Though there are options for keeping children entertained and engaged during the summer, not all families have the means or bandwidth to do things like travel or attend a camp. Fortunately, Sarasota County Libraries offer a variety of fun and free summer learning events and programs.
“We’re hoping to fill needs in the community,” said Sheyenne Scott, Sarasota County Libraries Youth and Family Services Coordinator.
There are activities available for all ages. Some of the programs offered across the 10 libraries include a Venice Theater Acting Workshop for younger children, Beginning Embroidery Workshop for tweens and younger, Steampunk Jewelry Workshop for teens, Weave A colorful Mini Wall Hanging for adults, and The Connecting Collage for all ages, among many others.
“I always say that one of the benefits of the library is that we’re like teachers but we don’t have the same set of rules,” Scott said. “We’re able to look at kids and ask them what they want to learn about and what they’re interested in.”
Allie Kautzer’s two sons – Canen, 10, and Ari, eight – recently participated in Fruitville Library’s Robotics Workshop and have attended other library summer programs over the years.
“It stays with them,” said Allie Kautzer. “They take it away and try stuff at home. Sometimes they check out books on the stuff they’ve learned. But it’s nice too because it’s just a snippet to see what they like instead of committing to pay for a whole week’s worth of camp.”
At the workshop the boys attended, they were introduced to a robot and its capabilities by David Hirschfeld, technology teacher and owner of Bits, Bytes & Bots.
Hirschfeld then hooked up the robot to a tablet and gave the participants the opportunity to see what the robot can do with sounds and movements. Then the kids participated in a robot soccer game where there were two teams, with five robots on each side, and learned how to use the robots to push the soccer ball.
“If they don’t have fun, they’re not going to want to enjoy it in the future,” said Hirschfeld. “It may not be tomorrow, it may not be next month or next year, but hopefully they’ll come upon some course that has to do with technology and remember doing this and try it again.”
Eventually, they hooked the robot to a different app where they could program it the way Hirschfeld did on the screen, but the children were later able to program it to do whatever they wanted.
“My favorite part was doing the coding at the end because I made a code that went on and on forever,” said Canen Kautzer, who is also interested in attending an upcoming program at the library that focuses on Minecraft.
Although registration is required for some programs, Allie Kautzer shared that she was encouraged by library staff to come 30 minutes early and that they would be allowed into a full class if there were some who reserved a spot but didn’t show up.
That is what happened, and Canen and Ari had a great time.
All of the summer workshops are free and don’t require a library card to participate.
The libraries are also hosting a summer reading challenge online for all ages through August 2, offering incentives and prizes.
Brittany Ecker, who is new to the area and homeschools her two children, was so impressed with the library’s summer activities that she signed her children up for “all of them.”
“I would never be able to teach them robotics,” Ecker said. “This program is offering something that I can’t offer them at home.”
Programs are subject to change. Please check out SarasotaCountyLibraries.org for more updates and to register for programs.
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