Looking for fun activities this summer? The Library of Things (LOT) is an excellent starting point. Whether you want your children to continue learning over the summer or are looking to boost family physical activity, many LOT items–available to checkout with your library card–can help you achieve your goals. Check out a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) activity to strengthen logical thought processes and problem-solving skills or try a board game from the library’s extensive collection to stimulate the brain areas responsible for memory and complex processing. The library even has lifejackets for checkout! Explore the following list or stop by the library to find something that sounds fun to you.

Pickleball/ Try this popular lawn game, get some exercise and help everyone sharpen their hand-eye coordination skills.

Code-a-pillar/ Try coding! Programming skills are a highly sought after skill that will gain importance in the future. Exposing youngsters early sets them up for technological success. When playing with Code-a-pillar, kids use sequencing and problem-solving skills to program a path for the code-a-pillar.

Magnetic US Puzzle Map/ Develop hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. An interactive, fun way to learn to recognize state shapes and geography.

Chess/ This set is portable. Playing chess exercises logical thinking and pattern recognition and develops other cognitive processes.

CD audiobooks or Vox books/ Hearing an entertaining story during a long drive is always appreciated. Listening to books can help children learn how to read. One benefit is hearing the speech-patterns and rhythms not included in print. Additionally, because children are capable of listening at a higher level than they can read, they are exposed to different words, boosting their vocabulary. Vox books feature a recording attached to a printed book!

Pendulonium/An engineering game to develop critical thinking and early engineering skills. “Solve all the challenges in the included booklet….then create your own crashing contraptions. It’s an exciting way to explore force, motion, velocity and more!”

Crashapult/An engineering game to develop critical thinking and early engineering skills. Like Pendulonium, another fun way to explore force, motion, velocity and more.

Solar System Puzzle Globe/ Develops early science and fine motor skills as kids solve this 3-D, rotating puzzle. “Self-correcting puzzle pieces’ unique shapes help kids find the right answer. Go on imaginative adventures with the astronaut, spaceship, and glow-in-the-dark constellations.”

Primary Science Lab Set/ Develops observation and cause and effect “Big science for little hands! Discover, predict, experiment and see science in action.” Includes activity cards with easy-to-follow experiments.

New Ulm Public Library is located at 17 North Broadway and is open Monday-Thursday from 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. and Friday-Saturday from 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. The library will be closed on Wednesday, June 19th for the Juneteenth holiday.