With Funding from the Vermont Space Grant Consortium, Carpenter-Carse Library is offering a series of monthly after-school programs for students in Kindergarten through grade 4 during the first semester of the 2025-2026 school year. Educator and Mathematical Sciences Director for The Vermont Governor's Institute, Linda Segovia Wise has created a program called “STEM Explorers” that is designed to offer STEM enrichment in a fun and engaging environment. In this playful and curiosity-driven program, students will explore real-world challenges and creative problem solving through different themes. Our goal is for students to discover how STEM is part of everyday life and to give them an opportunity to build confidence in collaborative problem-solving and creative thinking. Contact jen@carpentercarse.org to sign up for one or all four monthly programs.

Session 2: Engineering Challenge - Build It Strong! Friday, October 10th, 3:00-4:15 Can you build a tower with just spaghetti and marshmallows? What makes a bridge sturdy? This month, students take on a fun and messy engineering design challenge, learning about the design process, testing ideas, and working together to build strong structures from everyday materials. Through testing, reflecting, and trying again, they’ll also practice one of the most important STEM skills: resilience. Skills: Engineering design, measurement, collaboration, perseverance. Big Idea: Great engineers try, test, and try again!