Hands-on science discoveries in Libertyville

Children made scientific discoveries with PVC pipe, liquid-filled cylinders, rubber bands and socks Tuesday at the Hands-On Science Museum at Cook Park Library.

The drop-in family and children's program transformed a portion of the Libertyville library into a museum for a day so children could learn scientific and technological principles with everyday items.

"We sometimes call it a pop-up museum because it wasn't here yesterday and it just popped up this morning," children's librarian Debbie Colodny said. "It's for parents and children, or caregivers, to work together to explore all different aspects of science and math."

The young groups moved from one station to the next, building structures with PVC pipe, using GeoBoards to create shapes from rubber bands, hanging socks onto clothes lines as they made patterns, and making tornadoes appear in plastic tubes filled with liquid.

"I think it's great. The kids love it because we don't have these toys at home," Lindsay McMahon of Libertyville said as she joined in to play with her children, Thomas, Clare and Colin. "So it is a new experience for them and they love the science aspect of it."

The program was paid for, in part, from a grant by the Illinois Library Association with the Innovative Library Award.