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This year, STAR Net partnered with the Afterschool Alliance to make library-afterschool partnerships a theme for Lights On Afterschool 2017, a nationwide event drawing attention to afterschool programs and their partners, and showing communities why it is important to keep their Lights On. And with nearly 150 registered events featuring a library-afterschool partnership, the voices of libraries were heard nationwide! This year we saw libraries stepping up to show how they provide safe and enriching spaces for youth and families, and the resources they provide to the afterschool programs in their communities. Additionally, we also saw huge support nation-wide for STEM—out [...]

Following a successful nationwide campaign of free public screenings arranged through the NASA Museum Alliance, and two national public television broadcasts, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios is offering DVDs of “The Farthest” to libraries around the country. This award-winning film about NASA's Voyager missions has been described as “powerful, poetic and cinematic” (Screen Scene), “a stirring salute to human ingenuity” (The Los Angeles Times), and a “dazzling documentary” (The New York Times). It’s an inspiring multi-generational story of science and engineering at their best, and the curiosity that drives us to explore both the universe around us, and our place within it. [...]

The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Press has proudly announced that its children’s book When the Sun Goes Dark by Andrew Fraknoi and Dennis Schatz has been selected as one of the Outstanding Science Trade Books for 2017 by a review panel of teachers and librarians appointed by the Children’s Books Council and NSTA.  Since 1973, an expert panel has chosen the best science books for children and students each year. When the Sun Goes Dark was among 53 books from all publishers honored this year.  The panel described the book this way: “Two curious children create models of solar eclipses [...]

Guest blog by David Janning and Joanna Ritchie (Chula Vista Library, a NASA@ My Library Partner) Street fair outreach event with both a STEAM activity booth and a promotional materials booth Many events you host already include the concept of layering, which typically involves setting up multiple activity stations and staggering main events throughout the length of a program. Layering also enables you to share information and experiences in multiple formats, such as showing a short video at the start of your activity to delve deeper into the content. When hosting an event at your library, it’s best to keep the concept [...]

To participate in this telecon, your library may use the call-in information below. Call-in: [restrict]1-888-323-4924[/restrict] Passcode: [restrict]8165555[/restrict] Note: If you're not seeing the call-in info above, you'll need to login to STAR Net or register as a new member. Date:  November 21, 2017, Tuesday Time:  12 Noon PT (3pm ET) Topic: Choosing an InSight Landing Site Overview: Dr. Matt Golombek will go through the process of selecting the landing site for the InSight mission to Mars. Speaker: Matt Golombek is the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Project Scientist for the Mars Exploration Rover and working on the NASA’s InSight discovery program mission. InSight is an acronym [...]

The National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL) at the Space Science Institute (SSI) is seeking eight library and museum partner sites to host the inaugural national tour of the interactive traveling exhibition Discover Exoplanets: the Search for Alien Earths.  Public libraries and small museum partners in rural areas and those serving rural populations and underrepresented groups are especially invited to apply. This program is slightly different from prior STAR Net  programs and SSI museum exhibition programs. This project aims to help public libraries and small museums to become better partners, through the shared experience of the Discover Exoplanets exhibition. SSI is fabricating 2 exhibits, one for display at [...]

A Guest Post by Melissa Ballard (Afterschool Alliance) The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with STAR Net, has a new report showing how afterschool programs and libraries are working together to support youth and families in their communities. In early 2017, we surveyed 365 afterschool programs to learn if and how they are working with their local public libraries, and what challenges they face. What did we find? Nearly three-quarters of afterschool programs had partnered with their local library in the past, and close to 100 percent of programs said that they saw a benefit in partnering with their local library. Most afterschool [...]

Topic:   Universe of Learning - Beyond the Solar System: Cosmic Disks Date:  September 7, 2017, Thursday Time:  12:30pm PT (3:30pm ET) Leader: Jeffrey Nee Overview: On September 15, 2017, the Cassini spacecraft will undergo a controlled descent into Saturn’s atmosphere, thus ending nearly 20 years of dedicated observations of the Saturnian system. Since the time of Galileo, Saturn’s rings have been a source of wonder and beauty. Astronomers now know that these celestial disks appear in many environments, from the relatively small scale (around planets) to scales of galaxies. In honor of Cassini’s mission, this Universe of Learning Science Briefing will [...]

Earth is an interacting system of Air, Water, Ice, Rock, and Life. These five things link together to make our planet hum. They’re a team. Scientists call them systems or spheres. Each system plays an important role, and they all depend on each other. The video below shows what happened to the ecosystem structure in Yellowstone National Park after the introduction of wolves in 1995. [youtube id="ysa5OBhXz-Q" width="800" height="450" autoplay="no" api_params="" class=""]   Wolves and other top predators are keystone species - they prevent overpopulation of prey species, encouraging a balance in nature. One of the most exciting scientific findings of [...]

Just in time for the “All-American” eclipse of the Sun this August, When the Sun Goes Dark gives the full scoop for kids ages 8 through 12 about why eclipses are so interesting and so beautiful.  Written by astronomers Andrew Fraknoi and Dennis Schatz, and published by the National Science Teachers Association Press, the book features hands-on activities for learning about the Moon, the Sun, and their eclipses that families can enjoy together. In 36 full-color pages, When the Sun Goes Dark tells how Diana and Sammy, two curious children, and their grandparents re-create eclipses in their living room using a [...]