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Inspired Educators Symposium
Saturday, October 14
10:00am - 3:00pm
Educators get the VIP treatment at the Library! Join us for a special day designed for pre-K through twelfth-grade educators and caregivers.
Free hands-on professional development trainings, presentations, book talks, vendors, and demos throughout the day.
Free trainings provided through the Early Childhood Resource Center and Child Guidance starting at 9:30 am. Educators only need to register for the Ohio Approved Early Childhood Trainings marked with an asterisk (*) in the schedule of events below. To register for these, visit registry.occrra.org. Sign in to your account and search by training ID.
Registration to attend the other symposium events is not required.
For training or other event questions, contact Laura McFalls at lmcfalls@akronlibrary.org.
Schedule of Events
9:15 am - 3 pm: Registration & Event Information Table
Atrium Level
9:30 am - 12:30 pm: “We’ve Got the Beat” presented by ECRC* (ST10135662)
Atrium Level Meeting Room
9:30 am - noon: “Time to Rhyme” presented by ECRC* (ST10135663)
Atrium Level Meeting Room
10-10:30 am: “AI: A Conversation About Artificial Intelligence,” facilitated by ASCPL librarians
Atrium Level Meeting Room
10:30-11:30 am: "Fire & Ice," hands-on science activities for kindergarten-12th grade, presented by The Akron Global Polymer Academy
Atrium Level Meeting Room
11:45 am - 12:45 pm: “Tween & Teen Book Talk,” youth librarians in the Teen Division share a variety of fantastic fiction, non-fiction, and graphic novels for 6th-12th graders
Teen Division (Third Level)
12:45-1:15 pm: TechZone Demo & Free Gift
TechZone (First Level)
12:30-1:30 pm: "Fire & Ice," hands-on science activities for kindergarten-12th grade, presented by The Akron Global Polymer Academy.
Atrium Level Meeting Room
1-2:30 pm: “Flip It: Four Steps to Help Children Learn about Feelings and Reduce Behaviors” presented by Child Guidance & Family Solutions* (ST10135761)
Atrium Level Meeting Room
2:30-3 pm: “Science Sources: A Database Exploration” presented by ASCPL Librarians
Atrium Level Meeting Room
3 pm: Raffle Drawings
Auditorium (Atrium Level)
*Pre-Registration Required
All-Day Events, Resources, Displays & Free Gifts (while supplies last), 10 am - 3 pm
First Level
-Free gift for all educators, childcare providers, and home school parents, provided by Summit Education Initiative.
TechZone Information Desk
-Teachers are invited to be a guest reader for our Dial-A-Story program. What fun it would be for students and adults to listen to their teacher’s recorded story! Free gift for participants.
TechZone Recording Studio
-Take a look at our “Kid Entrepreneurs” and educator book displays, and see how else the Business, Government & Science Division can support you as an educator or business owner. Representatives from the Ohio Jobs & Family Services Child Care Licensing will be available to provide information and give guidance on how to start up a family or child care center.
Business, Government & Science Division
Second Level
-Free Books for classrooms throughout the day! Load up a box or two to take back to your students and classrooms.
Children’s Library Program Room
-Tours of Resources for Early Childhood Educators (RECE) Lab and educators resources.
RECE Lab (Children's Library)
-Educators resources and book lists and displays.
Children’s Library
-Vendors and community partner tables: Stop by to receive info, resources, and giveaways. SEI, ECRC, Child Guidance, ODJFS, Toy Resource Center, AMHA/SPARK, Kaplan, Children’s Museum, Art Museum, and more!
Garden Trio Corridor
Third Level
-Grade 6-12 educator resources: Stop by the Teen Division to hear how youth librarians can collaborate with you in your classrooms and which resources are available to you at your library.
Teen Division
Main Library
Hours
About the branch
Drive-up Window closes fifteen minutes before the building closes for the day.
Main Library, located in the heart of downtown Akron, combines compelling public space with meaningful and relevant public library services for all members of our community. Since opening in 2004, the downtown library welcomes more than one million visitors each year.
Subject divisions include: Business, Government & Science, Culture & AV, Magazines & Newspapers, Special Collections (local history & genealogy), TechZone@Main, Teen, and a 12,000 square feet Children's Library.
Special services available at Main Library include: a Patent & Trademark Resource Center; U.S. Passport and Notary services; a Microbusiness Center; a Maker Space; a resource lab for early childhood educators; and regularly scheduled computer training classes. Also available at Main Library are more than 125 public access computers, color photocopiers/printers, laminating, scanning, faxing, and free Wi-Fi.
Specialized spaces include a 425-seat auditorium, public meeting rooms, and a used bookstore. An interior glass block walkway leads to a 600-space parking garage owned by the City of Akron. An outdoor amphitheater and landscaped park complete the complex.