The Little Free STEM Library Contest challenged makers from around the world to design and create a meaningful and fun first interaction with electronics for humans of all ages. The contest, sponsored by Avnet Cares and hosted by Hackster.io and element14, produced an impressive array of innovative and memorable STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) libraries that local communities across the globe could freely access.
Judges from Little Free Library and Scitech Institute participated in selecting the final winning projects listed below.
“The Little Free STEM Library Challenge resulted in some truly innovative library designs! It was wonderful to see participants use STEM skills to make Little Free Library book boxes even more engaging,” said Megan Hanson, Senior Manager at Little Free Library.
The initiative was designed to promote STEM education and foster a love for learning within local communities. The contest encouraged participants to use their technological prowess to create an accessible, immersive, and interactive learning resource, with a goal of not just creating a free library, but to design a space that could spark curiosity, inspire innovation, and make STEM learning a fun and engaging experience for people of all ages.
With more than 100 participants, there were a myriad of ingenious and unique designs created. In total, four Little Free STEM Libraries were awarded STEM Library Starter Pack + eGift Card + Avnet’s magazine feature, and four were named runners-up and will receive a STEM Library Starter Pack.
Most Over-Engineered Library: Raunak Singh’s Tech-Enabled Interactive Little Free Library
With its clever use of a variety of electronic components this project earned the title of Most Over-Engineered Library. The judges especially enjoyed the distance sensor that monitors book supply.
“Building the Little Free Library was a fantastic experience where I combined electrical and mechanical engineering to create a project that impacted my community,” Singh said. “I decided to participate in the Little Free STEM Library Contest on Hackster.io when I noticed that the Little Free Library outside my local elementary school needed renovation.”
“I had the idea to tinker with it to transform it into a STEM technology-enabled interactive experience for other avid readers like me. With the support of the Little Free Library nonprofit, Avnet, and the Scitech Institute throughout the contest, I was able to turn this idea into a reality and install the Little Free STEM Library in my local elementary school, where an eco-friendly solar-powered interactive experience introduces visitors to both STEM and reading. Now that this project is complete, I plan to continue spreading my passion for technology and reading throughout my community,” Singh said.
Most Secure Library: Dan Benitah’s My Little Ballycotton Free Library
Benitah’s library in Ireland stood out with their excellent ideation process and visual flow to document how the creative process worked. The judges thought that the use of custom vision services to extract the book title text out of an image was really smart and makes it easy for any visitor to quickly see exactly which titles are available in the library.
“My main motivation for participating in the Competition was creating and working on an exciting STEM project with my two children during the summer holidays. My children are avid readers but noticed that the nearest library to a small Irish village where we spend some of our holidays, called Ballycotton, was miles away in the car. We decided to combine our love of books and interest in STEM to build and provide a Free Little Library for this village which could be enjoyed by all its inhabitants, young and old. My children are so thrilled and proud that our Library has won Most Secure Library and are so excited to enjoy the prize books and micro:bit boards. Next, I would like to run STEM workshops at my children’s schools once the prizes arrive so more children can benefit from them and learn how to use them. Thank you again to Avnet for sponsoring that challenge.”
Most Illuminated Library: Rifqi Abdillah’s Candy Pages: Reading Rewards for Little Bookworms
Abdillah created an interactive, ongoing experience that makes books magical by incentivizing kids with rewards for each book they read. This gives the children a reason to keep reading and makes the whole process fun. The LED lights and treat box gives this a luminous lift, winning the “Most Illuminated” award.
“This is the umpteenth contest I’ve participated in on Hackster. Joining contests on Hackster has ‘forced’ me to learn a lot of new things,” Abdillah said. “I’ve also encountered numerous new and exciting projects that I can follow on Hackster. This has motivated me to create another project.”
“In this particular project, I’ve designed a Little Free Library with a reward system that gives prizes to children who have read books. By combining these elements, I aim to inspire more children to stay interested in reading books. Looking ahead, I aspire to collaborate with local kindergarten schools to install this device there,” Abdhillah said. “Of course, I’ll also add some enhancements to perfect this tool to work more efficiently and be more attractive. I also plan to find other books for children to read to fill my Little Free Library. For Hackster, I hope it continues to be a platform for the development and innovation of everyone worldwide. In the future, I will keep creating new projects. I hope the projects I create inspire others to start their own projects.”
Most Eco-Friendly Library: Empowering Native Indian Communities, a collaboration between students at Education Empowers and Saint Peter Indian Mission School
This library was a collaborative effort by Education Empowers students and Saint Peter Indian Mission school students living in Southern Arizona focused on accessibility, sustainability, and teamwork driven by native students. The goal of this Little Free STEM Library was to enrich the educational resources available to students living Gila River Native Indian community near Bapchule, Arizona
“The Free STEM Library Challenge proved to be an exceptional engineering event, offering our students a practical and culturally responsive learning opportunity to use the engineering design process for solving a real-world problem in their community,” said Anna Prakash, co-founder at Education Empowers. “In the process, our students learnt to research problem statements, brainstorm, and design innovative solutions as a team. It became a remarkable opportunity for them to not only utilize their technical skills but also contribute meaningfully to their community. Collaborating closely to address this distinctive challenge not only strengthened the team’s bonds but also fostered personal connections among the members and industry mentors. This collective effort not only enhanced their teamwork, but also nurtured valuable soft skills crucial for their future growth.”
Another noteworthy project is Amitabh Shrivastava’s Secret Payphone STEM Library that was created as a demonstration project and displayed at Maker Faire Bay Area in October this year. This project upcycled an old payphone to create the library structure, and with modernized electronics, a piece of retro equipment is given a second life for meaningful new use.
During Maker Faire Bay Area, this piece gathered a lot of attention, especially for families to have conversations about technological advancements in their lifetimes.
Avnet Cares and Little Free Library will be creating special co-branded charter signs for the winners, and they are envisioning that this contest will be a new initiative that creates impact on the STEM community.
“Avnet Cares is so pleased to support the Little Free STEM Library Contest with Hackster and element14. Avnet has been supporting SciTech Institutes’ initiative to include STEM kits in little libraries for over a year. Now through this contest, the libraries themselves are getting STEM components, bringing the whole partnership to a new level. The creativity and technical skills displayed by all of the contestants was incredibly impressive,” said Katie Stringham, Community Engagement Specialist for Avnet.
