May 6, 2020

Reminder: STEAM Ahead @ Home Now Available on the STAR Net Website!

Don't forget, we have developed a new section on the STAR Net website where your library can access all of our resources. This webpage (found under Resources on the main menu) will host all of our past and future newsletter highlights as well as numerous other @ Home resources that we curate during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Visit the STEAM Ahead @ Home Webpage

Professional Development

Keep your skills sharp by revisiting these professional development resources.

Webinar: Beg, Borrow, and Steal... Multi-generational STEAM Programming Ideas for Our Planet: EARTH

Join the STAR Library Network and guest presenter Jenny Shonk (Finger Lakes Library System, NY) for this sixty minute webinar that will showcase hands-on, multi-generational programming ideas with an Earth science twist.

In addition to going over tips, ideas, and resources, we’ll also turn to you – the audience – for a facilitated discussion so that we can all “beg, borrow, and steal” multi-generational programming ideas, resources, and expertise from each other!

View This Week's Archived Webinar

Ready to Share with Patrons

Below is a set of resources that can be provided directly to families without the need of facilitation by library staff.

Girls Who Code at Home: Stay Positive Binary Bracelets

It’s important to remain positive and keep our spirits lifted during times of stress and uncertainty. Through this unplugged activity you will be able to create bracelets that share positive and uplifting messages by using binary code!

View This Week's Guide

Field Trip Mars - May 8th at 1:30 pm ET / 10:30 am PT

Are volcanoes still active on Mars? What does Mars smell like? Where did the water that was once on Mars go? Share this family-friendly livestream event with your patrons so they can take a virtual field trip to Mars and get answers to these questions - and ask their own.

Event Description:
Join the American Museum of Natural History's Director of Astrovisualization Carter Emmart and astrophysicist Jackie Faherty during a real-time flyover across the Martian landscape. Fly over canyons, hover past impact craters, and trace the trackways of the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity.

Watch The Livestream on May 8th

Digital App: Reach Across the Stars

"Reach Across the Stars: A Universe of Explorers," is a free augmented reality (AR) app that can be used on most AR-compatible tablets and smart phones. This app will allow users to explore the universe and unlock the often-overlooked stories of women and their contributions to space exploration and science.

Women are featured in short "stories" (one to two minutes) and longer "journeys" (five to eight minutes). Some of the women in the stories of this new app include computer scientist Grace Hopper, astronomer Nancy Roman, mathematician Katherine Johnson, physicist and chemist Marie Curie and astronauts Mae Jemison and Sally Ride.

Download This Week's Digital App

Virtual Programs

Use these featured resources to faciliate hands-on STEAM activities (using common household materials) for your patrons at home.

Virtual Program: Art and the Cosmic Connection

Using NASA imagery, participants use images as inspiration for artwork while learning about geology of planetary bodies and moons.

This activity offers a terrific bridge between Earth and space science, as well as a wonderful dive into the potential of science to inspire art — and art to empower science!

View This Virtual Program Activity

"NASA at Home" Resources

Let NASA bring the universe into your home.

ViewSpace: Explore the Universe

ViewSpace is a free, web-based collection of dozens of digital interactives and hundreds of videos highlighting the latest developments in astronomy and Earth science.

ViewSpace gives you the opportunity to explore our planet, solar system, galaxy, and universe. Provided free with the support of NASA, ViewSpace is developed by a team of scientists, educators, and communication specialists who collaborate to ensure that content is accurate, up-to-date, engaging, relevant, and accessible to a wide audience.

View This Week's NASA Resource

Find us elsewhere! Click any of the above images to link
to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

The STAR Library Network (STAR Net) is a hands-on learning network for libraries and their communities across the country. STAR Net focuses on helping library professionals build their STEM skills by providing “science-technology activities and resources” (STAR) and training to use those resources. Plus, engage public audiences nationwide in informal and lifelong learning with the excitement of exploration and discovery through STAR Net's NASA@ My Library program!

STAR Net is built upon a strong network of collaborators and partners, led by the Space Science Institute’s (SSI) National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL). Partners include the American Library Association’s Public Programs Office, Collaborative Summer Library Program, Chief officers of State Library Agencies, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Afterschool Alliance, Education Development Center, American Society of Civil Engineers, and Cornerstones of Science. Major funding is provided by the National Science Foundation, NASA Science Mission Directorate, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

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