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Representatives of Rodman Public Library were on hand at the Alliance City Schools’ Summer Explorers Family Night on Wednesday to hand out COSI Connects science kits.
Janet Metzger, the head of the library’s children’s department, and Eric Taggart, director of the library, presented each of the students attending the event, which concluded the summer program, one of the kits provided to the Rodman Public Library by COSI. Kia of Alliance and the Friends of Rodman Public Library also provided funding for the kits.
In all, 105 of the kits were provided to the students in second through fifth grade who participated in the Explorers program. The COSI kits were designed by COSI’s education experts to encourage inquiry-driven learning and reinforce Ohio’s learning standards. They contain five STEM activities related to space in which students are challenged to build a rocket, design a moon base and engineer the perfect parachute.
The Summer Explorers was initiated in the spring of 2015 by Jack and Madge Peters along with Greater Alliance Foundation Executive Director Douglas Schwarz as a way to eradicate learning loss that occurs during the summer months. The eight-week summer enrichment program, operated by the Alliance YWCA along with Synergy Alliance, weaves reading, math, and leadership into fun activities. Stations include STEM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Math), the arts, and character development as well as community service. Students also go on field trips into the community each week to deepen that week’s theme of learning.
Every student in the Summer Explorers was also presented with a free book and coupons from various Alliance businesses for successfully completing Rodman Public Library’s Summer Reading Program, conducted in June and July.
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