Just Flying By

A big THANKS to our volunteer Ty for creating our "Will Your Plane Survive?" program poster!

The program will be held in our community room at 3:00 pm on Saturday the 27th. That's tomorrow!! See you there. ;o)

Recommended Reading

We all know that Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney is one of the hottest series around but what if *gasp* they're all checked out! Or they've already read all of the current titles. Well, here are a few titles that may strike your young readers fancy if they enjoy Diary of a Wimpy Kid:

Riot Brothers by Amato, Mary

Knights of the Lunch Table by Cammuso, Frank

Flat Stanley by Greenhut, Josh

Popularity Papers by Ignatow, Amy

Nathan Abercrombie by Lubar, David

Confessions of a Former Bully by Ludwig, Trudy

Amelia by Moss, Marissa

Geek Chic by Palatini, Margie

Big Nate by Peirce, Lincoln

Dork Diaries by Russell, Rachel

Julian Rodriguez by Stadler, Alexander

Little Wolf by Whybrow, Ian

It's Science!! Pt. 2

So, on "It's Science!!! Pt. 1" we explored the topic of density using a few spoonfuls of sugar and some water. For the second half, we explored density using different liquids that you can find in your kitchen. Full directions and ingredients for this experiment are found here.

From left to right: Honey, Syrup, Liquid Dish Washing Soap, Vegetable Oil, and Water (not shown)

We asked the participants to choose which liquid to begin using and continued to layer as we did in the first "experiment." The original order was 1. Honey, 2. Syrup, 3. Soap, 4. Oil, 5. Water and this is what it looked like:

You probably can't see it but the water and oil mixed together and then slowly began to separate. Apparently, water is more dense than oil ;o).

And after about 5 minutes the water and oil completely separate.

Have any of you ever experimented with density? Have you ever had a certain expectation for a science project and found out the opposite was true? Let us know in the comments below!

It's Science!!! Pt. 1

Last Saturday, March 30th, was our first Science Saturday. The subject for this project was density and titled "How Dense Are You??"

Our first encounter with density included water, food coloring, and sugar (Full recipe and instructions found at Sugarsnips). We used different amounts of sugar and the same amount of water mixed into each cup. The red held the most sugar while the green held the least.

Once finished we began layering the sugar mixtures little by little starting with the most dense (the glass with the most sugar - red) to the least dense (green).

At first, the two mixtures (red and yellow) began to mix all together and turn green but they began to separate a few minutes later. You can see a little of the yellow at the top of the mixture ;o).

You continue layering and you should end up with four different colored layers!

 Stay tuned for part two of "It's Science!!!"

Zoo Trek is Now Over

Karl and the zoo crew have wrapped up the spring session of Zoo TREK.  Our Terrific Responsible Ecology Kids have learned so much about conservation and have come away with a better understanding of how all our actions affect the animals who share this planet with us.  Thanks so much, Mr. Karl!  We're looking forward to another session in the fall!

More Spring Fling Pics

Happy Mothers' Day!

Ms. Antoinette and her early release day craft crew made some absolutely fantabulous presents for their mothers.  Take some cardboard pencil boxes, paste on some dried pasta, yarn, and seashells, and finally give them a good coat of gold spray paint and--voila!--you have a beautiful treasure box for all of mom's keepsakes.  Ah!  So shiny!  So glittery! 

And what's an awesome mothers' day gift without an equally awesome card?  Here are the kids hard at work on theirs.

Happy Mothers' Day!!!

The Fling Has Been Flung

At our spring art fling, we had a blast!!! We made muse of chance collages....

We tried Warholizing dogs, cats, and other creatures.

And, of course, we action painted to our hearts' content!

Action (Painting), at Last!

We were finally able to try our hand at some Jackson Pollock inspired action paintings.

One

Two

Hooray for Spring!

These little birds just hatched from their eggs and wanted to say hello!

So...Much...Fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, we went a little overboard with the exclamation points...but making a "muse of chance" collage inspired by techniques of Hans Arp really is awesome. You can find out how to make one and join in the fun during our Spring Art Fling.

Spring Art Fling

got art?

Come to our Spring Art Fling and create your own masterpieces in the styles of three famous artists.

 Saturday, April 30, 2011 §  12:00-3:00

West Regional Branch Library

1425 Chaffee Rd. S., Jacksonville, FL 32221, 904-693-1448

Spring Art Fling

Saturday, April 30, 2011

12-1:00 pm—Hans Arp Paper Drop

1-2:00 pm—Andy Warhol Picture Repeat

2-3:00 pm—Jackson Pollock Paint Fling

*Kids 12 and under can participate in one or all events!

Children under age 8 must be assisted by an adult.*

[Be sure to wear old clothes as some of these art projects will be quite messy!]

Library Card or Work of Art?

In preparation for our Spring Art Fling on April 30th, a library card has been Warholized!

You can create your own masterpiece in the style of Andy Warhol and two other artists two weeks from today!  

Our Teddy Bear Valentine Tea Party was a Smash!



Teddy Bear, Check, Heart, Check, Flowers, Check...We're Ready!




Flowery + Hearty = Beautiful




Busy Making Valentines




Almost Finished...

Art is Fun!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Miss Sara Brought Granny, of Course!

Tea is Served!



Having Fun Having Tea




We Had Kids of All Ages...




Relaxing After Some Tea




We Had Some Handsome Young Gentlemen at Our Party Too!



And, Of Course, We Had Many Lovely Ladies!