Enjoy Makers Day Workshops and Demos at Westfield Memorial Library

NJ Makers Day is a statewide event that celebrates and promotes making, tinkering, crafting, manufacturing, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics-based) learning. On Saturday, March 16, the Westfield Memorial Library will celebrate Makers Day with interactive workshops, drop-in demonstrations and open exploration. This all-ages event will run from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Makers Day will be more exciting than ever as the library was awarded a grant from the New Jersey Stem Pathways Network. One of the Network’s goals is to define and guide a statewide STEM vision for formal and informal learning opportunities that strengthen academic skills and inspire students. With the grant, the Children’s Department purchased Magna-tiles, three dimensional magnetized structures with various geometric shapes that snap together and encourage hours of open-ended play.

The Magna-tiles will be part of the Creative Construction Zone (10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.) where children can build structures using their choice of Magna-tiles or "Straws and Connectors" building kits (2:00-4:00 p.m.).

Local organizations and individuals will participate in Makers Day as well. These events are open to anyone and require no pre-registration. The following three events run from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

The Westfield High School Robotics Club will bring a robot, and participants will have a chance to get their hands on the controller to drive it. Girl Scout Troop Cadette Troop 40824 will have a Pollinator Education Station where participants can make an easy native bee house and learn about pollinators.

Krishav Singla, a senior at Union County Magnet High School, will show a Google Slides presentation on the Access Wayfinder app that he created with fellow students and town representatives to chart the accessibility of local businesses.

Between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m., two more community organizations will present ongoing activities that do not require registration and are open to anyone. The New Jersey Workshop for the Arts will have an “Instrument Petting Zoo” that allows kids and teenagers to try playing different instruments. The 4-H Club will present “Ski Jumps,” an activity in which participants use marbles to simulate a ski jump, and they will also show participants how to grow a flower in a pot. The Westfield High School Robotics Club will continue to showcase their robot as well.

In the Zentangle workshop presented by art instructor Mimi Topping from 2-2:45pm, participants will learn a fun, easy and relaxing method of drawing that uses structured patterns, simple tools, and basic pen-strokes. Participants must register for this class.

Library staff will lead numerous workshops requiring advance registration at wmlnj.org. They include creating animalbots, which are small animal robots with a diorama of their corresponding habitats (10-10:45am and 11-11:45am); kitemaking (10:10:45am); building Scribble bots, which is a toy bot that scribbles on a sheet of paper (10-10:45am and 11-11:45am); crocheting a simple bunny (11-11:45am); Surface Tension- Suminagashi-or floating ink: a Japanese process of marbling plain paper with water and ink to transform it into colorful designs (2-2:45pm); Amigurumi, which is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small, stuffed yarn creatures (3-3:45pm); a miniature secret garden in a tin (3-3:45pm); and a Spring Bouquet made from Hershey’s kisses, which is a craft just for adults (1-2pm).

Keep your eye on the library’s website www.wmlnj.org for more information and to register for programs. The library is located at 550 East Broad Street, 908.789.4090.