BBB Partners

NSF STEM Day - May 10th 2025

Kathleen Crespin — Mon, 25 Aug 2025 14:54:44 +0000

NSF STEM Day - May 10th 2025 Kathleen Crespin Mon, 08/25/2025 - 08:54

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) commemorated its 75th anniversary on May 10th, 2025. Many of the discoveries and innovations that we use every day - including GIS technologies, the internet, AI and Duolingo - are the result of NSF investments in STEM. The free event showcased some of the research projects, education initiatives, and public science communication efforts that the NSF has funded at ��ƷSM��ӰƬ and CU Anschutz. CU Science Discovery organized and led the celebration with its Build a Better Book partners at Mountain Lakes Library in New Jersey, Explora Science Center in New Mexico, Laredo Public Library in Texas, and Arecibo C3 Center in Puerto Rico. The celebration at all 5 sites included activities and demos for the public, young and old!

CU Science Discovery Interns demonstrate various projects created during their 2022, 2023 & 2024 Build a Better Book Summer Internships. Projects included laser cut accessible games - Ingenious and Chess and 3D printed Chess and Othello/Checker pieces.

Activities at each site included:

Braille Embosser with text blocks that say "Build a Better Book"
Braille Twister dots
Braille Eggs
Braille Legos
3D printed Braille Crayon caps, crayons and swell paper coloring pages.
Each site had a tactile laser cut map of their state and the Public used fabric and craft materials to create a Tactile Map of their State.

��ƷSM��ӰƬ (Main Internship site): Led the coordination, design, and dissemination of activities and experiences for STEM Day events and hosted a main event at the Engineering Center that showcases BBB intern projects and maker activities.

Our longtime Build a Better Book Partner, Mountain Lakes Public Library in New Jersey, who ran internship from 2022-2024, hosted an interactive event showcasing BBB intern projects and a braille book launch.

Explora Science Center and Children’s Museum, Albuquerque, NM ran BBB Internships the summers of 2024 & 2025. They shared BBB intern work in the Electricity exhibit area as part of the museum’s larger STEM Day experience.

Another BBB network partner in Texas, Laredo Public Libraries, leveraged STEM Day participation to build staff capacity and utilized BBB resources and activities in their community programming.

Our newest BBB network partner, Arecibo C3 Center in Puerto Rico is the site of the old Observatory. Their STEM Day coincided with the center’s grand opening event and enabled them to emphasize its commitment to inclusive values by supporting their community members with disabilities.

NSF impact poster

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NSF STEM Day - May 10th

Kathleen Crespin — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 21:29:54 +0000

NSF STEM Day - May 10th Kathleen Crespin Tue, 04/08/2025 - 15:29

This May, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is commemorating its 75th anniversary with a series of NSF STEM Day events across the country. Since 1950, the NSF has invested in ideas and innovations across all fields of science and engineering. Many of the discoveries and innovations that we use every day – including GIS technologies, the internet, AI and Duolingo – are the result of NSF investments in STEM.

Build a Better Book will have 5 partner sites across the country participating. Mountain Lakes Library in New Jersey, Explora Science Center in New Mexico, Arecibo C3 Center (the old observatory) in Puerto Rico, Laredo Public Library in Texas, and CU Science Discovery in Boulder, Colorado.

For those in Colorado, you are invited to join us as we celebrate NSF STEM Day with a unique opportunity to get hands-on with cutting-edge research happening at ��ƷSM��ӰƬ.

When: Saturday, May 10 from 10am-12pm

Where: Jennie Smoly Caruthers Biotechnology Building, ��ƷSM��ӰƬ East Campus

Click to learn more and RSVP

This free community event will showcase some of the STEM research projects, education initiatives, and public science communication efforts that the NSF has funded on the ��ƷSM��ӰƬ and CU Anschutz campuses. Everyone is welcome to attend; hands-on activities and scientist demonstrations will be ideal for students in grades 4-12 as well as adults. Food and beverages will be available for purchase from Stinger's Café.

Activity stations will include:

Accessible games and design activities with the Build a Better Book project
Art-science exhibits exploring the climate's impact on birds with Side by Side
Technology-integrated paper crafts with the Craft Technology Lab
EV MicroKarts with the ASPIRE Engineering Research Center
Biomedical science demonstrations with researchers and students from the CU Anschutz Medical Campus
Insect-inspired robots with the Animal Inspired Movement & Robotics Lab
Hands-on topographic mapping with our new AR Sandbox (STROBE)
... and plenty more!

Plenty of parking will be available near the JSCBB building. Need an incentive to RSVP? Science Discovery will be sending a discount parking code to all those who submit an RSVP on behalf of their group! Act now – the RSVP closes on Thursday, May 8 at 11:59pm. On Friday, May 9, parking maps, links, and the parking discount code will be sent via email to all who have submitted an RSVP.

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Build a Better Book: Teens Using STEM to Create a User-Friendly World

Kathleen Crespin — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 23:44:18 +0000

Build a Better Book: Teens Using STEM to Create a User-Friendly World Kathleen Crespin Thu, 02/06/2025 - 16:44

Build a Better Book partner Analiza Perez-Gomez with Laredo Public Library in Texas was featured in an article by ALA (American Library Association). Read about how she implemented BBB's approach to using Empathetic Engineering & STEM to create Accessible Products. Read full article here.

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BBB Welcomes Summer Interns in CO, NJ & NM

Anonymous — Wed, 29 May 2024 21:57:06 +0000

BBB Welcomes Summer Interns in CO, NJ & NM Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 05/29/2024 - 15:57

Summer 2024 is a busy time for Build a Better Book! We have 3 sites hosting Teen Internships in Colorado - ��ƷSM��ӰƬ, New Jersey - Mountain Lakes Public Library, and New Mexico - Explora! Science Center & Children's Museum.

Colorado Teen Interns hail from various Denver Metro High Schools including:

Alexander Dawson High School
Boulder High School
Fairview High School
Lakewood High School
Monarch High School
Northglenn High School
Pinnacle Charter High School
Salida High School
Stargate High School

New Mexico Teen Interns come from an assortment of Albuquerque High Schools:

Albuquerque High School
Albuquerque School of Excellence
Digital Arts and Technology Academy
Eldorado High School
La Cueva High School (LCHS)
Sandia High School
Santa Fe Indian School
Veritas Scholars Academy

New Jersey Teen Interns are all patrons of Mountain Lakes Public Library and have been working with Ian Matty in the Library Makerspace over the last couple of years.

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Kentucky Young Adult and Children in Public Libraries (KYAC) Conference

Anonymous — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 21:27:03 +0000

Kentucky Young Adult and Children in Public Libraries (KYAC) Conference Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 09/26/2023 - 15:27

Virtual Conference Presentation

Build a Better Book: Meaningful Making in Public Library Makerspaces

October 19, 2023
1:00pm MT

Presenters: Kathryn Penzkover (CU Science Discovery) and Analiza Perez-Gomez (Laredo Public Libraries)

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Making a Difference

Anonymous — Tue, 27 Sep 2022 20:09:49 +0000

Making a Difference Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 09/27/2022 - 14:09

Students at Ma'ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls in New Jersey jumped on board their school's Build a Better Book initiative called "Making a Difference". In partnership with the School for Children with Hidden Intelligence (SCHI), Ma'ayanot students completed an in-depth STEAM and Maker course developing interactive educational toys and games for children at SCHI. Teachers Reyce Krause, Gillian Cofnas, and Gila Stein developed a robust curriculum that engaged students in 1) Learning through empathy and understanding visual impairments, 2) Product Design and Prototyping through testing, feedback, and iterations of their designs, and 3) Device Construction which challenged students to create products that were both aesthetic and robust enough to stand up to handling and use in the classroom.

After meeting with teachers and therapists at SCHI, students were given a profile of a SCHI child and went to work designing a customized product that reflected their child's interests and abilities. Since many of the SCHI children have cortical visual impairment (CVI), Ma'ayanot students used an array of Maker technologies to design devices with high color contrast, motion, sound, and lights to help focus attention and engage the viewer. After many months of hard work, re-designing, and STEAM skill-building, the students shared their projects at Ma'ayanot's STEAMposium and then presented the final products to the children at SCHI.

Guided by a "Focus on simplicity in concept and design, beauty in construction, maximum impact", the collaboration between Ma'ayanot and SCHI truly made a difference to everyone involved.

Customized projects often incorporated a SCHI student's name and interests. View images of more projects.

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Webinar: BBB Virtual Conference 2021 (September 13-14)

Anonymous — Wed, 06 Oct 2021 03:14:56 +0000

Webinar: BBB Virtual Conference 2021 (September 13-14) Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 10/05/2021 - 21:14

Build a Better Book was pleased to host a virtual conference on September 13-14, 2021! If you missed the conference, you can still view the session recordings on the BBB Virtual Conference 2021 webpage. Get inspired to start a Build a Better Book project at your library, school, or makerspace!

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BBB Small Grants Awarded

Anonymous — Tue, 22 Dec 2020 20:04:21 +0000

BBB Small Grants Awarded Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 12/22/2020 - 13:04

Build a Better Book finished out the year by awarding Participant Support grants of up to $750 to ten partners around the country. Each organization submitted a proposal and request for materials that will support their on-going or new BBB projects. Most of the projects will be completed in 2021 but a few have already started. We are impressed with the creativity and innovation of each site in finding ways to explore universal design and accessibility with their students through hybrid and remote learning. Hewitt-Trussville Middle School in Alabama expanded their students' ability to create with a set of Specdrums rings that connect colors with sounds. Mountain Lakes Public Library in New Jersey continued the final stages of a two-year project with students developing a marble run Hex Game. They will be delivering ten 3D printed games to BVI students for feedback on their designs.

Congratulations to our grant recipients and we look forward to sharing more about their BBB projects in 2021!

Hewitt-Trussville Middle School - Alabama
Laredo Public Library - Texas
Yonkers Public Schools - New York
Central Michigan University Center for Excellence in STEM Education - Michigan
Washington Leadership Academy - Washington D.C.
Saint Thomas the Apostle School - California
Middletown Free Library - Pennsylvania
Luna Cultura - Colorado
University of Indianapolis/ Raymond Brande Elementary School - Indiana
Mountain Lakes Public Library - New Jersey

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Webinar: Building Relationships with BVI Partners (October 21, 2020)

Anonymous — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 19:18:52 +0000

Webinar: Building Relationships with BVI Partners (October 21, 2020) Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 10/13/2020 - 13:18

This panel discussion opens up a conversation around building personal relationships between students and BVI partners during the time of COVID, responding to relevant challenges together, and the difference between working with vs. working for someone. Luanne Burke is a blind artist and athlete who has participated in past BBB workshops and served as Artist-in-Residence at BLDG 61 makerspace at Boulder Public Library. Jimmy Uharriet is a blind airplane mechanic who has collaborated with Project Invent students on developing award-winning accessibility tools.

Panelists: Luanne Burke, Jimmy Uharriet
Moderators: Janet Hollingsworth & Abraham Orozco

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Laredo Public Libraries Awarded Texas Reads Grant

Anonymous — Thu, 01 Oct 2020 17:25:38 +0000

Laredo Public Libraries Awarded Texas Reads Grant Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 10/01/2020 - 11:25

TSLAC Funds Laredo Public Libraries’ Build a Better Book Project

The Laredo Public Libraries were awarded $10,000 for a Build a Better Book Project through the TSLAC Texas Reads Grant for FY 2021. This grant funds programs that encourage people to read and develop a lifelong love of reading. The Laredo Public Libraries will use the funds to purchase a 3D Printer, laser cutter, and 3D pens to teach teen and adult volunteers technology skills and expose them to STEM careers as they design and create accessible, multi-modal picture books, graphics and games that can be seen, touched and heard. Participants will create these kits for the Webb County community--some of which will be used in-house or checked-out from the Laredo Public Libraries by patrons with visual impairments as well as other physical and learning disabilities.

Librarians Analiza Perez-Gomez and Jacqueline Flores Vela were trained in Build a Better Book methods at the ��ƷSM��ӰƬ in January 2020 and received a variety of tools to enhance reading experiences including braille slates, a 3D Pen, and a Makey Makey circuit board. Being one of two Texas locations selected to be part of the Build a Better Book Network, they were immediately inspired to take the project to the next level. Analiza commented, “I love technology, and I had been looking for a way to use technology in a meaningful, humanistic way. The Build a Better Book Workshop helped me see that ‘making with meaning’ could benefit those who need and deserve to have reading experiences in their full potency.” Jacqueline added, “This project is going to help both the patrons who are creating the accessible books, and the patrons using them. It will make reading fun for everyone regardless of their abilities or reading level.” Workshops will begin in January 2021 and registration will be available on the Laredo Public Library website at www.laredolibrary.org. You may also call Analiza or Jacqueline at 956-795-2400 for more information.

This project is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services and Texas State Library and Archives Commission (Grant Number TXR-21006). (2021)

The Laredo Public Libraries was recently awarded a $10,000 Texas Reads Grant from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. The funding will go towards purchasing equipment and materials to support the library's Build a Better Book initiative that will teach teens and adult volunteers technology skills and offer avenues for exploring STEM career paths through the creation of multimodal books and games. Congratulations to Laredo Public Libraries!

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