Project BUILD

Project BUILD brings together youth, their families, librarians, and professional engineers in a STEM learning environment centered on engaging youth grades 2-5 with activities that highlight the engineering design process. Seeking to serve the underserved segments of the library communities, the overarching aim of the project is to provide experiences that expand young people’s learning preferences to include STEM-related careers as possible options. Project BUILD also provides access to knowledgeable engineering professionals who participate in sessions and offer guidance through their insights and experiences.

The Space Science Institute’s (SSI) National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL), in partnership with the University of Virginia (UVA) and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop and implement BUILD (Building Using an Interactive Learning Design) in 2017.

We hope you’ll find some of the Project BUILD resources listed on this site helpful as you design, promote, and implement your own interactive engineering program for your patrons. These resources were developed by STAR Net and other members of the Project BUILD team, including our six partner libraries — it is always helpful to learn from what other libraries are doing! Select from the menu below to quickly move to the topic you’re interested in.

Engineering Design Challenges

Think, Build, Test, Do It Again…
That’s the process engineers use when they tackle a problem. Engineers don’t have official rules telling them to follow this set of steps. But, over time they’ve learned that they get the best results this way. They think and brainstorm about a problem and factors they have to consider to solve it. They come up with an idea and build a prototype. They test the prototype. And, then they repeat the process to improve their results.

It Takes a Lot of Back and Forth…
Engineers often move back and forth within the loop, repeating two steps over and over again before moving forward. It’s a key to engineering success. Sometimes, engineers will focus on one specific step, and when complete, pass the project off to another team with a different skill set. Engineers are creative problem solvers, and your library patrons can be too!

Download the Engineering Design Process logo, translated activity and programming materials, and much more from our Engineering Program Toolkit!

Guide on the Side Facilitation

Hands-on engineering activities can intrinsically help library patrons learn as they design, build, test, and try again; but how you facilitate these activities is just as important as the activities themselves!

For guidance on facilitating learning experiences for your patrons, check our Guide on the Side webpage, read our article in ALSC’s Children and Libraries journal, or watch the webinar, STEAM Learning in Public Libraries: A “Guide on the Side” Approach for Inclusive Learning.

Choosing the right activity for your engineering program can make a world of difference! The STEM Activity Clearinghouse has over 500 activities and several collections devoted just to engineering. Check them out below!

Learning doesn’t just take place at the library – check out these resources to help your patrons STEAM Ahead at Home!

Create at Home: Edible Destruction 

Build at Home: Create Your Own Zipline 

Build at Home: Daylight in a Bottle 

Explore at Home: Balloon Rockets 

Windy City Tower 

Water Pollution Cleanup 

Daylight in a Bottle 

Build Earthquake Resistant Structure 

Windy City Tower 

Foil Boats 

Water Pollution Clean Up 

Participating Project BUILD libraries hosted Community Dialogue events to engage in conversations with representatives from their local communities, including ASCE volunteers, local business/industry, community organizations, Girl and Boy Scout leaders, 4-H, homeschool groups, caregivers, and teachers, with an emphasis on including representatives from groups currently underrepresented in STEAM professions.

This short video highlight’s a Project BUILD library, the African American Research Library and Cultural Center in Broward County, Florida, and how they were able to facilitate a successful Community Dialogue in their library.

Check out these professional development resources from STAR Net and other STEM-focused organizations to further your program development and facilitation skills!

• Dream Big to Build a Better World (December 14, 2016)
• Building a Better Program for Engineer’s Week (January 9, 2018)
• Out-of-this-World Engineering (September 26, 2018)
• Ready, Set, Create! How Engineers and Libraries Can Collaborate to Make a World of Difference (October 1, 2019)
• STEAM Learning in Public Libraries: A “Guide on the Side” Approach for Inclusive Learning (October 22, 2020)
• Click 2 Science: What Do You Know About Circuits?
• Click 2 Science: Prepare and Plan
• Click 2 Science: Seeking and Supporting Student Ideas

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number DRL-1657593. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.