Libraries – The Last Treasure

Library of Alexandria (300BC)
One of the last places that provide free entertainment, services and materials to borrow is the local public library. This is certainly a treasure to take advantage of in today’s economy. Check it out – This is Library Week across America (April 12 -18, 2009).

Besides books, there are discount passes to area museums, speaker programs for all ages, film nights, how to seminars, and free internet access. You can borrow books, music CDs and movie DVDs. The research librarian will assist you with finding all kinds of information.

The online catalog allows you to locate materials available at the local library or at the area library consortium. Books and materials can be ordered from other libraries and shipped to the local library within days. When they arrive you will be notified by phone or email when to pick them up. I access my local library at the web link … http://www.wilmlibrary.org/ Here you can see what new programs are offered and find information from online catalogs. You can also subscribe to the library newsletter which is sent to you by email.

I visit the library at least once a week to pickup books that I have ordered or look for new ones. At the library you can browse the shelves to see what titles or authors may pique your interest. New books are displayed upfront dealing with a current public interest such as Heart Month, Black History Month, President’s Week or even Travelogues to other countries.

I recently picked up some books on piano music from the 1920’s. Another time I saw a book on signal flags used on ships and the how to recognize a ship from their silhouette. After reading an article in the local newspaper about pirates in Wilmington, I got some books about Captain Kid and his exploits along the New England coast which I shared with my grandson.

A few years ago I was doing genealogy research and trying to construct a family tree. I was able to get a few books at the library that provided information on available resources and online genealogy data bases only available at the library. In addition, I was able to attend a special Genealogy Night offered at the Andover Public Library. I have also borrowed audio books for my next door neighbor who is partially blind. Another time, I attended an evening lecture on gardening tips and how to deal with garden insects.

Next door to the Wilmington Public Library is a small house called The Bookstore Next Door. See the link …. http://friendsbookstorenextdoor.blogspot.com/
This bookstore is run by the Friends of the Library and has a large collection of used books, CDs, DVDs for adults and children. Paperbacks are fifty cents and hard cover books are two dollars. This is quite a bargain from the original cost. I usually browse the shelves every few weeks for new items. While I am there, local residents drop off their used books for others to buy. After a few minutes I have found a couple of suspense novels for me and also some children’s books for the grand kids.

If I am looking for special books not available at the library, I try Amazon.com at the link … http://www.amazon.com/ . At this web site you can look up books by title, author and genre with a synopsis or book review. You can select the book to purchase as new or used and have it shipped to your home for a shipping charge of about $3.00. The used books are like new and sometimes cost less than a dollar.

I find reading to be an active endeavor, instead of passive, like watching TV. When you read you have to formulate the words on the page into thoughts, ideas and pictures. You use your own experiences and imagination to construct the scene and the action.

Sometimes the books that you are reading become relevant to current events. I am now reading the book “The Edge of Battle”, By Dale Brown. See Ammazon.com for a review … http://www.amazon.com/Edge-Battle-Dale-Brown/dp/0060753080/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239072320&sr=8-1
The book is about smugglers of drugs and people on the Mexican Border. About immigration, border security and international terrorism. The book describes currents weapons used as well as the politics between local, state and national governments.

Recently I saw another book that piqued my interest while reading the Boston Globe book reviews. See the link … http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/03/31/pearl_returns_to_boston_with_dickens/
It is entitled “The Dante Club” By Matthew Pearl. The author lives in Cambridge and has written several Mystery Novels about the local area. The Dante Club is a murder mystery which takes place in Boston in 1865 and involves Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Oliver Wendell Holmes. They discover the local pastor of the Old North Church murdered in an under ground church crypt. The Globe recently had an article about a local archeologist finding historical evidence in the crypt at the Old North Church. See the link … http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/04/06/resurrecting_a_storied_past/

I looked up some information about Libraries online and found that the three largest libraries are here in the US. The name of the libraries and the number of volumes they hold are: (Library Congress - 29,550,914), (Harvard University – 15,181,349) and the (Boston Public – 14,933,349).

In ancient times the largest library was the Royal Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt. This was built by King Ptolemy II about 300 BC. Carl Sagan in his TV Series “Cosmos” estimated that Alexandria had over a million volumes. The first books were papyrus scrolls. After the library burned during the rule of Julius Caesar, Marc Anthony supposedly gave to Cleopatra 200,000 scrolls taken from the Library of Pergamum for the Library in Alexandria, as a wedding gift. See the link …. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Alexandria

To prevent future catastrophes from destroying great books, statues, buildings and works of art, a digital library has been established called the Perseus Digital Library. See the link …. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/

I recently saw a movie on TV, The Time Machine (2002). The time machine inventor is hurtled 800,000 years into the future where earth has been destroyed along with all books and technology and people must start over again as hunter gatherers. The only thing that survives from the past is a Hologram of a Man that has the entire knowledge of mankind in his digital memory http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1807432839/details

However, back in the year 2009 and I still have my tangible books that I can hold in my hand, which allow me to imagine the past, present and future from the comfort of my non-digital easy chair.

All comments appreciated. email to : markryan82@comcast.net

Learning Life Skills Through Science Fair Projects

I always enjoy attending science fairs and talking with the student participants as they enthusiastically explain there projects. Filled with excitement, they describe step by step the intricacies of their experiments and the startling revelations that they may have discovered.

However, there is a range of projects that span student capabilities from simple to very complex. Some projects are simple and done at home or in school with some teacher guidance. Other projects are done in conjunction with a mentor from the local university or industrial lab. Judging these projects from opposite extremes takes some practice and keeping them on a level playing field.

I especially love the home made projects involving simple ideas with a new twist. The ones where students have made their own instruments to measure the changes in simple variables. I saw one such project last week where a student was measuring the lift on airplane wings of different shapes. She first created the wind power with a leaf blower. Then she constructed a metal stand to support her different wings by soldering short pieces of wire together creating a 15 inch tall structure. A paper measuring scale was the fixed to the back of the structure where a spring supported the wing piece. As the simulated wind from the leaf blower blew across the wing, it stretched the spring by a small increment which could be measured on the paper scale. In addition, changes in static and dynamic air pressure were measured on two homemade water manometers. She then measured the changes in lift and pressure for all her wing designs and graphed all the results. She also kept accurate records of her experiments in a log book and wrote a detailed report of her investigation, literature search, experimental findings with mathematical calculations and graphs. When speaking with her, she was able to explain clearly what she did and made conclusions based on her original work.

On the other hand, there are projects that seem at first glance to be beyond the capabilities of a normal high school student. These are the ones which involve a mentor from the local university or biotech laboratory. Schools are now partnering with local colleges and labs to find mentors to work with their students on science fair projects. The projects that students select are usually a side investigation suggested by the mentor related to current research in which the mentor is now engaged. The student meets with the mentor for a few days a week over several months at the mentor’s lab. The mentor shows the student how to use sophisticated lab equipment and research techniques. The student then performs various experiments and learns to describe the results using cutting edge terminology. Although the projects maybe more sophisticated than the home grown ones, they are judged on the same criteria which involve the following questions: Are there any signs of originality and creativity? Can the student explain the results in simple terms? Were there repeated trials? Did the student keep accurate records in a log book and write a detailed report? Science fair judges need to be careful when scoring these projects and keeping them on a level playing field with all other projects. Although project complexity may range from simple to sophisticated, they need to use the same criteria and not be blown away by the sophisticated cutting edge ideas or lab techniques used by mentored student.

This passed Saturday, March 21, 2009; I attended the Regional IV Science held at Somerville High School in Somerville, MA. See the link at … http://shsscience.org/regionIV/ . You can see some photos of the fair at the link … http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/RegScFair32109
The regional event is where science fair winners from over 40 high schools north of Boston, MA exhibit their original projects and compete for prizes and spots to enter the State Science Fair, to be held April 30-May2, 2009 at MIT in Cambridge, MA. See link at … http://www.scifair.com/ . The state fair has over 200 participants from high schools around the state and the 6 regional science fairs.

I have been associated with the science fair for over 40 years, first as a high school teacher at Medford High School, in Medford, MA, sending students to the local, regional and state fairs and then participating as a Science Fair Judge. Although I have been retired from public education for several years, I still enjoy volunteering as a Science Fair Judge for local high school fairs and the regional fair.

As a judge, I have had the opportunity to discuss with the student participants their projects in depth. Although I have to limit my individual conversation to about 10 minutes per project so I can judge several projects in the time allowed, I get a good idea of the quality of work that the student has performed. To guide the judging process, there is a score card that addresses five areas of performance: 1. Scientific Approach, 2.Original Notebook, 3. Thoroughness, 4. Ingenuity and Creativity, and 5. Advancement in Science. All projects are judged on this same criteria.

When students decide to participate in their local fair and go on to the regional and state, their individual high school teacher carefully guides them through the process of selecting an interesting topic, keeping accurate records, doing repeated experimental trials and basing their conclusions on what they actually observed in their experiments.

Before enter a fair, students need to practice their public speaking abilities and have self confidence when exhibiting their projects. Not only are they asked questions by the judges but also the general public. They must learn to exude enthusiasm in their project and what they have accomplished. They have to be knowledgeable about their subject area and be able to express their knowledge to a range of audiences.

Students who have participated in a science fair program acquire life skills that get them ready for adult lives. Working individually or as a team, students learn how to tackle problems and make appropriate plans to find solutions. They learn communication skills in both public speaking and comprehensive writing. They learn how to make keen observations and keep accurate records. They learn mathematical and graphic skills to calculate and illustrate there findings. Participating in a science fair program prepares young students for the 21st Century, ready to pursue a range of meaningful careers.

Burlington Science Center

Although I have been retired for a few years, I still belong to a local educators group that has helped me stay aware of current educational trends for 40 years.

The NSSSA (North Shore Science Supervisors Association) is an organization that helps local educators (teachers and supervisors) stay abreast of new trends in education. Each month the group meets to discuss the latest educational topics and practices as well as network with colleagues. The monthly meetings are sponsored by a book publisher or educational supplier and held at a local school, business or restaurant.

The meeting this month took place at the Burlington Science Center which is next door to Burlington High School, Burlington, MA. The meeting was opened by our president Dave Lyons who then introduced the sponsor from Flinn Scientific who welcomed the group and spoke about a new educational video series offered by Flinn.

Our host John Papadonis then took the podium and talked about the Burlington Science Center and how it served the Burlington school system with science kits and materials. Along with his colleague Wendy Pavlicek, they provide teacher workshops, classroom presentations and science materials that teachers can borrow. In addition, they house a variety of live animals that are used in classroom presentations which include a variety of reptiles and birds.

At the meeting they showed a live two foot long alligator, a tortoise, a hawk, and a hedgehog as well as several smaller animal species. In season, they also supply the elementary schools with live plants, sprouting tulip bulbs and chick eggs ready for hatching.

John and Wendy made their presentations with enthusiasm and a love for their chosen career. John said he adheres to the 20/20 rule for classroom presentation time. That includes 20 minutes to discuss theory and 20 minutes of hands on student activity.

The meeting was concluded with a demonstration of an inexpensive seismograph and a homemade Vander graph generator.

You can see photos of the meeting at the link …..
http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/NSSSAMtg1809

Comments are always welcome. Email to markryan82@comcast.net