CAMP EXPLORE 2025: Full STEAM Ahead at The Westport Library!
Camp Explore returns in Summer 2025 for its sixth year of STEAM exploration. Workshops kick off June 24 and run from 10 am to 11:30 am in The Westport Library’s Trefz Forum. These are cumulative programs; as such, for multi-day programs, participants are requested to attend all days. Registration required.
This is a free program for those who attend. Because of the limited number of students, you will be charged $25 upon registration for each Camp Explore workshop. Your deposit will be refunded less credit card processing fees upon attendance or notification of inability to attend sent to mpastel@westportlibrary.org a week before the program starts AND if we can fill your spot.
Camp Explore is made possible by the continuing generosity of Roz and Bud Siegel.
Smartphone Photography with Jhonny Parks
Students will transform their smartphones into powerful photography tools! They'll dive into the art of capturing and editing stunning, professional-quality photos. From learning photography principles, manual camera settings, the art of exposure, and playing with lighting techniques, they'll gain hands-on experience every step of the way.
Students should come prepared with their own smartphones, preloaded with the recommended apps, ready to snap, edit, and have some fun!
Your Instructor: Jhonny Parks is a Connecticut-based photographer and cinematographer with a passion for storytelling through visual media. Beginning his journey in stop-motion animation, he developed a strong foundation in photography principles, later specializing in macro photography. Since 2016, Jhonny has taught more than 25 creative courses, covering animation, photography, cinematography, video editing, and advanced post-production. He is also the founder and owner of What A Production LLC, a media production company dedicated to delivering high-quality content to clients all around the world.
Bit Board Rover 'Bots with Josh Burker
Join Josh Burker for an exploration of Brown Dog Gadget's brick-based Microbit Robot. We will construct the base unit on Day 1, debug it, and program it. On Day 2, we will expand on the build to add capabilities. Day 3 is for debugging and demonstrating your robot's power: from object retrieval to drawing, depending on how you have built and refined your 'bot!
Your Instructor: Josh Burker is the creative technology teacher at Marymount School Upper Middle Division in New York City. He has taught in both public and private schools for more than 20 years, working with Logo programming, robotics, fabrication, electronics, and art. He writes books, holds workshops for teachers, and consults on educational projects that he finds inclusive and disruptive. He is the author of The Invent to Learn Guide to Fun and The Invent to Learn Guide to More Fun, both of which inspire makers of all ages to explore the intersection of crafting and technology through whimsical, creative projects.
Knit Together with Trammi Nguyen
Beginner knitters will learn the basics of knitting: a simple cast on, the knit stitch, and the garter stitch. They will also learn to keep track of their rows and to bind off their knitting. Participants will work on making small squares and rectangles to create a bookmark, coasters, or a small wallet.
Your Instructor: Trammi Nguyen has been knitting for more than 12 years and continues to learn and improve every time she starts a new project. She began her knitting life when her kindergartener wanted her to knit a knight helmet hat — and she never stopped. This year, her goal is to learn how to knit socks! Trammi works part-time in the Westport Library’s Children’s Department and volunteers to read aloud and tutor in the Bridgeport Public Schools.
Artful Mechanisms with Playful Engineers
Explore basic engineering and physics principles with Jay Mankita, founder of Playful Engineers, while making simple machines come alive through artful design. Learn to work with wood and wire, cardboard, and other ordinary materials, to make your own mechanical crank-driven automation. Experiment with crankshafts, cams, and linkages as you plan, assemble, and fine-tune your own kinetic sculpture that tells a story, sets a scene, or brings a character to life.
Your Instructor: Jay Mankita is the founder of Playful Engineers, an arts-in-education company that fosters play-based learning, creativity, and open-ended engineering. Jay has spent years guiding students to learn by tinkering with mechanisms, solving design challenges, building problem-solving skills and sparking the imagination.
Cartooning with Franco!
Join comic book author/illustrator Franco to create your own superhero and learn how to create a comic page, from breakdowns to final inks and lettering!
Your Instructor: Franco is the co-creator of Patrick the Wolf Boy and AW YEAH COMICS! His latest works include Deadman Tells the Spooky Tales (DC Comics) and his original graphic novels The Ghost, the Owl (Ringo Award Nominated) and Fae and the Moon (Little Bee). His new books, Teen Titans Go to the Library and Flash Gordon Adventures, are out now. A painter who has shown work in galleries, Franco was also a high school teacher for 24 years.
Questions on any of these programs? Please contact Margaret Pastel at mpastel@westportlibrary.org
