A garden of gizmos bloomed at Damariscotta’s Skidompha Library last week as youth saw a preview of the kinds of electronic devices that they can create during February vacation. Interested students in grades 6-9 and their parents are invited to attend an information session at Skidompha on Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 5:30 p.m. or to contact Youth Librarian Mark Ferrero.

“Imagine Lincoln County’s own youth growing up and tackling the world’s big challenges — greener energy, medical care in remote locations, or safer transportation,” said Pam Gormley, Skidompha’s executive director. “Electronics will form the brains of the solutions to those problems, and through the Gizmo Garden program, our youth can get a hands-on introduction to the field.”

Skidompha is the first location outside of a major metropolitan center to present the Gizmo Garden program, which is rooted in a curriculum developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “We’re very excited to be the first library ever to bring an MIT-rooted program to a small community,” said Gormley.

During the Gizmo Garden program, each student will create a unique electronic gizmo, and then students will link their creations together in a chain reaction. In the preview at the library last week, one gizmo waved a Red Sox flag and played “Sweet Caroline,” another sang “Happy Birthday” and blew up an inflatable cake, and a third gurgled and blew bubbles.

“All Gizmo Gardeners will gain practical experience with modern electronics,” said program leader Bill Silver. “For example, everybody will solder components onto a circuit board and will hack into a flashlight so that it can be controlled by the gizmo. To speak technically for one sentence, everybody will use analog sensors to turn a light beam into a voltage that can trigger a digital counter and activate power circuits to turn on flashlights and fans.

“Once their basic gizmos are working,” Silver continued, “students can get creative and evoke their own personalities to add a variety of finishing touches to their projects. Finally, when we link the Gizmos together to form one great flashing, singing, and spinning machine, students will see that electronics is a team sport, each person contributing to a greater goal.”

Silver, a Nobleboro resident, received undergraduate and Masters’ degrees in electrical engineering from MIT. He is a co-founder and Senior Fellow at Cognex Corporation, headquartered in Massachusetts, and enjoys coaching the robotics team and teaching computer science at Bowdoin College.

Skidompha Public Library is located at 184 Main Street in Damariscotta.