UK Libraries has partnered with Lexington’s STEAM Academy to bring the academic research experience to freshmen English students – and to bring those same students to a university library.
In a class visit to STEAM Academy in March, four UK Librarians, Helen Bischoff, Coordinator of Liaison Services; Peter Hesseldenz, Humanities Librarian; Lisa Nichols, Director of the Education Library; and Julie Volpenhein, Health Sciences Librarian, introduced students to the Kentucky Virtual Library and covered basic search strategies and research techniques for the database. Students conducted research on a variety of career paths and developed podcasts that were shared with RadioLex.
On May 7-8, the same students rounded out their UK Libraries research experience with a field trip to William T. Young Library. During their visit, students completed a scavenger hunt using a digital platform that introduced them to the many services, resources, and spaces available across the library.
“This was such an exciting opportunity not only to help high school students become better acclimated with university spaces, but also to break down the barriers that exist between academic libraries and the wider community,” said Bischoff.
UK Libraries began its partnership with the STEAM Academy in 2024. After assessing its initial run last spring, Nichols reimagined the experience to create more engaging, interactive, and confidence-building activities.
Most notably, Nichols suggested breaking the visits into two parts – not only having students take a trip to UK Libraries, but bringing librarians to the STEAM Academy to bolster students’ research and information literacy skills.
“Plus, we had to find a way to ensure that students got to see more of the library,” said Nichols. “One student last year mentioned that she had never been on campus before, despite living in Lexington. It was a good reminder of how impactful these visits can be for high school students.”
The resulting scavenger hunt – developed by Bischoff and Graduate Assistant Rhiannon Jones – allowed the students to explore the library on their own. Bischoff, Hesseldenz, Jones, Nichols, and Volpenhein, along with STEM Librarian Helene Gold and Education Archivist Matthew Strandmark were stationed throughout the library to assist and engage with students as they completed each challenge.
“In the end, this second approach proved to be more successful, leaving the students and their teachers with a meaningful experience and a lasting, positive impression of UK Libraries, our librarians, and the campus as a whole,” said Nichols. “And who knows, maybe one day we'll meet a UK student who says they chose UK in part because of the experience they had with us.”
The scavenger hunt ended in the Young Library Starbucks, where students sat with their STEAM Academy teachers Marty Vaughn, English and Journalism, and Amy Schwarz, English, and reflected on the experience over lunch.
“This was such a fantastic experience for our students,” said Vaughn. “It brought real-world learning to our doorstep and even helped get a few kids unstuck in their research. We are appreciative of the impact this has made on young learners as they think about their futures and envision their journeys in higher education.”
As an “early college high school,” STEAM introduces freshmen to the college campus life at the age of fourteen or fifteen. “This was a critical first step not only for the students that see their futures on a university campus, but also for those headed towards different paths,” wrote Vaughn in a blog post on STEAM Academy News.
Bischoff added that the partnership also provided learning opportunities for the Libraries’ own students. “Our Graduate Assistant Rhiannon is enrolled in the UK’s Library Science program, and this was a great chance for her to put her program development and planning skills into action for a real patron population in a library setting. She created some unique challenges, like a cryptogram that students had to solve in their scavenger hunt.”
“Community partnership is a vital part of the University’s and the Libraries’ missions, which are rooted in service to the Commonwealth,” said Bischoff. “We appreciate STEAM Academy taking the time to develop this partnership by inviting us to teach their students about the research process. We’re ecstatic that we were able to host over 100 students and introduce them to all that the libraries can offer.”
