Public library to hold contests to gain exhibit hype

Discover Tech is important for our community as most of the future job growth in our area will require some kind of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM training, said Adams in an email to The Journal. This exhibit is a fun way to excite, encourage and motivate youth to explore STEM, she added.

Each month for the next year the library will hold a contest – two contests during the school year. Every family with elementary-aged school children is eligible for the family contest and every grade 1-6 classroom in the county is eligible to participate, a release said.

One family and one classroom will be selected as a winner each month. Families or classrooms are only eligible to win once.

The first contest will be announced Friday, and each contest following will be announced on the first of each month. The release said entries must be received by the last day of the month. Adams said the library will announce the winners by the 5th of each month, and the winning classroom and family will receive a science kit to keep.

Each month, contest details will be posted in the library, on the library blog and in the Wednesday column of The Journal. Entry forms may be picked up in the junior room of the library. Copies of the classroom contests will be sent to the area school libraries.

Adams explained the goal of the contests is to build interest in engineering and build excitement for the Discover Tech exhibit coming next year.

The public library is the smallest of nine libraries selected nationwide to host the exhibit that will feature 14 stations that explore engineering and technology from a variety of perspectives.