Radical Raptors!

Visit Children's Services at the Main Library on Tuesday afternoon, August 9, to meet some awesome birds of prey -- up close and personal.  Soarin' Hawk, a local bird rescue, will be with us to teach us about these amazing animals.

Radical Raptors
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
2:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Click here to find some great books about raptors in the library's catalog.  We'll help you find them the next time you visit the library, or put some on hold to pick up at your nearest library branch.

The Great Backyard Bird Count!

Hey, friends! Here's a great chance to help scientists learn about birds.

It's the Great Backyard Bird Count!

To participate, simply watch and count the number of birds you see in your backyard or some other location from Friday, February 18 through Monday, February 21.
Then record what you see here. Anyone can participate -- kids and adults.

Invite a friend or two to get involved -- the more information the scientists can gather, the more will learn. How many birds do you think you will see?

Project WET at Main Library

We had tons of fun AND we learned so much about water and why it's important to keep it clean at our Project WET events at the Main Library. Many thanks to our pirate guest, Captain Black Sam Read, and to the Allen County Partnership for Water Quality, for providing such a great program!

If you missed this program or would like to attend again, check here for dates and times this week.

Project WET!

Don't miss this super-fun event! Learn about WATER -- what it is, why it's important, and how to conserve it. We'll have tons of fun and we'll learn to appreciate the water that's all around us. See the complete schedule of Project WET events here -- each location will have different activities, so plan on attending as many as possible!

Project WET at Main Library:
Tuesday, July 13th, 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, July 15th, 2:00 p.m.

Thank you Sierra Club

Today is the anniversary of the Sierra Club which was founded by the famous naturalist, John Muir in 1892. The Sierra Club promotes conservation of the natural environment by influencing public policy. It has been especially important in the founding and protection of our national parks.

Yucky Worms

Who would want to be friends with a wiggly, slimy, yucky worm?
You can't even tell which end is which!
But there's more to these lowly creatures than meets the eye. Find out where worms live, how they move, and why gardeners consider them friends in this humorous and informative look at the unappreciated - and fascinating - worm.

Our Green Trail

Sponsored by the Boston Children's Museum,
Our Green Trail
is a website for families to learn about environmental issues and responsible choices they can make everyday. Registration is free, children must enter their parent's email address, and then parents can activate the membership by responding to the email.

Members work on "challenges" that are real-world activities, such as finding recyclable objects in their junk drawer and taking them to a local recycling center. Points are gained for every challenge met.

Check it out at http://www.ourgreentrail.org/ .

World Water Day 2010

International World Water Day is held annually on March 22 as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
March 22 was first deemed World Water Day in 1993 by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) as an international day of observance and action to draw attention to the role that freshwater plays in our world and lives. Today’s reality is that one in eight people in the world don’t have access to safe water, millions of women and children must still spend several hours a day collecting water from distant, often polluted sources, and 2.5 billion people live without a toilet.

America Recycles Day

Children's Services celebrated America Recycles Day on November 14th at Science Central. Our booth featured a recycled book game and examples of fun stuff to make from old books and magazines, including this tree made from an old worn out book. Look for some more ideas for recycled arts and crafts on our booklist.

EcoKids: Clean Green

On Monday, Kira Blacketor from the Allen County Solid Waste District visited the library to present her Clean Green program for the EcoKids club.

Kira explained why we should think about the chemicals that we use to clean around the house and then taught the kids this simple recipe for All Purpose Cleaner.

All Purpose Cleaner
3/4 cup warm water
1/4 teaspoon liquid soap
1/4 teaspoon borax or baking soda
1 tablespoon white vinegar

Cleans countertops, floors, walls and carpet.

For more Green Cleaner recipes click here.

The ACSWD is hosting America Recycles Day at Science Central on November 14th from 10am to 2pm. Admission is FREE for the event. Don't miss this chance to learn about reducing, reusing and recycling while enjoying all that Science Central has to offer.

Make it last, don't waste it, use it differently

Calling all kids!
Must be curious. Like to have fun. Oh yes, and interested in saving the planet.
Sound like you? Good! Because you can make a big impact on the Earth's future in small ways.
Check it out!

Bats, Beautiful BATS!

EcoKids Club meets today at 2pm. This month you can meet a REAL LIVE BAT (or two) and hear all about the many ways that bats benefit the environment from Bob Walton, local bat rehabilitator.

Environmental Games Online

There are a variety of fun games about the environment for kids online. In this game, "The Great Garbage Caper" you have to solve a mystery of trash and help to reduce waste. For more games on this topic click here.

New Book: Grow: An Environmentally Friendly Book

Check out this great new book for preschoolers about the environment! Grow: An Environmentally Friendly Book takes readers through an environmentally friendly day with simple, thought-provoking illustrations and few words.

Not only is the topic good for the environment, but the package is too. This book was 100% made in Chicago, Illinois using "green" techniques. Check out the book website to see photos of the hand binding process.

To see more books on this topic, check out our booklist.

Eco-Kids Club: Wormy Composting

In February, the Eco-Kids Club met to learn about Wormy Composting with Kira Blacketor from the Allen County Solid Waste Management District. After her talk, Kira let the kids dig through a pile of worms, half composted food, soggy paper bits and worm castings. What fun!

Presenting the Past: Natural heritage in the classroom

On Friday, February 27, 2009 the Indiana Council for History Education will be holding the conference Presenting the Past: Natural Heritage in the Classroom here at the Main branch of the Allen County Public Library. Don't miss this exciting opportunity to spend a day immersed in the natural and human history of Indiana. For more information about this, click here.

Recycled Art Display

Stop in to the library to check out some cool recycled art!

Sculptor Greg Knipe has loaned his collection of recycled art to the Allen County Public Library until November 26th,2008.

Come in and see how Greg has created beautiful artwork out of what some people might consider "trash".

Location: Just outside of Children's Service's entrance next to the Ewing Street Security desk.

Pictured ( left to right): Grasshopper-Steel rod, jack parts and
Percy the Penguin-Oil can, tank, garden tools, hardware

Eco Kids Club: The Water Cycle

On Monday, October 13th, Matt Jones from the Allen County Partnership for Water Quality shared a wealth of amazing information about water with the homeschool kids and parents in the Eco Kids Club. The photo above shows the kids out in the Great Hall getting ready to put together a water time line. We all learned a lot from this informative presentation.

If you are concerned about the environment, join the Eco Kids Club now! Just come to the next meeting on Monday, November 10th at 2 p.m. to learn about Trees, Beautiful Trees with a speaker from Trees Indiana.

Or if you can't make it to the program, check out some of the books on our Environmental Issues Booklist to learn what YOU can do to make a difference!

Eco-Kids Club: Recycle Right

On Monday afternoon, 33 kids and their grown-ups attended the first meeting of the Eco-Kids Club. We learned about reducing, reusing and recycling from Kira Blacketor of Allen County Solid Waste Management District.

We brainstormed ideas that we can use to make a difference and then the kids decorated their Eco-Kids Club folders with markers and stamps.

This is Ava's folder.

It is not too late to join the Eco-Kids Club. Plan to come to our next meeting on Monday, October 13th @ 2 p.m. We'll learn about the water cycle.