FacebookXYouTubePinterestFlickr

Elementary Aged

Tips from Tassie

2018-07-14T11:13:18-06:00

Credit: NASA   South of mainland Australia lies its island state, Tasmania. (Australians shorten the name to Tassie, which rhymes with "snazzy.") Roughly half of this island is protected; its wilderness is listed -- alongside the Taj Mahal and the ancient pyramids of Egypt -- as  World Heritage property. Amidst this wild grandeur, 50 sites deliver library services to the island's 524,700 inhabitants.   View through eucalyptus trees toward Tasmania's main urban center, Hobart. Credit: Keliann LaConte   As a Fulbright Global Scholar, I had the incredible fortune to visit some Tassie libraries and their partners. Here [...]

Tips from Tassie2018-07-14T11:13:18-06:00

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

Celebrating Rockets’ Red Glare!

2018-07-03T22:52:45-06:00

On Monday, we celebrated America's birthday with some STEM activities! As always, we started with some reading, and I intentionally chose books that included images of fireworks. I also included a number of non-fiction Independence Day titles in my book display, along with this title: We started by reading A is for America, by Devin Scilian, then read Happy Birthday, America, by Mary Pope Osborne.  In keeping with the "rockets' red glare," theme, I decided to try two different activities, and both worked very well. The main activity was the creation of paper rockets which we launched with a stomp rocket launcher. [...]

Celebrating Rockets’ Red Glare!2018-07-03T22:52:45-06:00

Animals in the Park!

2018-06-26T03:49:54-06:00

Summer Reading programs in the park have begun again for the year. So how to inform and entertain a variety of ages, in an outdoor setting? Animals! The theme for the second week was animals, and the first of the Tuesday/Thursday programs featured a live animal petting zoo. Well over 250 people showed up for that! We had two baby goats, two young sheep, a little pot-bellied pig, and a rabbit, all of whom seemed to actually enjoy the attention. Sunrock Farm, a local educational farm (https://www.sunrockfarm.org/), hand-raises the animals destined for both in-farm and outreach education, and they are used [...]

Animals in the Park!2018-06-26T03:49:54-06:00

Exploring Civil Engineering

2018-06-10T21:25:18-06:00

This summer our STEAM space, the BOOMbox, is exploring engineering. We’re focusing on a different field of engineering every two weeks to help kids understand the breadth and overlap of this STEAM topic. While the BOOMbox offers drop-in experiences, our Be the Scientist program series for grades 3-5 provided a more structured exploration of civil engineering, specifically looking at bike paths in Skokie. Here’s what we did. We began with a short slide presentation to start discussion about what engineering is and why it is valuable. We also reviewed the seven steps of engineering design from Engineered! Engineering Design at Work [...]

Exploring Civil Engineering2018-06-10T21:25:18-06:00

May the Fourth be With You: Star Wars Day at the Library

2018-05-04T05:51:06-06:00

It's Star Wars Day! I know that it's giving away my age, but I remember when the very first Star Wars movie came out.  I watched it from a swing-set in the small, fenced-in playground at the foot of the giant screen of the drive-in movie theater.  The playground was surrounded by the same heavy gray metal boxes that were hung on the car doors of theater-goers, and served as movie speakers.  That way I could enjoy the movie while my adults could enjoy it, as well, without my nervous energy distracting and annoying them.  Now there is another generation growing [...]

May the Fourth be With You: Star Wars Day at the Library2018-05-04T05:51:06-06:00

Citizen Science at the Library: Science Action Club

2018-05-04T02:28:02-06:00

Recently, I've had the opportunity to take part in a great program sponsored by the California Academy of Sciences.  It's called the Science Action Club.  There are actually three different modules, or curricula, available - Bug Safari, Bird Scouts, and Cloud Quest.  I was able to receive the training for Bug Safari close to home.  At that training I learned that the last Bird Scouts training was being held the next weekend about four hours away.  I took the day off, got up really early, and took a road trip across the state to a great interactive museum, called the Discovery [...]

Citizen Science at the Library: Science Action Club2018-05-04T02:28:02-06:00

Sitting on Cloud Nine with NASA GLOBE Observer

2018-04-19T17:42:43-06:00

This Earth Day, I hope you will be sitting on cloud nine* with these last-minute tips and ideas for bringing NASA GLOBE Observer Clouds and citizen science into your library.  Best of all these are evergreen - not just for April 22! TIPS AND TRICKS Brush up on Cloud Observing with these simple tips and tricks from NASA’s GLOBE Clouds Team lead, Marilé Colón Robles, to sharpen your cloud observation skills while using the GLOBE Observer App. You can also watch the STAR Net March 6 Webinar with NASA scientists for a refresher. We’ve also created a PowerPoint file with [...]

Sitting on Cloud Nine with NASA GLOBE Observer2018-04-19T17:42:43-06:00

Vermicomposting

2018-04-12T18:19:08-06:00

With the weather finally warming up, we decided to focus our latest STEM program on something fun and practical: vermicomposting! This was an hour long program for 16 kids in grades 3-5 with all supplies provided by the library. Here’s what we did. In the days before the program, we prepped all the supplies. Each participant received a shoebox sized plastic bin altered for vermicomposting. This required staff to rinse the bins ahead of time, cut about a 2.5 in by 1.5 in rectangular hole on top of the lid, and hot glue a mesh square covering the hole. We recommend [...]

Vermicomposting2018-04-12T18:19:08-06:00

Rain, rain, and more rain. What will the worms do?

2018-04-05T02:29:08-06:00

  There's no way that anyone in my area hasn't noticed all of the rain we've had lately, but it wasn't until I was returning home from work one night to discover the steps to and my porch covered in a carpet of wriggling, desperate, earthworms seeking refuge from the water, that I realized just how much rain my community has received in the last few weeks.  I have often seen worms working their way across a sidewalk or driveway, hoping for drier earth on the other side, and I usually pick them up and give them a ride to higher [...]

Rain, rain, and more rain. What will the worms do?2018-04-05T02:29:08-06:00
Go to Top