A new research space for kids

Private support allows the Library to expand upon ideas that create new resources for the public. The Source, the new 4,000-square-foot experiential and education gallery in the Jefferson Building, will come to life this May thanks to this collaboration of public funds and private donations. Among several private donors, Exelon and GM have provided support that funds experiences that will enhance the new space with activations for visitors.

Until now, children ages 8-15 could visit the Library and participate in planned programs, but they did not have a dedicated learning space. Opening in May, The Source will allow these young people and the adults who love and support them to participate in creative, bespoke research explorations. They will be encouraged to practice their critical-thinking skills and learn what it means to be an active citizen researcher — gathering and processing information and collaborating with others.

Helping the Library to expand, the Library worked with Exelon to create a mobile source station focused on how the Library approaches sustainability and, by extension, explore how visitors can play a role in sustainability efforts at home. The Library’s conservation and preservation teams are developing hands-on activities for the station, inviting young visitors to engage with the Library’s collections. Visitors will get to:

• Analyze inks and papers using examples of hyperspectral imaging done with Thomas Jefferson’s draft of the Declaration of Independence.
• Learn about the earliest film “paper prints” and the chemical processes that cause degradation of different materials.
• Understand historical pigment analysis featuring a book by 17th-century naturalist and scientific illustrator Maria Merian.

And General Motors has funded two part-time STEM librarians and a Source gallery manager. Staff in these positions will engage students and visitors using the mobile station, through school programs, and will host demos on objects visitors can touch and explore, such as:

• Praxinoscope and mutoscope early animation toys.
• Stereograph viewers and stereographs representing early photography.
• The 1936 Underwood typewriter and QWERTY keyboard.

Philanthropy fuels innovation and creativity at the Library, and it helps good ideas come to fruition. At The Source, a new generation of good ideas coupled with support from corporate partners will have the perfect place to spark.