Warren Weekly | Published September 20, 2023
STEM Saturday focuses on wind power
WARREN — Children in grades kindergarten through fifth grade can build their own land sailor through STEM engineering at the Warren Civic Center Library.
The event will be held on Saturday, Sept. 23, at 2 p.m. in the conference room of the library, on the ground level of City Hall, east of Van Dyke Avenue and north of 12 Mile Road.
To register, call (586) 751-0770 or go to warrenlibrary.net.
STEM rocks
WARREN — STEM Saturday at the Civic Center Library will focus on geology as students work to identify the kind of rocks they have using various tools at 2 p.m. on Sept. 30.
The event is for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. It will be held in the library’s conference room.
Storytime sessions planned
WARREN — Warren’s Civic Center Library has various storytime events planned this fall.
Snuggle up in your favorite jammies and wear them to the library for a bedtime story beginning at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 27. Kids ages 3-9 are invited to enjoy stories, songs and a craft.
The library’s preschool storytime starts at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays through Oct. 24 and is suitable for kids 3-5.
Toddler storytime will run on Thursdays through Oct. 26. The sessions for kids ages 2 to 3 1/2 are designed for independent listeners and include stories, songs and crafts.
To register for any storytime session, call (586) 751-0770 or go to warrenlibrary.net.
TAP funding available
SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN — The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments recently announced approximately $2 million in funding awards for walking and biking projects in southeastern Michigan.
SEMCOG has awarded $2,073,728 in Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) funding for three projects for fiscal year 2025. This fall, SEMCOG will consider additional projects for 2025-2027.
TAP projects are transportation-related improvements to roadways, local streets and corridors. They primarily address mobility options through new or enhanced bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. This includes pathways, bike lanes, sidewalks and pedestrian crossings.
The projects are designed to improve the existing transportation system, while providing safe new options to help people connect to transit, regional trails and core service destinations. TAP can also fund green infrastructure projects that mitigate environmental concerns from the road network.
SEMCOG’s Regional Review Committee is currently considering additional projects for future fiscal years. The next application deadlines are Oct. 11 of this year and Feb. 21, 2024. For more information, visit semcog.org or call (313) 961-4266.
Checkmate: Chess is Michigan’s favorite board game
STATEWIDE — A new study has revealed that chess is Michigan’s favorite board game.
The online game website World of Card Games analyzed the number of Google searches for 605 board games to determine which one is Michigan’s favorite.
When conducting the study, each game’s name was combined with various terms, including board game, how to play and rules to determine the interest in each game. According to the study, chess topped the list for Michigan’s favorite board game, with an average of 12,732 monthly searches.
Checkers was second with 5,850 average monthly searches, while Monopoly was third with 3,960 average monthly searches. Clue was fourth with an average of 2,444 average monthly searches. With 2,178 average monthly searches, Mancala was fifth.
“Chess is a cultural touchstone, with terms such as checkmate being a staple of the English language. It has been studied for centuries, and skill at the game is considered shorthand for a person’s intelligence. It has even seen a new wave of popularity in recent years as more people learn of its intricacies. It is fitting then that chess is Michigan’s most popular board game,” a World of Card Games spokesperson said in a prepared statement. “It will be interesting to see if chess continues to grow in popularity in the coming years and how that might impact how people play the game online and offline, both professionally and at the amateur level.”