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2017 Solar Eclipse Thanks for a memorable 2017 and Happy New Year. The STAR Library Network (STAR Net) had a fantastic year in 2017 anchored by the solar eclipse event in August. With support from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, NASA, and NSF, SSI’s National Center for Interactive Learning distributed 2.1 million safe viewing glasses to 7,000 library locations including public library branches, bookmobiles, tribal libraries, library consortia, and state libraries. This was the largest single distribution of free glasses in the entire country and reached more people with glasses and information than any other educational effort for the 2017 eclipse. [...]

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 [...]

As part of our commitment to digital literacy, Skokie Public Library began offering a drop-in, one-hour coding program twice a month for kids in grades 3-5. The program is intended to expose kids to coding concepts and resources readily available in the library, and to help them create a community of practice where, regardless of skill level, kids are able to help and be helped by peers. We have two main facilitators for the program and host this out in the open of the Youth Department--all the better to attract curious kids who just happen to be in the library on [...]

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 [...]