ash Kunz, STEM Services Manager, NCW Libraries (WA); and Vivienne Byrd, Librarian III, Exploration & Creativity Department, Los Angeles Public Library (CA)

Access Recording

• View Webinar Recording (You will be prompted to log in to our free Course Catalog.)

Webinar Attachments

• View slides (pdf)
  
• View chat (xls)
• View captions (txt)
  
• Learner Guide (doc) Use alone or with others to extend your learning.
• Adult STEM Program Ideas (doc), compiled by Ash Kunz
• Exploring Biodiversity - Additional Resources (doc), compiled by Vivienne Byrd
  

Related Resources and Links

• STEMLibraries.org
• Adults Need STEM, Too: An Assessment of One Public Library’s Experiment With STEM Programming for Adults, by Jennifer Wilhelmand Jessica Jones, 2019
• STEM Programs Your Adult Patrons will Love, Programming Librarian Webinar, 2017
  
• SciStarter.org and Library and Community Guide to Citizen Science (pdf)
• Los Angeles Public Library's DIY NeiSci Circulation Kits
• LA BioBlitz Challenge
• iNaturalist
• Youth Climate Program
  
• ASTC Community Science Framework
• Toolkit for Creating Smart Spaces, specifically Community Discovery section
  
• Equity Resource Center for Informal STEM Education
  
• Dialogue & Deliberation Toolkit
  
• Cycles of Resilience