We are certified lunatics!

As of today twenty-eight(28) librarians and teachers were certified to handle and borrow the lunar/metorite rock samples from NASA's Goddard Space Center in Bethesda Maryland just in time for our summer programs. Rick Varner, an Aerospace Education Specialist from NASA, offered simple and fun activities for kids aged 7+, the history of space flight, along with providing online resources from his Portaportal.com page to supplement the fabulous handouts that were given to us.
If I had to rate any portion of the time spent with Rick last Friday, each section would easily been awarded 5 stars. In this short three-hour but information-filled workshop, 28 participants now have the opportunity to team up with other educational institutions, i.e. churches, after-school agencies or other schools and public libraries to present to kids and families the history of manned space flight and the geology of our galaxy. AMAZING!

And what is even more amazing is Mr. Varner's willingness to come back to the SEMLS region in June--June 18th to be exact--to offer a program geared to our teacher librarians. The extended version of the April 24th workshop will include more time for extra hands-on activities for registered attendees. If previous attendances couldn't get enough of the hands-on activities from the April 24th workshop, you are more than welcome to join us for the June 18th workshop. In fact, if you can't make the Thursday, June 18th workshop, five other regions across the state will host Rick's visit that same week.

Tuesday, June 16th (Western Region Conference Room)
Wednesday, June 17th Tewksbury Public (NMRLS & CMRLS Region combined)
Friday June 19th at Boston Children's Museum (Boston Region)

You have 3 other opportunities to become certified and participate in the fun outside of the SEMLS June 18th workshop. Registration for this workshop will begin on Friday May 1st so check the CE calendar to secure your space. In the meantime, you'll welcome to tour the actual facility where these samples are stored before they reach your library.

The Moon at Your Fingertips

Fly me to the moon
Let me sing among those stars
Let me see what spring is like
On Jupiter and Mars......
(F.Sinatra)

Don't you just enjoy those moments when the full moon lies so close to the night sky's horizon? There are times when I foolishly believe that if I walk in the direction of the moon that I would someday 'touch' it while it hangs so low in the sky during the summer months. If you've ever felt that way as a child or even as an adult, here's your opportunity to 'touch' the moon.

On Friday, April 24th, you are invited to participate in the training for the handling of Lunar Rock samples from the Apollo space mission era. Member librarians and even science teachers who are accompanied with their school's media specialist will have an opportunity to revisit the successful (and harrowing) stories and photos of manned spaceflight missions that took place between 1961-1975. Rick Varner, Aerospace Education Specialist with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland will be on hand to prepare you for the proper handing of these primary artifacts of history for use in your public or school library program. Workshop participants will be able to request these lunar samples throughout the year from the Space Flight Center upon completion of training. If you want to be a part of the 'first public librarian crew' in the statewide training workshops, please click here to register.

In the meantime, we want you to enjoy the rest of Sinatra's classic song--compliments of Jason Mraz.

About as rare as a Blue Moon...

...when I offer my recommendation of a performer or artist but I wanted to mention an artist that I did find while searching the net. There's a painter and amateur astronomer in Manchester, Connecticut who replicates scenes from our galaxy. If there's 25,000 stars in a captured photo, then he recreates 25,000 stars in his artwork. Wouldn't that be a cool exhibit to tie into your summer reading program? Check out his artwork on his website. If any of you should host Mr. Rick Costello's exhibit in your library, please let me know. I'd love to come down (or up) to see his artwork.

Space is Cold & Edible!

How often do you use space, ice and food in a sentence? Hopefully more often than not after Tuesday's NASA inspired workshop. Shelley Quezada, a Simmons Library School Professor & MBLC's Consultant for Library Services to the Underserved offered a WONDERFUL workshop FULL of web resources that you can use, promote and borrow in support of your program. Explore! To the Moon and Beyond is one of many NASA inspired shelf-ready programs that educators and parents can use. Whether you are in the classroom or in the library this program features the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter(LRO) & Lunar Crater Observation & Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) missions. LRO/LCROSS what? Yeah, I know. It's a mouth full but if I could explain it in a nutshell--an unmanned spacecraft that will orbit the moon for a year to collect data primarily of the moon and of the sun's radiation for future space flight and scientific research. NASA with the help of teachers and NASA scientists has created very informal and traditionally low-cost projects that you can recreate at your library. While Shelley was kind enough to provide information on different books, links and exercises, we also took the time out to try out another shelf-ready program for kids aged 8 and up. Explore! Ice Worlds! a ready made program that can be found on The Lunar & Planetary Institute's (LPI) website provides a hands-on-lesson that will forever be ingrained into the left (& right) brained emerging scientist. See below the results of an All About Ice experiment that reiterates the freezing temperature of ice. It's amazing what a little ice, salt, sugar, milk and vanilla extract will do in a ziploc bag.



And once again, we ask that you do try this Ice Cream in a Ziploc Bag activity at your library.

More Science/Craft Activities Coming Your Way...

What was it nearly a week ago when many of us met with Dr. Gross, Co-Director for Education at the Center for Integrated Space Weather Modeling at Boston University with grad student Sarah McGregor aka The Sun Goodness for our Blast Off to Space program? Now many of the activities didn't involve rocket science but they were certainly related. We cratered the moon, determined how far earth was to a nearby planet and even discussed life on Mars. There was indeed some fascinating stuff, space trivia, mathematical calculations & theories passed along the room. But a program would not be complete with at least something bubbling throughout the session.



And yes, we do encourage you to try this at home and more importantly--at your libraries. Forget the science of it all and just do the crafts, dude.

Thanks for your timely ordering!

Eighty-six schools and public libraries are getting ready for a Starship Adventure at THEIR libraries in 2009!

Abington Public Library
Angelo School Library
Aquinnah Public Library
Attleboro Public Library
Avon Public Library
Berkley Public
Blanding Public Library
Boyden Library
Brewster Ladies' Library
Bridgewater Public Library
Brockton Public Library
Carver Public Library
Centerville Public Library
Chilmark Public Library
Conley Elementary School
Cotuit Public Library
Dennis Public Library
Dighton Public Library
Duxbury Free Library
E. Bridgewater Public Library
Eastham Elementary School
Eastham Public Library
Edgartown Public Library
Eldredge Public Library
Falmouth Public Library
Fiske Public Library
Hanson Public Library
Hingham Public Library
Holbrook Public Library
Holmes Public Library
Hyannis Public Library
Indian Head School
James White Memorial Library
John Curtis Free Library
John H. Duval Elementary
Jonathan Bourne Public Library
Joseph H. Plumb Memorial Library
Kingston Public Library
Lakeville Public Library
Mansfield Public Library
Maquan Elementary School
Marstons Mills Public Library
Mashpee Public Library
Mattapoisett Free Public Library
Middleborough Public Library
Millicent Library
Milton Public Library
Nantucket Atheneum
New Bedford Free Public Library
Norfolk Public Library
Norton Public Library
Norwell Public Library
Oak Bluffs Public Library
Osterville Village Library
Paul Pratt Memorial Library
Pembroke Public Library
Plainville Public Library
Plymouth Public Library
Plymouth River School Library
Quincy Public Schools
Raynham Public Library
Richards Memorial Library
Sacred Heart Elementary School
Seekonk Public Library
Sharon Public Library
Snow Library
Somerset Public Library
Southworth Library
Stoughton Public Library
Sturgis Library
Swansea Public Library
Thayer Public Library
The Ames Free Library
Thomas Crane PL
Tufts Library
Turner Free Library
Ventress Memorial Library
Walpole Public Library
Wareham Free Library
Wellfleet Public Libary
West Bridgewater Public Library
West Tisbury Publlic Library
Westport Free Pulbic Library
Weymouth Public Libraries
Whitman Public Library
Yarmouth Town Libraries

If you missed the deadline to place your order of certificates, bookmarks, posters, young adult cards and reading logs through SEMLS for the March 23rd shipment date, please order directly by using Janway's online order form.

We're looking for taglines!

As you all know, Environment is the Theme for 2010. And as with every theme, there is usually a tagline. We are looking for some catchy taglines to help us celebrate our theme. So I'm inviting all my witty SEMLS librarians to help us create slogans for both the children's and teen summer reading program theme. A few have been offered by librarians in the Metrowest & Central region so far...

Going Green, Green Teens, READcycle at Your Library, Dream in Green at Your Library are just a few of the submitted slogans. If you think you would like to offer a slogan for consideration, feel free to post here or send me an email. Go ahead and throw your name in the green pool. 8-)

P.S. Thankfully Anne Vantran has already thrown her name in the pool. Green is Global at Your Library!....Get Energized at Your Library!

Will there be others? *wink*