Science in the Library

Right now my library is working on a STEAM grant that we got for 2018, and one of my tasks to help the team is to gather up ideas for STEAM elements to be added to our rotating storyboxes. Storyboxes are bins that get sent weekly from one library branch to another, sharing books, DVDs, CDs, flannelboard sets, song lyrics and craft ideas around a theme. Librarians and techs use the materials in the boxes to put together their storytimes for the week. For 2018, we want our storyboxes to reflect our library's STEAM emphasis. So I'm working on finding ideas that librarians and tech specialists can use when putting their bins together. Here's what I've got so far: Seasons, Trees: Make Four Season Trees! https://www.education.com/activity/article/Make_Four_Season_Trees/ Sound: Paper cup string phone https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/talk-through-a-string-telephone-bring-science-home/ Nutrition: Healthy Food Hunt and Paper Plate Collage https://www.educati...

At my last preschool storytime we did a Moon theme, because of the upcoming eclipse. I found a lot of great ideas from Johnson County Library .  One of the cutest ideas they gave me turned out to be this activity acting out the solar system and singing about it. I caught it on video: (tune: Farmer in the Dell) The Earth turns around, the Earth turns around, Once a day, every day, the Earth turns around. The moon goes round the Earth, The moon goes round the Earth, Once a month, every month,The moon goes round the Earth. The Earth goes round the Sun, the Earth goes round the Sun, Once a year, every year, The Earth goes round the Sun. The stars are all around, The stars are all around, Here to there, and everywhere, The stars are all around My library is working on putting together at least 20 STEAM storytime themes and I can add this one to the mix. If your library has done any storytimes that have been really STEAM-related, please share!

On Saturday, we had our library preschool storytime. I've been wanting to get out there and see the planets lined up in the pre-dawn sky , but I haven't been able to get myself up early enough. So I found another way to enjoy this phenomenon, and shared it with the preschoolers and their families at storytime. Using one of the library's iPads, we turned the storyroom into a preschool planetarium! We have an app called SkyView which allows you to see the locations and images of stars, planets, galaxies, satellites and other celestial objects surrounding the Earth by simply pointing the iPad in any direction. Why I decided to do this was so that the kids could see something that's probably very hard for them to see, and something they won't get another chance to witness for at least ten years! Currently, and for only a very limited time, all five visible planets are in the same part of our sky, and can be seen with the naked eye just before dawn. But sin...