The Chemistry Cave

This summer, I've turned one of our display cases into the Chemistry Cave.  I've been placing different experiments in the "cave" throughout the summer.  The experiments have come from the book Cool Chemistry Concoctions: 50 Formulas that Fizz, Foam, Splatter, and Ooze by Joe Rhatigan and Veronika Alice Gunter. 

The first experiment, growing stalactites and stalagmites, was an EPIC FAIL.  It seemed simple enough: mix epsom salt and hot water in a cup, let a string tied to two paper clips soak in the solution, get another cup to place one of the paper clips in, and wait for the stalactites and stalagmites to form.  I waited a whole week and NOTHING happened!

 I tried the experiment again and, once again, nothing happened.  I went to take the cups out of the case and found a surprise. 

A crystal had formed in one of the cups!  Instead of traveling down the suspended string to make stalactites, the solution stayed in the cup and formed this lovely crystal.

Inspired by the crystal, I decided to grow crystals for the next experiment.  This experiment involved dissolving alum (found in the baking aisle of most grocery stores) in hot water and letting it set overnight to form seed crystals.  Then, you tie one end of a string to a crystal and the other to a pencil and hang the crystal in the jar to let it keep growing.  I forgot about the whole string and pencil bit and just left everything in the jar.  A week has gone by and here's what we have.

   Lots of tiny crystals! 

 

 

I've added the crystals to another mixture of alum and water.  What do you think will happen now?  Stop by the library to see what the crystals do next!

 

 

Enjoy Summer Reading!

Alyssa

 

 

Art for Art's Sake

The mission of the Morgan County Public Library is to provide materials and services which fulfill educational, informational, cultural and recreational needs of the entire community in an atmosphere that is welcoming, respectful, professional and efficient. Today I want to focus on the cultural aspect.  One of the things we do to fulfill cultural needs is to provide a forum for local artists to exhibit their work, as well as collecting and exhibiting art.
 

We have a rotating display of local artists in the  Stairwell of the Main Library that the Martinsville Arts Council schedules for us.  Past artists have included Joni James' nature photography, paintings and sketches by Whitney Matila, student projects from Martinsville High School, and the Hoosier Salon. This month's Stairwell Artist is Frank Pauley.  Frank creates works of art in intarsia.   Intarsia is a decorative woodworking technique that involves creating a picture or pattern in wood. This is done by cutting and sanding various colored natural woods into small shapes then arranging them onto a solid wood or inlaid surface. The final result is a three-dimensional, mosaic-like picture. 

One of the Library's earliest permanent acquisitions is the painting Late November by noted Impressionist painter, T.C. Steele, which was purchased in 1916 with money collected from overdue fines.  (Librarian's note:  Purchasing art is NOT something we are allowed to do with overdue fine money nowadays!)

Our newest work is the the eager little girl with her huge stack of books that greets you as you come in the front door. This sculpture is called ...Too Little Time and was created and donated by Joe Krutulis.   We like to dress her up with the seasons, and change her stack of books to reflect a theme.  See if you can guess what her current theme is next time you come in.  A Morgan County resident for over 35 years, Mr. Krutulis holds degrees in engineering from both Penn State University and the University of Alabama.. Following 25 years with General Motors and Rolls Royce in Detroit and Indianapolis, he retired in 1999. His interest in art dates to his childhood as the son of a talented theater and commercial artist. He has done drawing and painting, but his real love is three-dimensional art. Since his retirement he has been sculpting in various mediums. 

Our most dramatic painting depicts an event in local history, The Burning of the Homelawn Sanitarium, painted by noted Dutch artist, Antonius Raemaekers.  Mr. Raemaekers studied at the Academie Royale Des Beaux Arts and was well known for his landscapes.  He moved his family to Martinsville after World War Two and lived across the street from the Homelawn Sanitarium at the time of the fire. He captures the drama of the fire perfectly as it consumed the historic landmark. 

My personal favorite painting is Girl in Red Reading a Book by George Seton Coggeshall and can be found in the video room.  Mr. Coggeshall was a commercial artist in the Chicago area for over 35 years, and his daughter, Carol DeMotte is a Martinsville resident who donated the painting.  The woman in the painting reminds me of my mother, not so much because she looks like her, but because she was always reading, and she loved the colors of red and olive green which are the primary colors of this painting.  To me, that is the most wonderful thing about art, it can evoke a feeling or memory, whether a reminder of my mother, the smell of autumn leaves, the joy of reading or the terror of a fire. There are many other treasures in our buildings, come in and see them soon. 

Musings for summer doings...

It's not too late to sign up for summer reading. Adults can find various summer reading selections on the ends of the bookshelves upstairs and on top of the oversize books shelf. There are also several book lists in the brochure holder at the top of the stairs. And last, but certainly not least, if you need help finding books to complete your summer reading requirements, don't hesitate to ask a library employee at any desk for help. We have lots of suggestions!

Have you been thinking about researching your family's history? If you have, the Morgan County Public Library's main location has a wonderful genealogy collection. The majority of items in the collection is for those ancestors who settled and lived in Morgan County. However, the library has a subscription to the HeritageQuest database that has information from all over the country. In fact, it is an easy and interesting way to trace ancestors through Census information, family history books, periodicals and much more. Make some time to take a look at it. Simply go to our website and click on either "electronic resources and databases" or "genealogy", then look for HeritageQuest. You'll be surprised by what you can find.

New additions to the genealogy collection include:
Hopi and Navajo Native Aerican Census with Birth and Death Rolls
GEN 929.1 BOW
(We have Volumes 1 and 2.)
Hudiburgh/Hudiburg Family
GEN MOR 929.1 HUD
(Two books were compiled and donated to the library by the family)
Reading Early American Handwriting GEN 929.1 SPE

As always, we look forward to your next visit to the library.

Submitted from the Reference Desk on June 11, 2013

New Mural in the Children's Department at Monrovia Branch

Have you been in to the Monrovia Branch lately?   You might not know that we have a new mural on the wall in the children's department.  Thanks to the Community Foundation of Morgan County, Inc. for providing the funding and to Suzanne Lawler, the artist of Everything's a Canvas Art Studio in Martinsville, for creating the mural.   The Monrovia Branch is the place to come to sign up for summer reading and "...find magic wherever you look.  Sit back and relax, all you need is a book." -Dr. Seuss.  We have all kinds of events planned this summer for the entire family that you can enjoy. Come on by to look at and appreciate the new art mural and to sign up for our summer reading program!

Summer Reading is Here!

IT'S THE BEST DAY OF THE YEAR!  TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF SUMMER READING!!!!


Sorry, I just get very excited about our Summer Reading Program.

Today is the first day you can sign up to be a part of our Summer Reading Program.  There is a program for Children, Teen, Adults, and even an Early Literacy program for our youngest library visitors.

A lot of friends have come in today to sign up.  101 children have already signed up! 

If you didn't make it in today, don't worry.  You still have plenty of time to sign up and get your reading on!

Love and carrots,
Morgan