Discover Tech- and STEM-Related Programs
Welcome To DISCOVER TECH: ENGINEERS MAKE A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE
Feb. 25-May 19 • KHCPL South
Discover Tech is a free exhibit featuring hands-on activities focused on science, technology, engineering, and math, collectively known as STEM. You will see how engineers find practical solutions to solve some of the world’s problems. KHCPL is leading the community in taking a giant step forward in learning about engineering and STEM. In addition to the exhibit, there will be a host of programs.

Look for this logo in the newsletter to find them. Find more info, including resources for teachers, such as STEM lesson plans, at discovertech.khcpl.org. The whole family’s welcome at the exhibit!
Thanks to Bridges Outreach, we will provide transportation from KHCPL Main to South every Saturday during the exhibit. Seating will be limited. Check our website for updates.
NERD NIGHT
6:00-8:00 pm • Tuesdays, Feb. 7, March 7, and April 4 • American-Dream Hi-Fi, 109 E. Sycamore St.
Are you a nerd or know someone who is? Adults are invited to join us as nerds talk about what they nerd out about the most. Relax, learn something new, and meet some new friends. Pizza and drinks will be available for purchase. Nerds interested in presenting should contact Justin Kingery at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
CHILDREN'S SCIENCE CLUB MAGNETIC FUN
5:00 p.m. • Tuesday, Feb. 28 • KHCPL Main
Get pulled into fun with magnets! Make your own magnet and cool magnetic slime. Space is limited; call 626.0830 to reserve your spot beginning Feb. 14.
DREAM BIG: Changing the Conversation About Engineering
3:00 p.m. • Tuesday, Feb. 21 • AMC Showplace 12
Stop by any KHCPL location to pick up tickets for a FREE movie that’ll make you rethink what engineering is all about: Dream Big: Engineering Wonders of the World. The movie highlights the important work engineers do; heightens interest and changes perceptions about the profession; inspires young people to consider careers in engineering; and answers the demand for K-12 engineering education resources in alignment with the Next Generation Science Standards.
DASH AND DOT, PROGRAMMABLE ROBOTS
FINDING DOT
5:30-6:30 p.m. • Tuesday, Feb. 21 • KHCPL Main
Help Dash find his lost friend Dot!
CODING MAZE
5:30-6:30 p.m. • Tuesday, March 21 • KHCPL Main
Help Dash navigate through a maze to find Dot!
SCRATCH CODING
5:30-6:30 p.m. • Tuesday, April 18 • KHCPL Main
5:00 to 6:00 p.m. • Tuesday, April 25 • KHCPL South
Second- through fifth-graders, come learn basic coding using Scratch Coding developed by MIT!
Class size limited. For required registration, call 626.0830 two weeks before each event.
DISCOVER FUN
1:00-4:00 p.m. • Saturday, Feb. 25 • KHCPL South
Bring the whole family and join us on opening day to explore the Discover Tech exhibit. Do handson activities with Science Central, watch a 3-D printer demonstration, visit with Purdue Polytechnic Institute Kokomo, and more!
EXPLORING YOUR STORY
5:00-8:00 p.m. • Friday, March 3 • KHCPL Main
Akin to the TV show “Who Do You Think You Are?”, come witness two participants, Tammy Lively and Barbara Trice, learn about their families’ histories, thanks to help from DNA. Assisting us will be Michael Lacopo from Granger, Ind., and www.Roots4U.com. Then join us for Part II, Exploring Your Story Continues, on March 4.
EXPLORING YOUR STORY CONTINUES
9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. • Saturday, March 4 • KHCPL Main
Michael Lacopo will teach you about DNA, going over the basics and how to interpret and use the results when genealogy testing. Then, we’ll host “Deconstructing Your Family Tree: Re-evaluating the Evidence” and “Using Internet Indexes and Search Engines: Navigating the Pitfalls of the Digital Age to Find Your Ancestors.”
TGIF at KHCPL South
4:00-5:00 p.m. • Fridays, March 3 to May 12
Each Friday stop in for STEM fun and games. For second through sixth grades. Build your own bristle bot, create with Little Bits, program a Sphero, and more. Call 453.4150 for details.
VIDEO GAME DESIGN
2:00-4:00 p.m. • Saturday, March 4 • KHCPL South
Teens, ready to level up from gamer to designer? Learn about video game design using free tools such as Scratch, Game Maker, and Unity. Call 453.4150 or register at khcpl.bibliocommons.com/events.
SO YOU WANT TO BE AN ENGINEER?
6:30 p.m. • Wednesday, March 8 •KHCPL South
Attention sixth- through 12th-graders. Are you thinking about a career in engineering? Come learn about different career paths and ask the experts your questions.
GIRL SCOUT SERIES
6:00 p.m. • Thursdays, March 9, 16, and 23 • KHCPL South
Come earn STEM-related badges. Registration required. Call 453.4150 or visit khcpl.bibliocommons.com/events to register.
DELPHI ELECTRONICS AND SAFETY STEM DAY
10:00 a.m. to Noon • Saturday, March 11 • KHCPL South
Delphi Electronics and Safety will host a FREE STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Day for fourth- to sixth-graders, including presentations on writing code to program remotecontrol cars, testing virtual reality goggles, building and racing Lego cars powered by a chemical reaction, assembling hardware and circuits to power a functioning radio, and observing Delphi technologies in cars. Lunch is included. Registration required. Call 453.4150 or visit khcpl.bibliocommons.com/events to register.
TEEN MOVIE NIGHT
6:00-8:00 p.m. • Tuesday, March 14 KHCPL South
This coming-of-age film centers on the “Rocket Boys,” who share a passion for all things that blast into the sky. Celebrate Albert Einstein’s birthday & Pi Day with this nostalgic look back to the dawn of the 1950s space race! Rated PG.
3-D PRINT LIKE A BOSS!
1:00-5:00 p.m. • Saturday, March 18 • KHCPL South
Teens, stop in as the library transforms into an open Makerspace where you can design and print your own 3-D objects. Noobs welcome!
MOVIE MATINEE at KHCPL SOUTH
3:00 p.m. • Sunday, March 19
Watch a STEM-related movie. Rated G. Great for the family!
3:00 p.m. • Sunday, April 9
See a free, STEM-related, award-winning film. Rated PG.
3:00 p.m. • Saturday, May 13
Watch a great, STEM-related, family-friendly movie!
SPEAKER QUEST: Ayanna Howard
6:30 p.m. • Monday, March 20 KHCPL South
When Ayanna Howard was at NASA, she worked on developing the next generation of Mars Rover, which was designed to be independentminded enough to explore terrain on its own without its every move programmed by a human. Ayanna now teaches at Georgia Tech, working on robots to help with space exploration and people on Earth.
CHILDREN'S SCIENCE CLUB: EGYPTIAN SCIENCE
5:00 p.m. • Thursday, March 23 • KHCPL Main
Children and kids through fifth grade are invited to discover the exciting world of science in ancient Egypt. Make a sheet of papyrus and try your hand at mummy wrapping!
BOY SCOUT MERIT BADGE DAY
9:00 a.m.-Noon, & 1:00-4:00 p.m. Saturday, March 25 KHCPL South
Work on activities to earn three different badges: Engineer, Electronics, and Robotics. Lunch provided. Registration required by March 17. Call 453.4150 or visit khcpl.bibliocommons.com/events to register.
STORYTIME STEAM CHALLENGE
10:00 a.m. • Monday, March 27 KHCPL Russiaville
Encourage your young thinker, ages 2 and up, to be a creative problem-solver with a STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art and Math) challenge based on a favorite Storytime book!
STEM BREAK
1:00-3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, March 27-31 • KHCPL South
Kids in kindergarten through seventh grade, drop in for STEM-related spring break activities. Build a transistor radio with Purdue Polytechnic Kokomo, make an emergency shelter out of cardboard, and check out lots of other STEM-related projects.
TEEN MOVIE MATINEE
2:00-4:00 p.m. • Saturday, April 1 • KHCPL Main
Based on James Patterson’s Maximum Ride YA series, this film follows six winged teenagers with the gift of flight. Their mission: escape evil scientists and half-wolf mutants. Rated PG-13.
PURDUE RUBE GOLDBERG TEAM DEMO
3:00 p.m. • Saturday, April 8 • KHCPL South
Everyone's welcome to check out the Purdue Rube Goldberg team as it demonstrates its 2017 contest invention: Apply a BAND-AID®. Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist best known for his zany invention cartoons. With an annual competition, teams find creative and complicated ways to engineer a solution to a simple problem.
ENGINEERS WITHOUT BORDERS
6:30 p.m. • Tuesday, April 11 • KHCPL South
Engineers without Borders USA builds a better world through engineering projects that empower communities to meet their basic human needs and equips leaders to solve the world’s most pressing challenges. Engineers with the Indiana Chapter will talk about the engineering behind getting clean water to a community and more.
DISCOVER TECH SPECIAL SELECTION BOOK DISCUSSION
6:30 p.m. • Thursday, April 20, KHCPL South
Adults, join us for librarian-led book discussion. Extra copies of the book are available for checkout starting one month before the discussion. Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
GIRLS LOCK-IN
6:00 p.m.-8:00 a.m. • Friday, April 21-22 • KHCPL South
Fifth- throuogh eighth-grade young ladies, come tour the Discover Tech exhibit, participate in STEM challenges, join a Think Like a Girl Skype, and talk with female engineers. Free food includes a pizza dinner, snacks, and a donut breakfast. Registration required. Call 453.4150 or visit khcpl.bibliocommons.com/events to register.
INTRO TO SPHERO
1:00-4:00 p.m. • Saturday, April 22 KHCPL South
Create. Code. Game. Play. This versatile robotic sphere can do it all, and so can you! Join us for an afternoon of STEM-inspired fun.
TEA FOR TWO: WORKSHOP WITH THE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING PROGRAM
9:15 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Saturday, May 6 • KHCPL South
Saturday, May 6 • KHCPL South A highly sought after Purdue University event is coming to Kokomo. The tea provides a fun, hands-on engineering experience where imagination and creativity shine. Doors open at 9:15 a.m. to sign in and for a light breakfast. Fourth- through eighth-grade girls with an adult female chaperone are welcome. Seating is limited. Registration required. Visit khcpl.bibliocommons.com/events or call 765.453.4150 to register.
MOLECULAR GASTRONOMY – THE SCIENCE OF FOOD
6:00-7:00 p.m. • Thursday, May 11 • KHCPL South
Teens and adults, join us as Chef Allison Kingery from Purdue’s Department of Food Science demonstrates Molecular Gastronomy, bringing together culinary arts with food chemistry and ingredient technology. Taste samples!
TECH BASH
4:00-7:00 p.m. • Friday, May 19 KHCPL South
Bring the whole family and join us for a final shindig to celebrate engineering! You’ll find concept cars from Delphi, a solar panel from Green Alternatives, robotics from Purdue Polytechnic Institute Kokomo, and more! This will be the last day for our community to interact with the Discover Tech exhibit. We still have some space left if your engineering or STEM-related business or organization would like to be a part of it. Call Lori at 453.4150.