Earth Science
through Food, Games, and Art:
Library Programming Ideas for Tweens and Teens
HANDS-ON SCIENCE ACTIVITIES
Presenters: Eve Halligan, Keliann LaConte, and Stephanie Shipp
Technical Support: Ramiro Padilla
Resources
Connect to STAR_Net project resources!
• Join the online community!
Get access to resources,
discussions and related
opportunities.
Contact: Anne Holland
[email protected]
• Visit the project website at
www.STARNetLibraries.org
Explore Program
• Create and distribute hands-on activities
that
•
•
•
•
Are designed for the library
Rely on inexpensive materials
Can be flexibly implemented
Highlight Earth and space science and engineering
concepts through investigations, demos, crafts, and
facilitated conversations
• Provide training to children's and youth
librarians and other community educators
• Funded by NSF and NASA
HANDS-ON SCIENCE ACTIVITIES
Activity 7: Celebrate Your Region!
Activity 8: Polar Bears or Penguins?
Activity 9: Polar Bears Go with the Floes
Activity 10: Earth: Artistically Balanced
Activity 1: A Century of Change Display
Activity 4: I Belong to Earth
HANDS-ON SCIENCE ACTIVITIES
Each Region Is Unique
Changes to distant oceans, air moving freely around our
globe, and all living things have an influence on our regional
environment, now and in the past and future.
Activity 7: Celebrate Your Region!
Activity 8: Polar Bears or Penguins?
Your Home Is Changing
Earth’s water, ice, air, and life will continue to interact over long-term
scales, shaping the particular features of that place we each call
home.
Activity 9: Polar Bears Go with the Floes
Activity 10: Earth: Artistically Balanced
We Belong to Earth
Activity 1: A Century of Change Display
Activity 4: I Belong to Earth
Our Home Is Changing…
…we’d love to have you join us for a
respectful conversation about the science of
global climate change!
Our Home Is Changing…
…explore the science of climate change even
more deeply through:
Activity 7: Celebrate Your Region!
Ages 10-13
Three projects:
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Part A. Climate Postcard
Part B. Recipe for a Region
Part C. Changes to Come
Key Points
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“Weather” vs. “Climate”
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Climate makes your region special
•
Pen pal exchange — show how tweens living in
another region have different experiences!
Part A. Climate Postcard
Celebrate Your Region’s Unique…
Weather
Rain. Credit: U.S.
Department of Commerce,
National Oceanic &
Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA).
Wild Plants
or Animals
Hurricane. Credit: U.S.
Global Change
Research Program.
Saguaro Cactus. Credit: Fish and
Wildlife Service.
Common
Clothing
and Gear
Pika. Credit: National Park Service.
Part A. Climate Postcard
What would you draw on your postcard?
Part B. Recipe for a Region
Your Region’s “Secret Ingredient” is…?
Part B. Recipe for a Region
Your Region’s “Secret Ingredient” Is…?
Example:
Fiddlehead Ferns from the forests of the
Northwest and New England/Mid-Atlantic
See the salad recipe in the
THE MITSITAM CAFÉ COOKBOOK
Richard Hetzler, Fulcrum Publishing, 2010,
ISBN: 155591747X
Activity 10: Earth: Artistically
Balanced
Hands-on way to visualize the science of the
climate’s complexities… through art!
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Flexible – May be created on a large scale or small
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For Teens (14-18 years)
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Several factors influence global temperatures (both natural and
human-based)
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Choose scale for models
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Needs: Area to display artwork, art supplies (appropriate scale),
Earth Climate Cards (Nature’s Balance & Human Influences)
What factors do you think we should keep in
mind when developing a model of Earth’s
climate?
•
Please use the chat box now to share your thoughts!
PARTNERSHIP
DISCUSSION
--THE INTERACTIVE PART!
Activity 7: Celebrate Your Region!
Part C. Changes to Come
Global climate is changing
•
Scientists predict that the average temperature will continue
to rise over the next 100 years, perhaps as much as 3-10°F.
•
…how will that change the tweens’ postcards and recipes?
Change is normal…but not at this
rate!
•
The changes are happening faster than during the last 10,000
years.
Activity 8: Polar Bears or
Penguins?
Know Your Poles... Take our Polls!
•
Do you know the difference between the Arctic
and Antarctic?
•
Does your audience?
• Divide into 2
Teams
• Match each
card to the
Polar Region
•
•
•
Arctic (N. Pole)
Antarctic (S. Pole)
Both
• Play the Game!
Fastest
team wins!
Activity 9:
Polar Bears Go with the Floes
Human actions impact the global environment
•
As a team, tweens determine whether or not to save a polar bear
on an Arctic sea ice floe. Everyone wins or everyone loses!
We have choices…
…Some choices require us to make changes in the way we live:
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Take shorter showers
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Replace incandescent bulbs with new, energy-efficient types
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Walk or bicycle instead of asking for a ride
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As a family, lower the heat in the winter and raise the
temperature a bit in the summer
Tweens (ages 11-13) – and their families – can be
global stewards!
•
Just like in the game, we all have to work together to make a
difference!
Activity 1: A Century of
Change Display
Connecting your community to
environmental changes
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Invite community to submit photos
• Historical (taken a century or more ago)
• Contemporary (current)
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Organize the photos into a display
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Collect their feedback!
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Hold an opening night!
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Optional: Collect stories or archive
the photographs collected
Grinnell Glacier in
Glacier National
Park – 1900 to 1998.
Past
Present
Reading Game: Ages 10-13
Reading Log: Teens
“Read Me” Bookmarks
IDEAS FOR MAKING
THIS YOUR OWN!
Further Resources
www.starnetlibraries.org/resources.html
PLAYFUL BUILDING
www.lpi.usra.edu/explore
…and 9 other modules to explore other areas of science and engineering!
Lunar exploration
The planets Earth, Jupiter, and Mars
Rockets
Health in space
… and more coming soon!
Other Ideas…
National Girls Collaborative Project
www.ngcproject.org
• Reach girl-serving organizations across the U.S.
NOAA Climate Stewards Education Project
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/climate-stewards/
• Find a NOAA Climate Steward near you
• Download educational resources
IMPLEMENTATION
DISCUSSION
--THE INTERACTIVE PART!
Thank you! Keep in Touch!
Feedback: http://erasurvey.org/survey3/SSTNT5.htm
STAR_Net Project
www.starnetlibraries.org
http://www.facebook.com/STARLibraries
https://twitter.com/STARNet_Project
Explore
Department of Education and Public Outreach
Lunar and Planetary Institute
3600 Bay Area Boulevard
Houston TX 77058
[email protected]