KANNAPOLIS — Typically, when learning science or art, it’s rare for the subjects to intersect. Art can be more fun for kids, but if there’s a way to build in science into a crafts lesson, then it’s a win-win.

Once a month, the Cabarrus County Library in Kannapolis hosts STEAM Explorers classes for younger kids to learn about science through arts and crafts.

STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math. Employees at the library each do a STEAM class per month with their own activity. On Friday, it was St. Patrick’s Day themed with clovers being filled in with homemade green puffy paint and building rainbow ramps to get a ball in a cup.

“Kids I feel like are natural scientists. They like to explore and figure out if something works or not and it’s no big deal if it doesn’t,” library assistant Amanda Reyes said. “We try to tie in as much science and explanation into our art.”

Reyes says she focuses on art and engineering because that’s what she’s most interested in. Most of her ideas on what to do come from Pinterest and other things she’s done in the past. Reyes likes the “engagement” she gets from the kids who show up.

Teaching kids physics can be a challenge, but finding a way where they can grasp it is almost like solving a puzzle.

“I get why the balloon is moving, but trying to explain Newton’s Law of Motion, it’s really hard to articulate and explain it in a way that a child would understand. That part’s difficult but fun,” Reyes said.

Reyes is passionate about the sessions the library puts on. Doing these hour long lessons helps spread knowledge and gets kids interested in something they may have never come across before.

“It’s a way for the kids to explore different ways of doing things and test their limits,” Reyes said.