MCFARLAND, Calif. (KERO) — The California Resources Board has granted the McFarland Branch Library with a donation of $20,000 in order to help bring more STEM and STEAM related programs to its local youth.
- The donation is set to contribute to bring innovative and interactive STEAM educational workshops.
- It will also bring robotic kits, science kits, art supplies and lego sets relating to STEAM or STEM.
These workshops are designed to encourage students to immerse themselves more in STEAM to prepare them for the future.
New programs focused on science, technology, engineering, arts, and math are coming to the community of McFarland.
“Just having more things to do in that community and just you know making sure the kids have the ability to learn hands on experience with these STEM and STEAM activities and other workshops that are for all ages,” said Fahra Daredia with the Kern County Library.
Daredia says a $20,000 donation given to them by the California Resources Corporation board will help fund the introduction of STEAM to kids.
STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, ARts and Mathematics. It's an educational approach that integrates these subjects to help students develop critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity skills.
Daredia says with the money, the library will be able to purchase STEAM-related reading materials, along with robotic kits, science kits, and art supplies.
“STEAM is one of those things that obviously we know is never going away but to kind of get excitement to have that hands on experience especially for more rural communities is really important to kind of bring out and the library is an innovation hub right,” said Daredia.
While this is all being made possible by the CRC, Daredia says this isn’t the only contribution they’re making. In a statement given to us by the CRC, it states,
“CRC is excited to support the McFarland Library in introducing “STEAM Camp” to local students. Led by subject matter experts from CRC, this camp will offer fun, hands-on workshops designed to foster creativity, critical thinking, and innovation in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics.”
While this is great news for the city of McFarland, it wont be the first time STEAM is introduced to a Kern county library, making them more hopeful for a higher success.
“We’ve been hosting STEM and STEAM activities for many many years now,” said Daredia. “Just last year we had over 44,000 people in attendance at our libraries for STEM and STEAM activities.”
It won’t be too long until McFarland sees these new upgrades as kern county library will soon start to purchase new materials.
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