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New Horizons will be Broadcasting It’s Fly-By of Ultima Thule on January 1, 2019

2018-12-31T23:33:53-07:00

  Many people are aware that New Horizons will be taking pictures, and collecting data as it passes close by the Kuiper Belt object commonly known as Ultima Thule (2014 MU6) on January 1, 2019.  It will be passing closer to Ultima Thule than it has come to any other object since it launched from Earth on January 19, 2006.  It will come within 2,200 miles of the surface of this mysterious and enigmatic Kuiper Belt object. John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory will be live streaming information and interviews about New Horizons for 24 hours straight!  Here's the youtube link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zzqOvJiSzE). The [...]

New Horizons will be Broadcasting It’s Fly-By of Ultima Thule on January 1, 20192018-12-31T23:33:53-07:00

Merge Cubes!

2018-11-26T21:52:56-07:00

There's a lot of hubbub about AR and VR lately. Unfortunately, a lot of this technology is financially unreasonable for many educators. That is, until the Merge Cubes were invented. It was originally made from a discarded yoga mat - and kind of still seems like it. It looks like a cube of alien QR codes, and that is essentially what it is. These alien QRs can link to elaborate AR experiences themed to coordinate with its directed subject matter. Merge cubes can teach anything from human body parts, to math and geometry, to the solar system. It sometimes seems that [...]

Merge Cubes!2018-11-26T21:52:56-07:00

Pumpkin STEMs!

2018-11-25T20:50:30-07:00

STEM programming and Halloween just sort of naturally go together. But I was looking for a slightly "less gross" way to connect the two. Building and pumpkins don't seem to normally go in the same sentence, but we tried and it and had a blast! For the engineering portion of the program, I decided to use a variation on the marshmallows and spaghetti project building idea. I provided candy pumpkins and toothpicks for the building challenge. Candy Corn was also available, although none chose to build with it. They were allowed as many candy pumpkins as they needed, and both flat [...]

Pumpkin STEMs!2018-11-25T20:50:30-07:00

FrankenCreatures!

2018-11-25T19:40:54-07:00

Who among us hasn't at some point just put out a bunch of materials and told the kids "have at it!"? We did that in our STREAM Center for a pre-Halloween program, and it was way more fun that we anticipated! There were a large number of the parents who stayed with their kids and created right along with them, even though their attendance wasn't strictly mandatory at the program. We had a wide range of materials, from paper tubes to wiggle eyes. We had access to tape and glue, along with rubber bands, paper clips, and binder clips. There were [...]

FrankenCreatures!2018-11-25T19:40:54-07:00

A Visit With Master Artists and Teachers – Michael LaFosse and Richard Alexander

2018-11-23T19:14:08-07:00

A local museum is hosting an exhibit entitled "Origami in the Garden" until March of 2019.  It's a fantastic series of metal sculptures based on origami designs scattered throughout the gardens of the museum.    As part of the exhibit's kick-off activities, Michael LaFosse and Richard Alexander, master origamists, were invited to visit local schools and to teach workshops at the Botanic Garden.  I was fortunate enough to be able to attend one of their workshops.  It was great! Using giant squares of paper and the wall as their flat surface, Michael and Richard showed a group of about 25 how [...]

A Visit With Master Artists and Teachers – Michael LaFosse and Richard Alexander2018-11-23T19:14:08-07:00

Backyard Wilderness BioBlitz!

2018-11-19T19:36:22-07:00

This summer in the middle of Summer Reading Club, we acquired a grant-related exhibit for the library. Backyard Wilderness is a large-format film by HHMI studios, created primarily for the museum audience. An exhibit, designed also primarily for museums, was created to go along with it, and through the grant program, was distributed to libraries as well. When the exhibit arrived, it was packed in a couple of boxes and included a rolled-up rug. Once put together, the exhibit offered a conglomerate view of a "backyard" area, complete with large tree, and contained in the image were a number of kinds [...]

Backyard Wilderness BioBlitz!2018-11-19T19:36:22-07:00

Making Coding Fun and Easy

2018-10-26T12:25:00-06:00

This year I started adding something new to some of my programs - coding.  It has been a whole new adventure for me.  When I was in school, computers in education were a new concept.  There was a room with several desktop computers with large towers connected to them.  Those computers required 6 inch floppy disks, were programmed with DOS, and sat there quietly in the dark most of the time.  I only had one teacher brave enough to try teaching with them.  Over the course of one semester, we learned some very basic programming, which I thought was fun, but [...]

Making Coding Fun and Easy2018-10-26T12:25:00-06:00

Calling All STAR net Libraries: Help NASA Make a Better World Land Map!

2018-09-26T13:58:32-06:00

NASA needs your help photographing your local landscape through the new Land Cover tool in GLOBE Observer (GO). Why? One reason is to fill in details of the landscape that are too small for global land-mapping satellites to see. Land cover is critical to many different processes on Earth and contributes to a community’s vulnerability to disasters like fire, floods or landslides. Read more at http://go.nasa.gov/2NdWgwt. GO Land Cover kicked off with a challenge to map as much land as possible between Sept. 22, Public Lands Day, and Oct. 1, NASA’s 60th anniversary. Could you help by using the app to [...]

Calling All STAR net Libraries: Help NASA Make a Better World Land Map!2018-09-26T13:58:32-06:00

Nature Play

2018-08-28T13:29:47-06:00

Under the direction of Sue Teller, Children’s Librarian/Staff Artist, Skokie Public Library has been bringing informal, nature-based STEAM learning to our youngest patrons via Nature Play. This is a weekly program intended for children ages 3-6 who participate with an adult caregiver. Sue was inspired by a program at one of the annual conferences hosted by the Chicago Botanic Garden and wanted to bring nature into the lives of young children and their caregivers in an accessible and safe way. The program is relatively simple but the positive impact is huge. Here’s how it is designed and facilitated. Nature Play is [...]

Nature Play2018-08-28T13:29:47-06:00

Take a Hike! (At the Library?)

2018-07-09T18:56:55-06:00

  Earlier this year, in the spring, Kenton County Public Library, Kenton County Parks and Recreation, the City of Erlanger, Banklick Watershed Council, the Kenton County Conservation District, and Sanitation District No. 1 all partnered to hold the first ever library hike. Within the city limits of Erlanger, where my library branch is located, is Doe Run Lake which is a Kenton County park. The City, the Parks, and the Library have worked together on a number of events, but this was a first for us; and it took two tries. The hike at Doe Run was originally scheduled to take place last [...]

Take a Hike! (At the Library?)2018-07-09T18:56:55-06:00
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