Monthly Archives: January 2020

Note: This blog is Part 2 of a previous post, Make Every Tree Count: Getting Started in Sustainability Programming   Host a Community Tree Walk. Because the destination must be easily accessible for library patrons of all abilities, the site, whether the library’s property, a community park, or someplace further that might require driving, such as a conservation area, should be considered with the patron in mind. Local resources, such as the state extension office or conservation department, can often offer no/low cost facilitators to lead your walk. The program can include information on tree identification by shape, bark and leaf, information about [...]

Trees provide one of the most versatile themes for library programs. Whether your audience is families, adults, children or classrooms/youth groups, “Trees” can provide a foundation for affordable and useful programs for libraries of all sizes -- uniting art and community with citizen science. Now is an ideal time to plan “tree-themed” programming for 2020. Not only is April 2020 Citizen Science Month, it’s also the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, and NASA GLOBE Observer is planning an international Trees Challenge (see below) in honor of the 25th anniversary of the GLOBE Program. In January 2019, the American Library Association adopted [...]

by Quyen Hart, Space Telescope Science Institute Join NASA's Universe of Learning for an exciting opportunity to use real astronomical data and tools to create your own beautiful images of the iconic starburst galaxy M82. You can capture your own real-time telescope image of M82 using the MicroObservatory robotic telescope network, or you can work with an archived set of NASA data files of M82, taken with 4 multi-wavelength space telescope missions: Hubble, Chandra, Spitzer, and GALEX. The challenges include instructions on how to turn those data into beautiful composite images with a simple version of an image processing tool used by professional astronomers.  Submit your astrophoto [...]