Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Public Library (CPL) Commissioner Brian Bannon announced that the 2018 Rahm’s Readers Summer Learning Challenge engaged more than 110,000 participants, an increase of five percent from the previous year. Rahm’s Readers completed more than 1.3 million “Discover” and “Create” learning activities and read more than 108 million minutes, a 19 percent increase in engagement from the previous year. The program was designed to prevent the “summer slide” where children can lose up to three months of math and science learning during summer months if they do not remain engaged in learning. Through a strategic partnership with the Museum of Science and Industry, CPL embeds STEAM programming as a vital track of learning in the free Summer Learning Challenge. Program participants are encouraged to engage in various critical thinking, create and design activities to encourage creativity, problem solving and persistence. Rahm’s Readers this summer were Earth Explorers, challenged to read 20 minutes a day, participate in STEAM activities and investigate earth systems science, environmental literacy and climate resiliency. All CPL branches, in partnership with the Museum of Science and Industry (MSI), facilitated the summer challenge.