The Return of the Chemistry Cave!

Some of you may remember that I had a Chemistry Cave display last summer.  I decided to bring the display back this year for our science filled summer and do even more experiments!

Experiment 1: Stalactites and Stalagmites

If you remember last year's Cave, you will also remember the infamous Stalactite and Stalagmite Growing Fail.  If you don't, let me give you the short version: the experiment didn't work.  I decided that this summer, I WOULD grow stalactites and stalagmites, no matter what! 

Here's our set up:

Two cups, one filled with Epsom Salt that had been dissolved in water, with a string stretched between them.  The desired outcome: stalactites and stalagmites growing from the string!

I waited.  I waited.  I waited.

Nothing.  Once again, I was defeated.

I will never attempt this experiment again.


Experiment 2: WASH YOUR HANDS!!! 

This next experiment was done by Cassie and our Tweens during a Tween Wednesday program.  They were talking about germs and why we should wash our hands.  For the experiment, they had two pieces of an apple.  For Apple A, as soon as they cut the piece from the apple, they sealed it up in a plastic bag.  For Apple B, they passed the slice around the group, making sure everyone had a chance to hold the apple (it even briefly hit the floor!), before placing it in a plastic bag.  They left the apples to sit to see what happened over a few days.

Remember, Apple A is the "clean" apple and Apple B is the one that was passed around the group.

Do you need to wash your hands now?

Experiment 3: The Bouncing Egg

Yes, you can make an egg bounce!  I placed a regular egg in a bowl, covered it with vinegar, and let it hang out for 24 hours.

Ok, so not much to see.  After 24 hours, I took the egg out of the vinegar and the shell was gone!  The egg also felt a little swollen and it felt SUPER GROSS!!!  But would it bounce?

 

 IF I had followed the instructions and dropped the egg from a height of 3 inches or less, I'm sure it would have bounced.  Good thing I did this over the sink!

 

 I hope you've enjoyed our Chemistry Cave!

Alyssa




 

The 2013 Review!

Can you believe it's almost the end of the year?!  It doesn't seem like it but another year has come and gone.  Do you remember some of the things we did this year?

The Game Truck came for Teen Tech Week in March.

Bookmaking Workshop over Spring Break.

Fairy Houses during Summer Reading.

Morgan celebrated her fourth birthday!

A visit from Stick Dog author Tom Watson.

WonderLab!

Learning all about worms!

 

What is your favorite library memory from 2013? 

Looking forward to a new year and new fun,
Alyssa

Marvelous May!

Happy May Day everyone!  Did you know that our Summer Reading Program begins one month from today?  We're busy getting everything ready for summer, but we still have some awesome things for you do in May.

This month, the Page Turners book club (ages 5-8) will be reading Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.  We'll meet up on Monday, May 6th at 5:30 to talk about the book and create our own Wild Thing! 






The inbeTWEEN the Lines book club (ages 9-12) will be meeting on Monday, May 13th at 5:30 to talk about Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos.  There are still several copies of this book available.  Sign up today to get yours!





As a special treat this month, we'll be having a Puppet Show for all ages on Thursday, May 16th at 10:30am.  Come out to see  "Digga the Dinosaur Digs Reading" and "Digger, the Palentolo-Pup."

Tweens ages 9-12 can get a sneak peek of what we have planned this summer during Tween Wednesdays on May 8th at 4pm.  There will be another summer reading sneak peek during our Evening Storytime for ages 3-8 on Thursday, May 16th at 7pm.

Don't forget to see what's going on our other branches by check out our Events calendar.  I hope you can make it to some of our awesome programs!

Happy Reading!
Alyssa