Elida's Summer Library Program is back in-person this year for Pre-K to 5th grade Elida students, and today's topic was all about weather.
"They are going to learn about different weather types, severe weather, and then we're going to do some STEM related activities that go along with it," says Elida District Media Specialist Paige Turner.
One of those STEM related activities included building a structure with aluminum foil, paper, popsicle sticks, straws, and duct tape. The end goal is that it can withstand the force of wind, or in this case, the force of a blow dryer.
"I'm trying to build a spider version because spiders, their webs can withstand very bad storms. I thought about building a spider because they are pretty strong," says Elida Elementary student Johannah Coe.
"We're trying to use popsicle sticks and straws to keep up the walls, and we're using tin foil to keep the floor down," says Elida Elementary student Ruby Ricor.
"I'm building a house and what I'm going to do is I'm going to have paper and aluminum foil. I'm going to tape those together and then make it a house shape and tape it to the popsicle sticks," says Elida Elementary student Avrianna Hawk.
When it came time to test the structures, every single one held firm. Even the highest setting of the blow dryer didn't take them down. The next activity included building a rain gauge. It seems these students understand why they are important instruments to meteorologists.
"I think rain gauges are important because they can tell you how much rain you got in like one day," adds Ruby Ricor.
"Now that the water is rising and more glaciers are melting, we need more rain gauges," adds Johannah Coe.
The fun is just getting started for the Elida Summer Library Program. Next week, students will learn about robots and coding. In the third and final week, the kids will learn all about astronomy.
