With summer break about to begin, the Cobourg Public Library is offering a hands-on way to keep young minds engaged and learning, thanks to a generous donation from CIBC Ley Wealth Management.
The library has added six new Discovery Backpacks to its collection. Each backpack features interactive educational tools designed to promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and STEAM (which adds Art) learning.
“What a discovery backpack is, is a backpack and inside there’s usually something educational, something that they can learn. A popular one is our bird-watching one. A little pair of binoculars, a book about birds,” said Rachel Spence, outreach and communications coordinator with the library.
The new additions include Makey Makey kits and Dash Robots. The Makey Makey is an invention kit that lets kids turn everyday objects into interactive devices.
“The Makey Makey is an invention kit that turns everyday objects into touchpads,” said Spence. “You can turn a banana into piano keys or play a video game using a playdough controller.”
Rachel Spence from the library says these backpacks make learning fun and accessible.
Dash Robots are small programmable bots that introduce kids to the basics of coding in a fun and intuitive way. “It’s a great way for kids to learn how coding equates to real life automation,” she added.
Discovery Backpacks are available to borrow from the Cobourg Public Library.
For more information, visit Library | Town of Cobourg.
(Written by: Joseph Goden)