Thurmont Regional Library is looking for teen volunteers to help us in our new STEM Lab. The STEM Lab is a space in the library where those ages 3 to 18 are invited to learn and create through science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Volunteers in the STEM Lab will get to use fun gadgets and provide guidance to STEM Lab visitors.

Our STEM Lab features include:

• Snap Circuits
• Goldie Blox
• Microscopes
• Slide making
• Plasma ball
• Minecraft
• iPad Minis featuring STEM apps
• Gravity mazes
• Cubelets and more!

If you are a teen who is looking for school service learning hours, experience for your resume or college applications, and enjoy interacting with the public, please take a moment to complete the volunteer application. Volunteer application forms are also available at the library. For more information call (301)600-7212 or use the Contact Us form at fcpl.org. 

 

Submitted by Clare Bush
Thurmont Regional Library

Each year, teen book groups in sixteen public libraries and schools nominate their favorite teen books for the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Teens' Top Ten list. Teens across the country vote online for their favorite titles and winners are announced in October.

Here are the 2015 Teen's Top Ten titles:

The Shadow Throne by Jennifer A. Nielsen - J FIC NIELSON

I Become Shadow by Joe Shine - Y FIC SHINE

To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han - Y FIC HAN

My Life with the Walter Boys by Ali Novak

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas - Y FIC MAAS

The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare - Y FIC CLARE
 
The Young Elites by Marie Lu - Y FIC LU

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson - Y FIC PEARSON

Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson - Y FIC MATSON

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

Submitted by Robin Goetz & Sarah Showe
Brunswick Branch Library

The afterschool teen program at the Middletown Branch Library is growing from once a week to twice a week! Join us at 3:00pm on both Mondays and Tuesdays for twice the excitement. This fall we kicked off the school year with a back-to-school party complete with pizza and the frenzy of a wonderball. The fun continued with tabletop games, computer games, and Wii games. We watched movies and anime. We even got our creative juices flowing with duct tape projects, a zombie makerspace, and mutant franken-toy construction.

Winter will bring new programs for teens such as a Star Wars launch party, the chemistry of polymers with galaxy good, zentangle inspired art, projects to benefit an animal shelter, tinkering, and an Anti-Valentine party, just to name a few. Each day will be a different program so stop by any day or every day! See you at the Middletown Library!

Submitted by Marcey Jastrab
Middletown Branch Library

Are you ready for your biggest design challenge yet? For teens and tweens only, join us for a chance to win our third annual Project Runway Junior: Library Edition!

This year's challenge comes with a new twist: creating blueprints for your incredible designs using new technology in our STEM Lab. We'll be using Inkscape, a graphic design tool, to draw out your ideas. This two part design phase will occur on Monday, January 4, and Monday, January 11, at 4pm in the C. Burr Artz STEM Lab. After the design phase, take home free fabric and accessories to bring your designs to life!

Work on your project alone or with a teammate, then show off your creation on Saturday, January 23, at 11am at your very own Runway Show! The top winner will receive a Project Runway inspired prize.

Sign up in person, online at fcpl.org, or call (301)600-1630. Questions? Email the teen librarian using the Contact Us form at fcpl.org.

Submitted by Liz Bowen
C. Burr Artz Public Library

The month of September saw the beginning of a new STEM program for homeschool teens at the Middletown Library. Monthly themes have included Microscopy and Microbiology, Physics, and Forensic Science. The students have had some great STEM experiences! In one multi-week project the teens cultured bacteria from their environment on nutrient agar plates, grew them over seven days, then learned staining techniques in order to view and identify the bacteria under the microscope.

October was physics month with lessons in simple machines, potential energy, kinetic energy, and chain reactions. The lesson ended with a three week trebuchet construction project. Five teams of teens worked to construct their medieval siege weapons in order to take down the might cardboard castles! There was much cheering as each trebuchet successfully aimed and fired upon their target. The teens are already brainstorming a new construction project for the spring.
Late November and December were the months for solving crimes. Casting imprints, studying fingerprints, performing blood splatter analysis, and other crime scene lab techniques were learned. This winter will bring all new classes in circuitry, robotics, computer programming, tinkering and more! Join the homeschool STEM teens on Thursdays at 1:00pm at the Middletown Library.

Submitted by Marcey Jastrab
Middletown Branch Library