Museum passes are back! Several of you have been inquiring if we had any free passes to regional museums. These passes are good until the end of November and can be used at the Split Rock Lighthouse, Carlton County Historical Society Museum, Duluth Depot, Great Lakes Aquarium, Judy Garland and Children’s Museum, Forest History Center, Ely-Winton Historical Society and the North Shore Commercial Fishing Museum.
So as you make plans for MEA weekend include a trip to a museum and stop by the library for free tickets.
The library has been awarded a grant to host a museum quality exhibit on technology and engineering. While we won’t get the exhibit until January of 2014 (yes, that is over a year from now) we will be adding a variety of items to our collection to encourage the discovery of basic engineering skills. One of the tools available now is Science of Disney Imagineering: Roller Coaster Builder. This is an online game learning resource that anyone with a computer and Internet access from home can use. The library has unique codes to provide to any student or parent that would like to access this tool. Stop by the library and pick up an information sheet with a code to get you started. If you’d like more information take a look at the free trial at http://dep.disney.go.com/sodi_promo/. We have also purchased many new DVDs on science and engineering skills so be on the lookout for those as well.
I just finished a couple of very sweet junior fiction books. I have always enjoyed Andrew Clements books and his newest About Average is a gem. Jordan Johnston is of average height, has average looks and pretty average grades. She yearns to be great at something, but violin isn’t it, math isn’t it, she seems destined for averageness or is she?
Polly Horvath is another favorite children’s author and her newest is a sequel to Everything on a Waffle and continues Primrose’s story in the small, remote British Columbia town of Coal Harbour. She befriends Ked, a foster kid temporarily living with Bert and Evie, the same foster parents she lived with when her parents vanished last year.
A beautiful new picture book for the budding artist is Sky Color by Peter H. Reynolds. What color do you paint the sky when the paint box doesn’t include blue? Marisol is faced with that dilemma as she helps paint a class mural.
Who hasn’t been alone and wanted a dragon for a friend. Lovaby Dragon by Barbara Joose is a fun story of a girl and a dragon meeting and fulfilling each other’s desire for a friend. We all know a dog is boy’s best friend, but did you know they aren’t afraid of anything? Alfie is Not Afraid by Patricia Carlin is a great story of a boy and his dog heading out for a night of adventure. The boy knows nothing will get him because his dog, Alfie isn’t afraid of anything.
