Yearly Archives: 2020

Image credit: The Planetary Society I often have people come up to me after presentations to ask how they can be more involved. It is a great question, and there are so many great answers. First of all there are membership organizations. These are usually annual memberships with an associated fee, and options such as a regular magazine (that you can choose a digital or print magazine mailed to you). There are so many out there, that I could use this entire post just to list all the options! For the sake of space considerations, I will mention three (all of [...]

Join the NASA GLOBE 2020 Community Cloud Challenge! Whether your library programs have gone virtual, curbside, or you’re able to host in-person events, you can invite your patrons to discover clouds from a new perspective. We all share the same sky with a wide variety of clouds in it. This is unique opportunity to learn about clouds together. Choose how to participate Take observations: Observe clouds or sky conditions using the Clouds tool in the GLOBE Observer app. These observations can help scientists see change over time and help with interpretation of satellite cloud data. Download the app, register with an email [...]

Link Bank for Take Your Patrons to Mars Webinar – 7 July 2020 Presenters: Brooks Mitchell and Claire Ratcliffe (STAR Net), Christine Shupla, Sha’Rell Webb, and Dr. Candice Bedford (Lunar and Planetary Institute) Contact: Brooks Mitchell (bmitchell@spacescience.org) or Christine Shupla (shupla@lpi.usra.edu) for questions. Description: NASA is about to launch the Mars 2020 mission – and now is the time to get your patrons excited! The Perseverance rover will launch between July 17-August 11, 2020, and will land on Mars in February 2021. Invite your patrons to participate in its journey! Hear from NASA Mars scientists, learn some activities you can conduct online [...]

Hi everyone! This blog is a list of resources for our June 18, 2020 webinar, "Virtual Night Sky Programs for 'Imagine Your Story'” - you can find out more information about the webinar here.  Presenters: Brooks Mitchell (STAR Net), Christine Shupla and Sha’Rell Webb (Lunar and Planetary Institute), Belinda Calvillo and Liliana Alonso [with Sofia] (Pasadena Public Library, TX) Contact: Brooks Mitchell (bmitchell@spacescience.org) or Christine Shupla (shupla@lpi.usra.edu) for questions. Invite your patrons to join us for My Trip to Mars, a live Webcast, June 30: www.starnetlibraries.org/my-trip-to-mars Join the STAR Net Community: https://www.starnetlibraries.org/register/ Follow the STAR Library Network starnetlibraries.org facebook.com/STARLibraries starnetlibraries.org/register com/starnet_project pinterest.com/Star_net [...]

Hi everyone! Thanks to everyone who was able to join us on June 16, 2020 for STAR Net’s STEAM Equity Project Pre-Application Webinar. This blog post will provide more information on this grant opportunity, as well as links to the webinar recording, webinar slides, chat trancript, and resources discussed during the webinar. This webinar covered a new and exciting project, STAR Net STEAM Equity Project: Enhancing Learning Opportunities in Libraries of Rural Communities, that is seeking initial applications through July 20, 2020 from public library workers in small and rural communities who want to offer outstanding, culturally responsive STEAM programming and exhibitions for [...]

Sometimes the best laid plans fail, and that can feel rough, but like my daughter says “mistakes help you learn!” and she is absolutely right. This was absolutely the case with my STEAM Engines (Skokie Public Library’s science club for K-2nd grade) program about spiders. The idea to learn about spiders was birthed from a rumor (stated as a fact) that I’d heard claiming spiders do not stick to their webs because their legs are coated in a kind of special spider oil. So excited was I about this notion, that I began to build a whole program around it. Things [...]