Charles City Library unveils new maker cart

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

The Charles City Public Library has a brand new resource for after-school learning.

On Monday, Oct. 16, the library’s STEM and Book Club rolled out their new TeacherGeek Maker Cart.

Paid for with a grant from the Iowa Governor’s Stem Advisory Council, the cart is full of tools, parts, and plans that kids can use to build a wide variety of contraptions.

“It’s awesome,” said children’s librarian Stacy Leerhoff. “It’s cool to see their minds clicking.”

Breaking the cart in with something simple, the kids built “sail cars” as their first project. After putting their cars together and designing paper sails to catch the airflow of an oscillating fan, the kids got to see their science in action as they tested their cars and went back to the drawing board to make them roll farther.

Success was celebrated, but even failure provided an opportunity to learn.

“We had to learn how to follow directions and not jump ahead,” said Leerhoff. “The best part is that they’re figuring out why it’s not going.”

More elaborate projects can be worked on in the future, but for now the club is just starting to explore what the maker cart has to offer.