ROCKINGHAM — STEAMfest made a spooktacular debut on Halloween night, inviting children and families to take part in a STEAM workshop and a zombie-themed escape room challenge that encouraged collaboration and real-world use of STEAM skills.
The event featured five hands-on stations, each focused on a different STEAM area. Children explored science by dusting for fingerprints, programmed robots with block coding to learn about technology, and examined engineering concepts through a Rube Goldberg machine. At the art station, participants experimented with sound and pitch using a water xylophone while the math station revealed the mathematics behind popcorn.
Supported by funding from the Amazon Richmond County North Carolina Fund and ChangeX, STEAMfest will run from October 2025 through April 2026. The program aims to bring engaging STEAM learning opportunities to elementary, middle and high school students across Richmond County.
“We got an Amazon Change X grant, so that’s where the funding is coming from. This is actually the kickoff event for several STEAM workshops that we’ll be doing over the next few months. Today was STEAM workshops for the first two hours and then the escape room using the skills that they learned in the STEAM workshops,” said Jennifer Hatcher, Sandhill Regional Director of Libraries.
Each month, STEAMfest will focus on a different subject area. December will feature science activities such as forensics, bubble chemistry and electricity. In January, students will learn about technology through LEGO robotics and Scratch coding. February’s engineering workshops will include structural design and team-building challenges. March will highlight art projects with water xylophones, stringed instruments and conductive paint. The program will wrap up in April with math-based survival problem solving that includes solar ovens, filtration systems and catapults.
Hatcher said the workshops will rotate among the Ellerbe, Hamlet and Rockingham library branches to make them accessible to all students.
“So every month, they will rotate to all three branches, so hopefully everybody will get a chance to come,” she said.
“I hope that the kids will take away a love for science, art and technology—also a love for the library,” Hatcher added.