October 19, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Robyn Truslow
410-535-0291
Calvert Library is the recipient of a $7,500 Curiosity Creates grant from the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) to support creativity programming. Over 400 United States libraries applied and 79 grants were awarded. The funding was made possible by a generous donation from Disney. Other Maryland libraries receiving grants include Baltimore County, Carroll County and St. Mary’s County.
As noted by ALSC president, Andrew Medlar, “Children are naturally curious and the act of creating is vital to their development, so ALSC is particularly grateful to Disney and especially excited to offer this incredible opportunity to support our members’ work in public libraries, where families can engage their creativity unlike anyplace else in the community.”
According to Calvert Library Director Carrie Plymire, “Creativity is a critical skill needed to survive in our world where innovation is king. Creativity allows us to recognize needs, to see challenges in a new light and to problem-solve with fresh approaches. Fortunately, research has now demonstrated that creativity can be taught. That’s what we’re doing at the library.”
Calvert Library is partnering with PaxSpace, Inc. to offer a four-part series of classes to teach the components of creativity—imagination, originality, flexibility, decision-making, communication, self-expression, collaboration, motivation, action and movement. Plymire said, “We’ve developed a great partnership with PaxSpace and love the fun their members are able to bring to learning. Keeping learning fun and driving curiosity are important to Calvert Library so it was a natural partnership.” PaxSpace is a nonprofit, member-operated Makerspace based in California, MD. They offer collaborative workspaces, tools and equipment related to art and technology. Their location currently houses electronics space, wood shop space and metal shop space. Their members provide inexpensive classes open to the community on tools, computer coding, 3D design software and more.
Some examples of easy activities to encourage creativity are creating a list of as many crazy uses as you can think of for a paper clip, telling The Three Little Pigs from the wolf’s perspective, creating make-believe worlds complete with new rules for physics, or coming up with ways that two seemingly very different things are alike, like cats and icebergs. Each of these activities helps develop a component of creativity and may appear in the Curiosity Workshop series.
In addition to funding the series, the Curiosity Creates grant will allow Calvert Library to purchase a wide variety of toys, materials and prototyping tools that will encourage all ages to give their creativity free reign. Some of the items expected to be featured in this Curiosity Collection include Keva planks, Raspberry pis, Lego Mindstorms, SparkFun Inventors’ Kit, graph paper, duct tape, Arduinos and even a 3D printer. To stimulate the creative process, there will be a Challenge Notebook that will include a variety of scenarios for which visitors will be able to offer solutions, perhaps prototyping with the materials in the Curiosity Collection. The challenges might be real-world like “Come up with five ways to keep deer out of the garden and share the pros and cons of each way”; or they may be more futuristic like “Your world is flooded. What will your living arrangements look like? How will you feed yourself?” Library customers will be encouraged to add their own challenges to the notebook. Exciting challenges and solutions will be posted on the library Facebook page. And while the grant focuses on ages 6 to 14, Calvert Library is encouraging innovators of all ages to join in.
Plymire added, “The library has always provided resources for problem-solving, whether it be for individuals or community. We start as early as infancy with our Imagination Stations which encourage creative play. We continue with lifelong learning opportunities for all ages. With this project, we’re taking it a couple steps further.” According to the research paper on which the curriculum for the Curiosity Workshop series is based, children, especially before 4th grade, are actually better able than adults to think outside the box and come up with creative solutions to sticky problems. Calvert Library Youth Coordinator Beverly Allyn Izzi puts the research in layman’s terms. “Young children are much less influenced by peer pressure and getting the answer ‘right.’ That’s why a five-year-old can carry on a detailed conversation at a teddy bear tea party and why a big, empty cardboard box can become almost anything! If we can all learn to nurture creativity by encouraging skills such as flexibility, self-expression, collaboration... we will have a much more resilient and innovative population prepared to solve the problems of the future.”
For more information, contact Robyn Truslow at 410-535-0291.
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About Calvert Library
Calvert Library’s vision is to “inspire possibility.” The mission is to empower individuals by facilitating lifelong learning and strengthen our community by providing opportunities for connection to one another and the world.
About ALSC
The Association for Library Service to Children is the world's largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of library service to children. ALSC's network includes more than 4,000 children's and youth librarians, children's literature experts, publishers, education and library school faculty members, and other adults dedicated to creating a better future for children through libraries.
About The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international entertainment and media enterprise with five business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products and interactive media. Being a good corporate citizen is a time-honored Disney tradition. Through contributions, collaborations with local organizations, in-kind gifts and volunteering, Disney helps to brighten the lives of kids and families in need and strengthen communities around the world. For more information visit, thewaltdisneycompany.com/citizenship ortwitter.com/CitizenDisney.
Robyn Truslow
Public Relations Coordinator
Calvert Library
850 Costley Way
Prince Frederick, MD 20678
410-535-0291
410-535-3022 (fax)
Calvert Library…Your Source for Awesome!
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