Walk into the library at the Eminence Independent Schools campus and you’ll be greeted by flying drones, a giant wall of computer monitors, an aquaponics lab, and a slide connecting the first and second floors. The rural K–12 school’s new library, dubbed the EDhub, or the Experimental DaVinci Hybrid Ultra Bibliotheca, was built with the help of a $6 million nickel property tax and opened three years ago. The district superintendent and others envisioned the space out of a desire to rethink instruction with a STEAM focus. Now, along with books, students have access to eight different labs that can be used for taking tours with virtual reality (VR) goggles, filming projects for class, and a LEGO wall. Still, “the things aren’t really the important part,” says librarian James Allen, also past-president of the Kentucky Association of School Libraries. “Providing the best for our students, above and beyond the standard curriculum, is the goal.” That means design thinking way outside of the box, using lab tools including Tinkercad, SketchUp, vinyl and laser cutters, a large-format photo printer, and resources from the woodworking shop. Visit Allen’s website. Twitter: @TLJamesA

Take a video tour of the EDhub.

When Tommy Martinez’s rural district went 1:1, he knew his library had to change to stay relevant. He started a makerspace—the first in his district—and introduced more inquiry-based tech. The makerspace began with marble runs made of cardboard. A reverse engineering project, using a James Dyson Foundation engineering kit, allowed kids to view experts explaining building concepts. At the “breakerspace,” they took apart items such as printers, telephones, and electronic toys and used the parts for other building projects. Now, students also use QuiverVision augmented VR coloring and designing projects on Tinkercad for the 3-D printer.

Raquel Hewitt found an unused room full of strange-looking, idle equipment when she arrived at Lancaster Middle School. It was an aquaponics lab, which she and a science teacher got working again. Aquaponics uses waste produced by farmed fish to supply nutrients for plants grown hydroponically, which in turn purifies the water. It’s a perfect illustration of STEM applications at work. Hewitt reached out to Texas A&M University, whose professors provided expertise and seedlings, and specialists in the community helped, too.

“I teach digital literacy, digital citizenship, as well as a love of books,” says Tamiko Brown. “It’s part of my job.” Her students spend much of their time designing prosthetic hands for their 3-D printer or winning state robotics competitions. But when Brown started at Ed White Elementary, the overhead projector was the primary tech in the room. Brown turned the library into a drop-in learning commons and launched the makerspace with no knowledge of coding or robotics and zero budget. She’s built it with funding from parent donations, the PTA, grants from Donors Choose, and her school district’s education foundation.

Every summer, Truman Middle School’s Camp Innovate hosts 40 to 50 kids for two camp sessions. Library media specialist Megan Vallis founded and directs the camp, whose mission is to encourage STEAM learning by designing and constructing objects. For instructors, Vallis recruits middle school teachers she knows are open to experimenting with tech, including Sphero robots, Bloxels, stop-motion animation, green screens, digital breakouts, and Minecraft Edu. “The goal is to support teachers to try new technology” as well as students, she says.

Sometimes little things make a library future ready, like lots of electrical outlets. When it came time to remodel Jesuit’s High School’s library, Gregory Lum participated in every consideration, from architectural design to furniture selection to outlets. The new space has two computer labs with large touchscreens and five conference rooms for group projects with “boat-style” tables and Apple TVs, lounge seating, and swivel tables for tablets.