LIHUE — David Braman beamed with pride and accomplishment Wednesday evening, holding up his intact, fresh egg at the Lihue Public Library.
“It’s alive,” Braman said. “It survived the drop.”
Others were not so fortunate, as evidence of eggs that did not survive smattered the driveway surrounding the ladder drop, curious young eyes peering in for closer looks.
Braman’s was the egg designated to be the first fresh egg distributed by Children’s Librarian Victoria Lam in the Wednesday Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Night offering by the Lihue Public Library children’s section.
“This is our fourth STEM Night,” Lam said. “Every week, the children are posed with a challenge using materials that have been set up inside a brown paper bag. Tonight, they are tasked with creating a carrier that will protect the egg from a drop. On a previous night, they got jellybeans and toothpicks and had to create a rack strong enough to support a book.”
STEM Night is a free activity for children and their parents that meets from 5 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays in the library, part of the library’s summer offering, including programs for young adults as well.
“We came last week and just happened to see it,” said Rebecca Dingus. “We got to make a boat from tin foil. They gave us 100 pennies, and our boat held all of it without sinking!”
Jason Cope’s face lit up when he realized he could use the enclosed plastic shopping bag as a parachute, his fingers working madly against the clock to create a gondola using the two enclosed paper cups, a pair of Popsicle sticks and some wads of cotton balls as padding.
Other participants like Maddi Nii took a different approach, enclosing her paper cup-encased egg inside the plastic bag and blowing it up like a balloon.
The excitement grew as the group paraded outside to the back area where a ladder waited to administer the ultimate test — will the egg survive?
STEM Night takes a break July 4 for the holiday and will meet again July 11 at 5 p.m.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
