4th Annual MV Mini Maker Faire Saturday, May 11th at the Ag Hall

The Fourth Annual Martha's Vineyard Mini Maker Faire will be held on Saturday May 11, from 10-4 at the Ag Hall. This is a free event to make, create, learn, invent, craft, think, play, celebrate, and be inspired by science, technology, arts, engineering, and math. Maker Faire is family friendly, and all ages are welcome.

The Maker Faire will be a day filled with fun and learning. Many of our presenters will have hands on activities for both children and adults. Come learn to rust dye or use a cricut electronic cutter, step inside an inflatable life-sized whale, try virtual reality, or watch a robotics competition. The Martha's Vineyard Library Association brought the Mini Maker Faire to Martha’s Vineyard because we know this is an Island of extraordinary people doing cool stuff and we want to create a forum where everyone could share their project or special interest!

For more information, follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mvmakerfaire/

Vineyard Haven Library Receives Rural Gateways Grant for STEM Programming in Community

Vineyard Haven Public Library is pleased to announce it has received a $3,500 National Science Foundation grant from the Califa Library Group to provide science-based programs for adults. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, & Math) are popular topics for children's education, but rarely mentioned in relation to adults.

The programs funded by the grant are essentially “book club meets science café.” Attendees read a pre-announced popular book selection, then to come to the library for an event in which they discuss the book, and then watch and discuss a short human interest video where scientific ideas touched on in the book intersect everyday life. Programs will be scheduled starting in 2017.

“The videos are engaging. There are no scientists in white coats. They're people you would want to sit down and talk to,” said previous grant recipient Dwight McInvaill, Director of the Georgetown County Library in Georgetown, SC.

Rural Gateways is funded through the National Science Foundation and was created through a collaboration of Dartmouth College, The Califa Library Group, the Association of Rural and Small Libraries, Dawson Media Group, and the Institute for Learning Innovation.