Washington County Extension partners with Washington Public Library for ISU Infinity and Beyond day camp

The Nicola-Stoufer Room at the Washington Public Library was turned into a science lab Wednesday as the library and Iowa State Extension Washington County Office partnered to provide a one-day camp, ISU Infinity and Beyond.

The camp, which ran from 9:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., hosted 35 kids from grades third through fifth. Jenisa Harris, children's librarian, said the idea to partner with the extension stemmed from the two organizations having similar ideals.

'I feel like we both have the same mission, to encourage kids to learn, especially STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) and reading, so why not use each other's strength to draw kids in,” she said. 'I love collaborating with other places and I'm really excited. Hopefully this is not the last one we do.”

Harris said by partnering, the program is able to offer a larger range of activities for kids and reach more students. The camp, outer space themed, introduced concepts of gravity, how the solar system works and included fun activities like making rockets.

Although libraries are typically thought of as low-key, quiet places, Harris said by introducing camps and giving kids an opportunity to have fun, they are breaking the stereotype of what libraries are.

'I feel like libraries have changed and grown so much,” she said. 'We have to redefine what libraries do to make it fun for the kids.”

Nicole Stoutner, Day Camp Coordinator with the Iowa State Extension Washington County office, agreed, saying libraries are places for students to have fun and learn new concepts.

'It's not just about keeping quiet in a library. It's about learning something, asking questions and using what that library has,” she said. 'It's not just a place to come and check out a book. There's so many things going on.”

Stoutner's favorite part of the camp, she said, is watching the students get excited about the different concepts of science and what the future of science may hold. Many of them talked about living on the moon and different planets, which she hopes will translate into inspiration for them to pursue science in the future.

Gwendolyn Flannery, who will be a college freshman in the fall, has been volunteering with the kids camp at the library since seventh grade. After seeing many camps throughout the years, she is glad to see one focused on STEM because it is becoming a bigger concept for students and one that could help influence them as they begin to look at career options.

'It gives them more opportunities outside the box of different things on the way that they may be interested in as a job,” she said.