'Gadgeteers' was great fun for Island youngsters

Wed, 12 Oct 2022

200 children signed up to a special reading challenge in the capital – and half of them completed it in style!

Youngsters aged 4-11 participated in ‘Gadgeteers’, the science and innovation themed initiative at the Henry Bloom Noble Library (HBN) in Douglas. To complete the Lloyds Bank-supported challenge, children had to read six library books of their choice, collecting special stickers and incentives along the way to ultimately receive their medal and certificate.

If that wasn’t enough, as well as an exciting book collection, there was an array of fun activities with four STEM-related interactive workshops (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) run by the Love Tech charity which volunteers time to support and mentor young people.

Borough Librarian Jan Macartney said ‘The Gadgeteers reading challenge really was thrilling for everyone involved. To see so many young people sign up and get involved was a joy, as was the reaction to the STEM theme workshops where the children learned about the work of the Manx Wildlife Trust, weather forecasting, software engineering and energy sources.

‘A great time was had by all and we were delighted to have two fantastic supporters in Lloyds Bank and Love Tech.

‘Lloyds very kindly provided a range of prizes for various competitions such as a STEM quiz, a character hunt and book reviews, while we were also delighted that our friends at Love Tech agreed to run the workshops and supply the prize for our 3D model competition. It was a real team effort.’

Lucy Felton and Caitriona Greene from Lloyds Bank and Angela van den Berg from Love Tech joined Mayor of Douglas Janet Thommeny at the prize-giving ceremony and presented prizes for the various competitions.

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