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environmental education

Online Resources for Home-bound #3

2020-03-29T00:07:17-06:00

Hello again!  I hope this post finds everyone staying at home and safe. It's amazing how much can be found on the internet to keep a person entertained and learning while we're hanging out at home.  I'm taking classes on all kinds of subjects from several different sites myself these days.  I'm almost finished with all the courses on Code.org.  That site is like playing a game all day!  I'm reviewing my math skills on Alison (Alison.com).  I've started coding on FreeCodeCamp (https://www.freecodecamp.org/learn/), and I am excited to say that I am finally working on earning NASA Badges (https://www.txstate-epdc.net/).  I'm not [...]

Online Resources for Home-bound #32020-03-29T00:07:17-06:00

Online Resources for Homebound Families #2

2020-03-26T00:58:44-06:00

Here is my next list of resources for folks staying home for health and safety  In this list I have collected some virtual tours of museums and zoos, and sites that offer collections of books that are free to read. (I'll be searching for graphic novels and comic books next.) If you find a broken link, please let me know so that I can correct it. If there is a subject or resource that you'd like me to look for, please let me know.  I want to do whatever I can to help folks. Virtual Trips to the Zoo Atlanta Zoo [...]

Online Resources for Homebound Families #22020-03-26T00:58:44-06:00

On-line Resources for Homebound Families #1

2020-03-22T17:21:41-06:00

I, like the rest of the country, am at home these days.  Fortunately for me, I have always been good at keeping myself entertained.  Today though, many kids aren't as good at that as in generations past.  Anyone in my childhood household who said the word 'bored' would get such a long list of chores to do from my mother that the word would never pass through those lips again. In an attempt to help out families everywhere who are in a situation they never imagined could happen, I have been scouring the internet.  I have several goals in mind.  The [...]

On-line Resources for Homebound Families #12020-03-22T17:21:41-06:00

February is Feed the Birds Month!

2020-02-18T19:52:37-07:00

On February 23, 1994, February was declared 'National Bird Feeding Month' by Congress. If you want to narrow things down to one day, February 3 is 'Feed the Birds Day.' February is one of the hardest months of the year for many animals in North America, especially those who depend on seeds and plants for food. That would make it the perfect time to start a new hobby - bird watching!  According to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, over 45 million people in the country participate in bird watching at home and at work.  It doesn't require special skills [...]

February is Feed the Birds Month!2020-02-18T19:52:37-07:00

STEAM Engines: falling for you

2019-11-30T20:03:57-07:00

As it often does in the Midwest, the fall began in all its resplendence - sun shining through the foliage, colors changing majestically, a cozy crispness in the air. And then it snowed. A lot. And it stuck, leaving us incongruously with deep snow and trees full of not-quite-changed leaves. It was amazing to look at, a reminder that wonder exists in the unexpected. My kids and I spent Halloween afternoon tromping down streets arched with heavy snow-dr enched branches, dodging puddles, and throwing snowballs. I was marveling at the spectacle, when it occurred to me that every year I look [...]

STEAM Engines: falling for you2019-11-30T20:03:57-07:00

Vermicomposting

2019-11-19T07:58:15-07:00

November programs at Skokie Public Library focused on food in a variety of ways. On Mondays, we provided an International Snack Cart showcasing local restaurants and continued our Be the Chef workshop series. To align with this theme, Be the Scientist, a hands-on STEAM program for grades 3-5, featured vermicomposting this month. Here’s what we did. Program supplies We purchased shoe-box sized plastic bins and limited the program to 12 participants. The boxes were prepared in advance of the program as this required cutting a 2in x 2in opening in the top and then affixing netting wit a hot [...]

Vermicomposting2019-11-19T07:58:15-07:00

Exploring Insects

2019-07-31T14:02:10-06:00

This summer, Skokie Public Library committed to providing quality STEAM programs for youth in elementary grades while in the hustle that is summer reading. Youth Services Librarian Gudrun Premier facilitated a Be the Scientist program for grades 3-5 earlier this month and focused on insects. Here’s what she did. Gudrun began the program in our youth program room with an introductory slide show about insects. She focused on how and why insects rest, what they do in winter, and why we, as humans, should care about them. Gudrun then transitioned into a discussion about pollination, having participants share what they know [...]

Exploring Insects2019-07-31T14:02:10-06:00

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

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
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