STEAM Ahead @ Home Now Available on the STAR Net Website!
In addition to our bi-weekly newsletter, we have recently developed a new section on the STAR Net website where your library can access all of our resources. This webpage (found under Resources on the main menu) will host all of our past and future newsletter highlights as well as numerous other @ Home resources that we curate during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Visit the STEAM Ahead @ Home Webpage
“NASA at Home” Resources
Let NASA bring the universe into your home.
#EarthDayAtHome with NASA
To help connect us virtually this Earth Day, NASA is encouraging your library and their patrons to share on social media, the photos and images of how you marked the 50th anniversary, using the hashtag #EarthDayAtHome. This could be a picture of a special earth day related activity, an original work of art that was created, the tree outside a window, or whatever inspires you and your patrons.
Also, to assist your library on this 50th anniversary of Earth Day, STAR Net has compiled a small collection of Earth Day resources that can be shared directly to your patrons which include posters, digital books, online videos and more.
View Our Shareable Earth Day Resources
Professional Development
Keep your skills sharp by revisiting these professional development resources.
Webinar: Ready, Set, Create! How Engineers and Libraries Can Collaborate to Make a World of Difference
Join the STAR Library Network as we go over resources, hands-on activities, and lessons-learned from Project BUILD, a collaborative project between STAR Net, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and the University of Virginia (UVA).
Project BUILD engages youth, their families, librarians, and professional engineers in an informal learning environment with age-appropriate, technology-rich STEM learning experiences fundamental to the Engineering Design Process.
View This Week’s Archived Webinar
Ready to Share with Patrons
Below is a set of resources that can be provided directly to families without the need of facilitation by library staff.
Explore at Home: Rocket Coloring Page and Activity
Decide what planet you would like to visit by drawing and coloring. This hands-on activity will allow you to use a balloon to launch a straw “rocket”.
How-to Video: Kid Moon Splat!
Share fun, easy activities in your social media and newsletters to engage your patrons in STEM! This week’s example: Kid Moon Splat. Invite patrons to learn about lunar impacts by measuring and throwing water balloons; sharing these simple directions and the how-to videos. Ask your patrons to take a picture of the largest “splat” they made and post it on your social media using #STEAMAheadAtHome!
Activity Directions | Activity Sheet (English) | Activity Sheet (Spanish)
View This Week’s Video (English)
View This Week’s Video (Spanish)
Digital App: NASA’s GLOBE Observer
GLOBE Observer invites you to make observations of the Earth around you. Observations you collect and submit with this app are designed to help scientists better understand satellite data collected by NASA from space. By using the GLOBE Observer app, you are joining the GLOBE community and contributing important scientific data to NASA and GLOBE, your local community, and students and scientists worldwide.
Available on smartphones and tablets!
Download This Week’s Digital App
Virtual Programs
Use this featured resource to add easy, hands-on STEAM activities (using common household materials) to your online Story Time programs. Note: Book recommendations are included.
Virtual Program: Big Dipper Star Clock
Create a “star clock” you can use to tell the time from the position of the Big Dipper in the night sky.
View This Virtual Program Activity
The STAR Library Network (STAR Net) is a hands-on learning network for libraries and their communities across the country. STAR Net focuses on helping library professionals build their STEM skills by providing “science-technology activities and resources” (STAR) and training to use those resources. Plus, engage public audiences nationwide in informal and lifelong learning with the excitement of exploration and discovery through STAR Net’s NASA@ My Library program!
STAR Net is built upon a strong network of collaborators and partners, led by the Space Science Institute’s (SSI) National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL). Partners include the American Library Association’s Public Programs Office, Collaborative Summer Library Program, Chief officers of State Library Agencies, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Afterschool Alliance, Education Development Center, American Society of Civil Engineers, and Cornerstones of Science. Major funding is provided by the National Science Foundation, NASA Science Mission Directorate, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
