WARREN — Children participated in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities with a Black History Month theme on Saturday at the Warren-Trumbull County Public Library.

The event emphasized the contributions of black artists, inventors and scientists to food, medicine and numerous aspects of our everyday life.

“I wanted, as part of Black History Month, to highlight to the younger groups and expose them to black creators and inventors who made a difference, and they may not have heard of them before,” said Sam Schneider, children’s manager at the library.

Eight stations contained a book talking about the creator’s or inventor’s work and an activity for children to participate related to that creation. The black men and women featured at the STEAM event were:

• Mark Dean, co-creator of the personal computer. Also at that station was Marian Croak, VoIP (voice over internet protocols), which is technology that allows your voice to make digital calls on a computer or digital devices.

• Mae Jemison, first African-American woman to travel in space.

• Daniel Hale Williams, who performed the first successful open heart surgery.

• Garret Morgan, inventor of the traffic light.

• George Crum, inventor of the potato chip.

• Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist who appeared in the “Big Bang Theory” TV show.

• Lewis Latimer, who made a carbon filament for electric light bulbs.

• Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughn, who were human computers and NASA mathematicians. Jackson also was the first female African-American engineer at NASA. The movie “Hidden Figures” was based on their work and lives.

The children worked on activities from recreating the traffic light on a blank sheet with colored strips of paper, tried their hands at the game, “Operation,” and put a circuit together to turn on a light. The music playing in the background was chosen with Black History Month in mind.

“I chose a jazz station. Some of the artists were Louis Armstrong and Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker,” Schneider said.

Each activity gave children exposure to what they could accomplish in a future career.

After trying his hand at removing body parts with a set of tweezers in the game, “Operation” at the Daniel Hale Williams station, Daxton Fincham, 8, of Warren, said he considered becoming a doctor. Williams performed the first successful open heart surgery.

When his twin, Melodie Fincham, used the tweezers in the same game, she tried to figure out how the light turned on and off when the tweezers touched the side of the area while pulling out the body part. Perhaps, she will seek a career in the design or mechanical field.

Besides the children who completed the tasks at each information station, family members and friends had the opportunity to acquire awareness of these black Americans who contributed to our daily lives.

Corey Repko of Cortland attended the event with his children, Elliana, 7, and Brantley, 8, and their mom, Samantha Seese. Dad read the book, “Hidden Figures” about NASA mathematicians and engineers Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughn as his children finished the tasks at that station.

After they completed the activities, children had favorite STEAM stations to visit.

“I liked putting together the computer circuit,” said Leia Sugick, 10, of Warren.

Her dad, Nathaniel Sugick, said, “That is her favorite because that is the field I work in.”

He went back to school after he served in the United States Air Force and is now a data analyst.

Eight year-old Aubrey Sugick’s favorite part of the afternoon was taking home sour cream and onion potato chips as a treat that emphasized potato chip inventor George Crum.