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Chicago Public Library has introduced ScienceConnections Discovery Packs, aimed at children aged eight and older. These packs offer a variety of books and activities designed to explore STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) topics through reading and hands-on learning. A librarian commented that the Discovery Packs often evoke an "‘oooo...ahhhhh!’ when introduced to caregivers and kiddos for the first time."
The library's Children Services and Family Engagement team has collaborated with local cultural partners such as Chicago Botanic Garden, Lincoln Park Zoo, and Griffin Museum of Science and Industry to enhance the science content in some of these packs.
Discovery Packs are accessible across various library locations throughout Chicago. However, they must be returned to the circulation desk of the branch from which they were borrowed and cannot be reserved in advance.
Among the available topics are Addition and Subtraction, Animal Tracks (in partnership with Lincoln Park Zoo), Astronomy, Aviation, Bee Bot Robotics, Birds and Birdwatching, Brain Builders, Bridges, Electricity and Circuits, Gravity Forces and Motion, Magnets, Magnification, Marble Run, Math and Art. Other subjects include Milkweeds and Monarchs (in partnership with Chicago Botanic Garden), Multiplication and Division Numbers Phenology (also in partnership with Chicago Botanic Garden), Pollinators (again in partnership with Chicago Botanic Garden), Rocks and Minerals Simple Machines Urban Green Spaces (created with Griffin Museum of Science and Industry).
Funding for ScienceConnections programs comes from contributions by S&C Electric Company, Norfolk Southern Corporation among other donors supporting the Chicago Public Library Foundation.
