PARSIPPANY — The Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany Foundation and the New Jersey District of Kiwanis International Foundation presented a grant of $5,000 to the Parsippany-Troy Hills Public Library.
The money is going to be used to support the 2017 Summer Reading program, “Build a Better World.”
The Parsippany Library System plans to “build a better world” by improving the technology skills of children and teens, to enable them to become productive citizens. Coding, robotics, and STEAM skills are becoming the most in demand skills of those entering the work force.
With the increased use of technology in all areas of our lives it is vital that all of our students have access to opportunities to learn and develop these skills.
Karen O’Malley said “The Kiva Planks have been used to creatively engineer wooden structures by all ages from preschoolers to parents at the Lake Hiawatha Branch Children’s Department. Anyone that uses them to build either their own designed structure or one from the sample booklet included, is very proud of what they built!”
“The Chromebooks being purchased will be used to teach basic to advanced computer coding skills. There are several game based programs we will be using to teach these skills along with the LEGO Mindstorm Robotics kits purchased through this grant. We are looking forward to guiding children in small group coding activities develop problem solving skills, brainstorming, technology skills, math skills, and more! We could not thank the Kiwanis Club enough for helping us help Parsippany children advance,” said Karen.
“I am so proud of the support our Kiwanis Club has given to this Library project. We were successful in getting a $2500 grant from the New Jersey District of Kiwanis International Foundation that we were able to match from our own fundraising efforts throughout the year. If you haven’t been to your local Parsippany library this summer, I urge you to check out the ‘Build A Better World” project. It’s fascinating!” said Connie Keller, the KCGP Foundation President.
She continued “By supporting this program at the Parsippany Library, Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany is following the motto of Kiwanis… ‘Changing the world one child, one community at a time.’”
“The children’s department of the Parsippany Public Library has amazing technology purchased with a grant from the Kiwanis Club. The library was able to add more iPods and Ipads to the collection. These additional tools allowed more children to use the Sphero SPRK robotic spheres. The Sphero SPRK is app-enabled so it is essential to have a device for each child. Over twenty-five students attended the Sphero coding sessions plus children at three of the local elementary schools were able to view and interact with the Spheros during summer reading outreach visits. Keva planks were purchased with the grant funds. Keva planks are used as part of Build It stations that are set up in the children’s room. It is amazing to see the structures that students have created,” said Melissa Okerblom.
She continued “Students in grades K-2 are part of a Storytime Coding group at the library. They use Scratch to create animated stories in the technology lab at the library. This group meets twice a week and multiple sessions for older students are planned for the fall. More classes can be offered with the new devices. The Maker Camp begins on August 14. Children will use Lego Mindstorms EV3 in the technology lab.”
The Parsippany-Troy Hills Public Library is located at 449 Halsey Road. The Lake Hiawatha branch is located at 68 Nokomis Avenue, and the Mount Tabor branch is located at 31 Trinity Park.
For more information on Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany, click here.
