Librarians, as educators and innovators, are uniquely placed to foster access points and tools to meet users wherever their research skills and digital competencies are, as well as access digital spaces successfully.
Connecting With Community Through Stem Events
Librarians, staff, and student volunteers from the Education Library at Queen’s University connected with over 5000 people at the total solar eclipse viewing and Science Rendezvous Kingston STEM events.
Total Solar Eclipse
On April 8, 2024, the day of the eclipse, we hosted a viewing event at Duncan McArthur Hall, with Queen’s experts and staff providing safety instructions and telescopes from the library. Library staff partnered with student groups and professors to make pinhole cameras and colour changing UV bead bracelets. Leading up to the total solar eclipse, we had tables of activities and resources in Student Street, an area where students gather in front of the Education Library. We showcased books, eBooks, magazines and videos about the solar eclipse from our collection.
Science Rendezvous
On May 11, 2024, the Education Library also participated in the Science Rendezvous Kingston event hosted by Queen’s University. This year, the annual interactive science fair attracted 5200 visitors. The theme for this year was INNOVATE and the event had 60 booths covering diverse topics such as wildlife conservation, robotics, and climate change.1
To align with the theme and main displays, we showcased posters, books, pop-up books, a puppet, videos, 3D representations, and paleontology teaching kits with ice age replica fossils, skulls, teeth and more. The content was about whales, DaVinci’s designs and machines, and vertebrate evolution. We also brought small Ozobots and markers for children and adults to engage with by drawing colour codes for the Ozobots to follow.
In addition, Science Rendezvous had a Sensory Friendly Science Zone. We hosted a second, sensory friendly booth with a floor mat, cushions, a train set, tractors, squishy toys, books and a felt facial expressions kit. The items in this space were intentionally selected to provide a more comfortable and calming space and experience.
The total solar eclipse viewing and Science Rendezvous were exciting events for us to host and participate in. These events were timely and relevant opportunities for us to connect with our communities and promote our collections, spaces, and services. We look forward to continued partnerships in support of a new Science Rendezvous theme in May 2025.
Reference
Science rendezvous Kingston. (2024). Queen’s University. https://www.queensu.ca/science-rendezvous/
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Shelley Woods is an Education Librarian at the Queen’s University Library. Shelley can be reached at shelley.woods@queensu.ca.
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