Posts by Erik, Teen Librarian

STEAMy Summer Programs: A Look Back

STEAMy Summer Programs: A Look Back

Another summer of STEAM programs has finished. This was a challenging and rewarding summer like no other. In addition to increasing the length by two weeks, we also hired several more people to run programs. Among those hired were several high school students: members of the Techno Chix; a robotics club from the Girl Scouts; Mustafa Ajmal, a high school student in Oak Ridge High School, CA; and Shakira Cherimond, a graduating Senior from Ossining High School who will be attending Purchase College in the fall. By hiring multiple presenters this summer we were able to offer a wide variety
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September 15, 2021 2:03 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: STEAM, STEAM Camps, STEAM learning, STEM, Summer of Making, The Edge, Verisk Analytics, and White Plains Library Foundation.

What You Need to Know About… Marvel’s Eternals

What You Need to Know About… Marvel’s Eternals

Disney is adding the Eternals into the MCU this November, but who are they? At first glance the Eternals look like souped up X-People (that’s right, I said “people” to fight our patriarchal society, deal with it), who have been around a really long time. The Eternals were created by Jack Kirby in the 70’s. Jack Kirby gave us Captain America back in the 40’s, was one of the principal authors of Marvel’s silver age, and brought X-Men (fine, I said it but only because that is the title, hence the italics). The Eternals were then brought back by Neil
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August 31, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: comic books, graphic novels, Marvel, staff picks, staff recommendations, the Eternals, and What You Need to Know About.

Projects on the Plaza: For Teens

Projects on the Plaza: For Teens

In September, the Library will hold two outdoor STEM programs for teens. The programs will be on the Library Plaza, underneath the tent, on Wednesday afternoons from 4:00-5:30 p.m. September 15: Ecosystem in a Bottle Participants will learn how to take an old soda bottle and transform it into a planter. September 29: Marshmallow Launchers Participants will create marshmallow launchers using household items like toilet paper rolls and rubberbands. All participants will be expected to follow social distancing guidelines and wear a mask regardless of vaccination status.
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August 23, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: events for teens, Library programs for teens, STEM programs for teens, teen events, and The Edge.

What You Need to Know About… Monster

What You Need to Know About… Monster

Gone are the days when every middle school and high school summer reading list was full of titles by Walter Dean Myers. While at one time, Myers was the go-to author for diverse characters, because he was one of the only authors of diverse characters, we are now fortunate that the publishing industry has begun embracing diverse authors.  WIth this shift in the publishing industry, and public desire for diverse works, there is an increasing body of wonderful and important works by newer writers such as Jason Reynolds and Angie Thomas. But this doesn’t mean that Myers' books are no longer poignant
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July 27, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: teen movies, teens, What You Need to Know About, and YA literature.

Teen Book Review: Follow Your Arrow

Teen Book Review: Follow Your Arrow

Title: Follow Your Arrow Author: Jessica Verdi Publisher: Scholastic Library Catalog / OverDrive & Libby A girl named Cece Ross is a social media influencer. Things are great until she and her girlfriend break-up. Soon after she meets a boy who isn’t on social media at all and keeps her internet fame a secret. But social media catches up quickly and now Cece faces a scandal. I really enjoyed this book, it was quick and easy and deals with topics like identity, the LGBTQ+ community and social media. I definitely recommend this book as we see Cece grow to put
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July 26, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: book review, books, for teens by teens, Jessica Verdi, reading, teen book review, and teen volunteers.

Great Podcasts for Teens

Great Podcasts for Teens

Continuing our new series on Great Podcasts, here are some recommendations of Great Podcasts for Teens from YS Librarian, Erik! Most of these should be available on any service you use to listen to podcasts, such as Apple Podcasts, Apple Music, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, etc. If you have some great podcast recommendations, leave them in the comments below! Books, Games & Comics Shonen Jump Podcast Listen to discussions on the latest releases, interviews, and background stories of you favorite Manga series. IFanboy This weekly podcast focuses on comic books, comic book publishing, and comic book creators. Josh Flanagan, Ron
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June 24, 2021 11:29 am | by | 1 Comment
Categories: Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: Great Podcasts, Great Podcasts for teens, podcasts, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

STEAMy Summer Days

STEAMy Summer Days

Mondays-Thursdays (except when noted) From 1:30-3:30 p.m. For teens entering Grades 6-10 in the fall. Registration is required. This summer the Library is excited to offer 8 weeks of free mini-camps for teens going into Grades 6-10 in the fall. This is the fifth year that Argus, a Verisk Analytics company, is funding these free summer camps. Week 1: 6/28 – 7/2 (Monday-Friday) 3D Prototyping With The Techno Chix Click here to register. Students will learn the fundamentals of 3D modelling and CAD (computer-aided design) using the free Onshape software to make basic models. After learning the basics, students will
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June 6, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: Argus, children, STEAM, STEAM Camps, Verisk Analytics, and White Plains Library Foundation.

Space Travel Grab & Go Kits

Space Travel Grab & Go Kits

In celebration of Star Wars Day, May 4th, I have dedicated this month's STEAM Grab & Go Kits for middle graders and teens to space travel, because one day isn’t enough to celebrate the Star Wars franchise, it deserves an entire month. The kit for grades 4-8 includes paper strips and straws to make an airplane (pictured left) shaped like the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon. This will test if that oddly shaped spacecraft could actually fly. The kit for teenagers is a mini-paper air rocket (pictured top left) designed by NASA. This includes instructions and a straw that teens
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April 29, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Library News.
Tags: everyday STEAM, Grab & Go, Grab & Go kits, Star Wars, STEAM, STEAM learning, and STEM.

Financial Literacy for Middle Graders

Financial Literacy for Middle Graders

Tuesdays: April 6, 13, 20, & 27, from 5:00-6:00 p.m. Local student, Varun Bansal, will teach a four-part workshop on financial literacy for students in grades 4-8. Financial literacy is a passion of Varun’s and he is happy to share everything he has learned with younger students to get them on the path to financial wellness. He will be covering basic concepts of earning, spending, and saving, how to develop better money habits, basics of investing, banking, credit, and debit cards – how to open bank accounts, the difference between checking and savings accounts, card options, interestrates, borrowing, etc., and
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March 30, 2021 4:51 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: edge events, financial literacy, The Edge, The Trove, and trove events.

Vacant Lot Challenge with Arch For Kids

Vacant Lot Challenge with Arch For Kids

Registration for this event is now full. Arch For Kids, a local educational group that provides young people with dynamic hands-on, minds-on learning experiences – grounded in architecture, design, engineering and urban planning, is joining the Library to run their Vacant Lot Challenge for students in Grades 5-8. There is a vacant lot in your neighborhood. Local officials are seeking proposals for its development. Students will receive supplies from the Library, some things they may need to find around home, to design and build a model structure for this vacant lot. The program will be held on Monday, March 15,
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February 24, 2021 12:05 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Library News.
Tags: Arch for Kids, architecture, design, engineering, events, kids events, STEAM, STEAM learning, teen events, urban planning, and vacant lot challenge.

3D Design And Printing Workshops For Teens

3D Design And Printing Workshops For Teens

During Spring Break, March 29th – April 1st, Woody Poulard, founder of FabriMakr and teacher at FatCat FabLab, will be joining us to offer teenagers an introductory 3D printing and design workshop. Woody will teach teens the history of 3D printing, the process of taking a digital 3D model and printing it, and teach basic 3D modelling using OnShape, a web based 3D design software program. The sessions will be from 10:00 a.m-12:00 p.m. each morning during Spring Break for 4 days. Following this, the Library will print objects designed during the workshops and let teens know how to submit
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February 17, 2021 4:06 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: 3D printer, 3d printing, Spring Break, STEAM, and STEAM learning.

Reads Revisited: Charmed Life

Reads Revisited: Charmed Life

Reads Revisited is a blog series where Trove and Edge Librarians revisit some of their favorite childhood stories. In today's column, Edge Librarian Erik Carlson revisits book one of the Chrestomanci series, Charmed Life (Catalog) by Diana Wynne Jones. Did you ever wonder where J.K. Rowling got all of her ideas from? Charmed Life has magical castles, powerful necromancers, bad witches and wizards, and an orphaned boy who has no idea that he has magical powers. I have always been a big fantasy fan. Diana Wynne Jones and Ursula K. LeGuin were two of my favorite authors growing up. When
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January 19, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Charmed Life, children's books, children's literature, Reads Revisited, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

College Workshops

College Workshops

The Library will be hosting two college admissions workshops on Zoom this January. The third and final workshop with College Wise will be on Wednesday, January 6, at 6:00 p.m. This presentation provides an overview of the different components of the college application and highlights ways student can make their application shine. Registration is required, you can register here. On Tuesday, January 19, at 7:00 p.m., Ron Feuchs from Stand Out For College will discuss strategies for applying to college in the age of COVID-19.
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January 19, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: College Readiness, teen events, and teens.

Grab & Go Kit Gr. 4-8: Paper Rollercoaster

Grab & Go Kit Gr. 4-8: Paper Rollercoaster

The next Grab & Go STEAM kit for Middle Graders will teach some paper engineering techniques. Kids and Tweens will assemble a rollercoaster using paper. This involves creating stability with a very unstable material. They will make pillars to hold up the rollercoaster, fold the paper to make stable rails, and learn how to cut paper to create curves. Limited kits are available at the Library. Couldn’t get a kit? No problem! All you need is paper, tape, and scissors. You can follow along with the video instructions.
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January 11, 2021 9:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: engineering, Grab & Go kits, Grab and Go Kits, STEAM, STEAM learning, STEM, and The Trove.

Grab & Go Grades 7-12 Kit: Popsicle Stick Grabber

Grab & Go Grades 7-12 Kit: Popsicle Stick Grabber

January’s Grab & Go STEAM kit for Teens is a Grabber Arm using popsicle sticks. You can pick up the kits at the Library, there are a limited number available so get there soon! The grabber arm is cool and educational. Teens will learn about a scissor lift, a piece of engineering that is used for lifting heavy objects like cars off the ground. Couldn’t get a kit? No problem. You can make these with some materials from home, just be creative! Just follow along with the video instructions.
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January 5, 2021 10:28 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: Grab & Go, Grab & Go kits, STEAM, STEAM kits, STEAM learning, and teen kits.

Coding Workshops With The Techno Chix

Coding Workshops With The Techno Chix

Starting January 8, 2021, the Techno Chix, a group of young women in the Girl Scouts, will be teaching an 8 session workshop series on computer coding for Middle Grade students in grades 5-8. They will teach 8 one-hour workshops on Fridays, from 4:30-5:30 p.m., in January and February, covering the Python coding language. This is an in-depth course focusing on Python, and by the end of the workshops students will be familiar with Strings, User Input, Arithmetic Equations, Booleans, Loops, If/Else Statements, and Functions. Registration and attendance to all workshops is required. These workshops will be held on Zoom.
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December 17, 2020 10:00 am | by | 3 Comments
Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: children's events, coding, STEAM, STEAM learning, STEM, technology, and teen events.

“How Did I Get Here?” Career Panels

“How Did I Get Here?” Career Panels

This January we will be holding two career panels for teens. Monday, January 11 at 4:00 p.m., faculty from Touro College will talk about 3D printing and dentistry. This is a real world application of 3D printing. Thursday, January 28, at 6:00 p.m., join Dave Mott, a manager at KPMG, one of the largest accounting firms in the country. He has a unique background in accounting, and will explain that it isn’t just doing taxes. All of our participants will talk about their interests as teenagers, what they studied in college, and the path that led them to their current
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December 15, 2020 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: career panel, Career Panels, edge events, How Did I Get Here?, and teen events.

Rescheduled Career Panel for Teens: 12/15

Rescheduled Career Panel for Teens: 12/15

Join us on Tuesday, December 15 from 6:00-7:00 p.m., for our next “How Did I Get Here?” Career Panel. This is rescheduled from October. The Library will host employees from Verisk, an analytics company in White Plains. Their careers deal with coding, product development, user interface design, and, well, analytics. For information on attending, click here.
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December 10, 2020 11:13 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Featured, and Library News.
Tags: career panel, Career Panels, edge events, How Did I Get Here?, and teen events.

College Admissions Workshops

College Admissions Workshops

This fall and winter, the Library will be hosting virtual college admissions counseling workshops for students, because it’s never too early to get started! Monday October 26, 6:00 p.m. – Pat Kronik will cover a variety of topics to get you started with the college admissions process. Register in advance here. Wednesday October 28, 6:00 p.m. – Learn about free tuition for college from Michael Turner, with the NYS Higher Education Services Corp. This program is being hosted by Yonkers Public Library. Check their calendar for more details. Wednesdays, November 4, December 2, & January 6, 6:00 p.m. – Join
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December 10, 2020 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: college, college admissions. admissions, edge events, teen events, and The Edge.

STEAM Grab&Go Kit For Teens: Rubber Band Powered Car

STEAM Grab&Go Kit For Teens: Rubber Band Powered Car

Come to the Library and pick up a Grab&Go Kit with materials to make a cardboard car powered by rubber bands, available on December 7. The kit will have most materials except tape, glue, and a pencil. There are printed instructions to accompany the video instructions. Have fun learning how to make a car run using tension created by rubber bands. If you can’t pick up a bag, you can try to find the materials around your home and follow the video instructions.
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December 7, 2020 9:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: Grab and Go Kits, Grab&Go Kits, STEAM, STEAM activities, STEAM learning, and videos.