Blog Post
And the winner is...
by anned
Today NASA announced Harmony as the name of the new module of the International Space Station. The name was chosen from an academic competition involving thousands of students in kindergarten through high school which required students to learn about the International Space Station, build a scale model of the module, and write an essay explaining their proposed name.
Harmony is a pressurized module that will act as a connecting port and passageway to additional international science labs and supply spacecraft. It also will be a work platform for the station's robotic arm. Find out more at NASA's website.
Blog Post
A Bog, A Kettle, A Lake
by Debbie G.
Washtenaw County Naturalist Extraordinaire Faye Stoner will lead a hike at Park Lyndon South's Lake Genevieve on Sunday, March 11, 2-4 p.m., exploring and explaining kettle lakes, bogs, fens and fauna. Meet Faye at the West Lot and wear boots and pants that can get wet.
Blog Post
45th Anniversary of Americans in Orbit!
by anned
Forty-five years ago today, John Glenn successfully completed the first American manned orbital mission aboard Friendship 7 on February 20, 1962.
To celebrate the anniversary of this event, NASA has added some interactive features to their website. Visit nasa.gov to take an inside look at the Friendship 7, explore bios and a photo gallery, and conduct virtual interviews with the surviving Mercury astronauts. You can also watch a 30 minute special online on NASA TV: 45th Anniversary of Americans in Orbit, at 7pm on February 20th.
Blog Post
Calling All Bird Counters
by Debbie G.
Join beginners and experts in the 10th annual Great Backyard Bird Count Feb. 16-19, 2007. Take part wherever you are – at home, in school, at a local park. Have a field guide to Michigan birds handy. For extra fun, try identifying our feathered friends by their birdsongs.
Blog Post
The Mercury 13
by anned
On June 16, 1963, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space—during the Vostok 6 mission. It was 20 years later (almost to the day) that Sally Ride became the first American woman in space—as a crewmember on Space Shuttle Challenger for STS-7 on June 18, 1983.
In Martha Ackmann’s The Mercury 13, we are introduced to 13 women who should have been among the first in space. They included Jerrie Cobb, Wally Funk, Myrtle Cagle, and Bernice "B" Steadman, who were some of the most accomplished pilots of their time, male or female. These women passed the same rigorous tests (in 1961) that the original Mercury 7 astronauts underwent in the late 1950s. The women's testing program was eventually scrapped and women astronaut candidates weren’t selected by NASA until the 1978 class of Space Shuttle astronauts.
To find more books on women astronauts click here.
Blog Post
22 Hours and Counting
by Debbie G.
NASA Astronaut Sunita L. Williams set a record Sunday for most total time spacewalking by a woman. Her record is 22 hours and 27 minutes but she has another spacewalk scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 8th. Future woman astronauts can launch their career by attending a Sally Ride Science Festival. Details of the University of Michigan festival are still in the works but plan on one for Fall, 2007.
Blog Post
Science Fair Resource Open House
by erin
Stumped for ideas? Don't know if your idea will fly? Join us for an informational open house! Librarians will be on hand to assist you with our collections, show you resources you didn't know we had, and offer guidance on what's on the web that would be helpful. Dan Ezekiel and Maureen Michael, AAPS Science Teachers, will be on hand to talk about your project and give advice. See you on Monday, Jan. 29 from 6:30-8:30 at the Downtown Library in the Youth Department.
Blog Post
To the Moon!
by anned
NASA plans to return to the moon by 2020 and hopes to build a moon base by 2024. While you are waiting for the Ares I & V to launch, take a look back at other trips to the moon: Project Apollo and Méliès.
From the Earth to the Moon a superbly done HBO series, produced by Tom Hanks, and based on the book A Man on the Moon by Andrew Chaikin, takes you through the entire Apollo program.
Moon Shot: the inside story of America's race to the moon by astronauts Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton.
First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen.
Méliès the magician contains the 1902 "La Voyage dans la lune" along with other films by Méliès.
Blog Post
Curious About Climate: Why Weather Works!
by lola
Register on this snowy day to learn how weather works! Join the library and the UM Exhibit Museum of Natural History this month in the first Family Science Workshop of the series. Learn about past climates by analyzing petrified tree rings, explore the differences in weather around the world, and discover why global warming is happening.
Children must be between ages 6-11 and attend the program with an adult. Register at the location you would like to attend.
Pittsfield: Wednesday. January 24, 4-5 PM
Malletts Creek: Saturday, January 27, 10-11 PM
Northeast: Saturday, January 27, 2-3 PM
Blog Post
FAMILY SCIENCE WORKSHOPS
by lola
[cover_image]1579904688|B12383983[/cover_image]
Make it a family event! Register to attend science workshops as a family and learn about the wonders of weather. Answer the questions: Why is weather different all over the world? What does thunder happen after lightning? How do meteorologists predict the weather? Call and register at the branch you would like to attend the workshop. Registration starts two weeks before the workshop and the program is for children ages 6-11.
Curious About Climate: Why Weather Works!
Pittsfield Wednesday, Jan. 24, 4-5 PM
Malletts Creek Saturday, Jan. 27, 10-11 AM
Northeast Saturday, Jan. 27, 2-3 PM
Stormy Surprises: When Weather Goes Wild!
Pittsfield Wednesday, Feb. 21, 4-5 PM
Malletts Creek Saturday, Feb. 24, 10-11 AM
Northeast Saturday, Feb. 24, 2-3 PM
Backyard Meteorology: Forecasting the Future
Pittsfield Wednesday, Mar. 28, 4-5 PM
Malletts Creek Saturday, Mar. 31, 10-11 AM
Northeast Saturday, Mar. 31, 2-3 PM