Children’s Bridge (STEM) Workshops — Bring an interactive children’s bridge (STEM/STEAM) workshop to your school, library, or children’s group and have author Patrick McBriarty read aloud from his books, explain why he lives under a bridge, answer questions, discuss basic bridge concepts, and lead hands-on play. The interactive program introduces kids to science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) using simple construction materials to build their own bridges. Parents, guardians, and volunteers are welcome and each kid gets to take their finished bridge home. Available for group sizes of 10 to 150 children. (Ideal for 4-12 year olds; 45-70 minutes; honorarium negotiable, based on group size, number of sessions, travel, and materials.)
Read a review of the workshop from the Chicago Area Reading Association.
School Visits — Bring author Patrick McBriarty into your school, library, or organization to talk with students about what it is like to be an author, writing tips & techniques, the process of creating a book, importance of STEM/STEAM, and how he came to live under a bridge! Author sessions are catered to age groups and deliver a read aloud and Q&A for pre-K to 3rd Graders; discussion of writing skills, what its like to be an author, why bridges are so fascinating, truss and bridge designs for 4th to 8th Graders; or sharing my story to become an author, a typical day, writing techniques and tricks for Junior & High School Students. All groups are left with a new grasp of why bridges and writing is so cool. (All grades; 25-50 minutes/session; honorarium negotiable based on group size, number of sessions, travel, and ability to sell books and DVDs.)
Children’s Boat Building (STEM) Workshop — Using little more than aluminum foil and golf balls author Patrick McBriarty conducts this hands-on, STEM program for kids. Learning through play kids experiment with various shapes and designs to build and test their own boats in a water displacement tank. The interactive program introduces kids to science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) and offers learning opportunities to introduce the physical concepts of displacement, 
buoyancy, capacity, and flotation. (Ideal for 6-12 year olds; 40-50 minutes, honorarium negotiable, based on group size, number of sessions per location, travel, and materials.)