Explore! - IMPORTANT NOTICE - RAIN DATE!

The Solar Astronomy presentation for Meigs North and Meigs South Elementary Schools on October 12th will be rescheduled to November 2nd due to expected inclement weather. This will include the Evening Astronomy program at the Meigs County Fairground. Notices will be sent to all participants regarding the change. The afterschool program at Meigs North will still take place from 3:30 to 5:00pm on October 12th.

Explore! - Week One

Week One of the "Explore! to the Moon, Mars and Beyond!" program kicked off this week with 25 participants registered at Meigs North Elementary and 46 participants registered at Meigs South Elementary. Participants discussed what it means to explore, the history of exploration and discussed why we continue to explore space. After deciding that we explore space "Because it's COOL!", participants completed a Planet Walk. This is a to-scale model of the Solar System demonstrating the large distances between planets that are rarely represented in revolving models of the solar system. The fact is that planets are mighty small and the distances between them are almost ridiculously large. Participants of our Planet Walk were only able to make it to Jupiter, and that still required 135 yards to represent the distance from the Sun to our Solar System's largest planet. If we had completed the model and continued on to Pluto, we would have needed over 10 football fields to represent the distance from the Sun to our furthest planet. The students were also amazed to see the true scale of planet sizes compared to our Sun. If the Sun is represented by an 8-inch bowling ball, the Earth would be the size of a peppercorn! This exercise really has us thinking about how difficult it is to explore such a large area. Next week we'll find out how scientists and astronomers go about discovering NEW planets.

Thank you to all of our teacher volunteers, parent volunteers and Girl Scout volunteers that helped with our programs this week.

IMPORTANT DATES:
October 9, 2009 - LCROSS Impact Event
The impact of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) will take place at 7:30am (EDT) and may be visible from your back yard with a good telescope. It will also be broadcast live on NASA TV and several national morning news programs. This is NASA's exciting next step to another manned mission to the Moon!

October 12, 2009 - Solar Astronomy Event
Mr. Stephen Ramsden of the Charlie Bates Solar Astronomy Outreach Program will visit Meigs North Elementary School at 9:00am to share information about the Sun with 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students. Meigs South Elementary students currently registered in the Explore after school program will be bussed to Meigs North to share this exciting opportunity to see the Sun through a solar telescope. For more information about the Charlie Bates Solar Astronomy Outreach Program, please visit www.charliebates.org.

October 12, 2009 - Star Party at the Meigs County Fairgrounds
Mr. Stephen Ramsden and members of the Knoxville Astronomy Club will be at the Meigs County Fairgrounds from 7pm to 9pm (EDT) hosting a star party for after school program participants and their families.

October 21, 2009 - Orionid Meteor ShowerCatch these meteors - or shooting stars - on your own after dark this evening!

Explore! To the Moon, Mars and Beyond!

Explore! To the Moon, Mars and Beyond is a 10 week program designed to engage students in 3rd, 4th and 5th grades in space and planetary science in the after school informal learning environment. The program is presented at Meigs North and Meigs South Elementary Schools each week by our library staff and volunteers.

Through hands on activities and supporting resources such as videos, recommended books and web sites, participants will be immersed in the wonders of rockets, space colonies, our solar system, staying healthy in space and more!

Local partnerships with planetariums, museums, scientists, and Solar System Ambassadors (NASA trained volunteers) provide exciting opportunities for children to learn from experts in the field of space science. The program is funded by a grant from VEC Customer Shares and is free to all participants.

This site will updated weekly with news from our "Explore! To the Moon, Mars and Beyond" after school program.

New Children's Books!

Thanks to a generous donation from the Brownstone Book Fund in New York, the library has added the following children's books to our collection. Stop by and check one out today!

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good,
Very Bad Day – Judith Viorst

Alice the Fairy – David Shannon

All Kinds of Children – Norma Simon

Amazing Grace – Mary Hoffman

Amelia Bedelia – Peggy Parish

American Boy: The Adventures of Mark Twain – Don Brown

And I Mean It, Stanley – Crosby Newel Bonsall

Are You My Mother? – P.D. Eastman

Arthur Writes a Story – Marc Tolon Brown

Bark, George – Jules Feiffer

Beatrice Doesn’t Want To – Laura Joffe Numeroff

Berenstain Bears and the
Missing Dinosaur Bone – Stan Berenstain

Berenstain Bears and the
Spooky Old Tree – Stan Berenstain

Best Storybook Ever – Richard Scarry

Big Wheels – Anne F. Rockwell

Biscuit Goes to School – Alyssa Satin Capucilli

Bunny Money – Rosemary Wells

Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys,
and their Monkey Business – Esphyr Slobodkina

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl

Chicken Sisters – Laura Joffe Numeroff

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs – Judi Barrett

Color Zoo – Lois Ehlert

Crictor – Tomi Ungerer

Curious George Learns the Alphapbet – H.A. Rey

D.W.’s Guide to Preschool – Marc Tolon Brown

Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from
Obedience School – Mark Teague

Degas and the Little Dancer:
A Story About Edgar Degas – Laurence Anholt

Dog Who Belonged to No One – Amy Hest

Duck on a Bike – David Shannon

Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know
She Was Extinct – Mo Willems

Empty Pot – Demi

Epossumondas – Coleen Salley

Fancy Nancy – Jane O’Connor

Farmer Dale’s Red Pickup Truck – Lisa Wheeler

Five Little Monkeys
Jumping on the Bed – Eileen Christelow

Frog and Toad are Friends – Arnold Lobel

Funny Farm – Mark Teague

Good Night, Gorilla – Peggy Rathmann

Goodnight Moon – Margaret Wise Brown

Green Eggs and Ham – Dr. Seuss

Gregory, the Terrible Eater – Mitchell Sharmat

Guess How Much I Love You – Sam McBratney

Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! – Dr. Seuss

Horton Hears a Who! – Dr. Seuss

How Do Dinosaurs Go To School? – Jane Yolen

How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? – Jane Yolen

Hundred Dresses – Eleanor Estes

I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew – Dr. Seuss

Ice Bear – Nicola Davies

It Looked Like Spilt Milk – Charles G. Shaw

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat – Simms Taback

Kay Thompson’s Eloise: A Book for
Precocious Grown Ups – Kay Thompson

Leo the Late Bloomer – Robert Kraus

Library Dragon – Carmen Agra Deedy

Library Lion – Michelle Knudsen

Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse – Kevin Henkes

Little by Little – Amber Stewart

Little House – Virginia Lee Burton

Look Book – Tana Hoban

Madeline – Ludwig Bemelmans

Max’s Chocolate Chicken – Rosemary Wells

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel – Virginia Lee Burton

Millions of Cats – Wanda Gag

Monster Trucks – Mark Todd

Mouse Cookies and More – Laura Joffe Numeroff

Mouse Island – Eve Bunting

My Very First Mother Goose – Iona Archibald Opie

No More Cookies! – Paeony Lewis

Our Library – Eve Bunting

Patchwork Quilt – Valerie Flournoy

Peter’s Chair – Ezra Jack Keats

Picture for Harold’s Room:
A Purple Crayon Adventure – Crockett Johnson

Pigs On A Blanket:
Fun With Math and Time – Amy Axelrod

Polar Bear Night – Lauren Thompson

Princess Gown – Linda Leopold Strauss

Princess Knight – Cornelia Caroline Funke

Rainbow Fish – Marcus Pfister

Rotten Ralph Helps Out – Jack Gantos

Score One for the Sloths! – Helen Lester

Smash! Crash! – Jon Scieszka

Snowy Day – Ezra Jack Keats

Stone Soup – Heather Forest

Story of Ferdinand – Munro Leaf

Sylvia Jean, Drama Queen – Lisa Campbell Ernst

Three Pigs – David Weisner

Today I Feel Silly and Other
Moods That Make My Day – Jamie Lee Curtis

Tops and Bottoms – Janet Stevens

Very Hungry Caterpillar – Eric Carle

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt – Michael Rosen

What Planet Are You From, Clarice Bean? – Lauren Child

When I Was Little: A Four-Year-Old’s
Memoir of Her Youth – Jamie Lee Curtis

Where the Sidewalk Ends – Shel Silverstein

Whiteblack the Penguin Sees the World – H.A. Rey

Wild About Books – Judy Sierra

Young Cam Jansen and the Library Mystery – David A. Adler

100 Books in 2009!

Beginning January 1, 2009 members of the Meigs County - Decatur Public Library will take up the challenge to "Read 100 Books in 2009". This does not mean each member is expected to read 100 books this year. The total will be the sum of all books read and reviewed on the "100 Books in 2009" blog by members of our library.

How it works:

1. Read a book! Any book! You are not restricted to reading items owned by our library.

2. Write a brief review of the book. Did you enjoy it? How did you find out about this title? Do you recommend this title to other readers? What format did you choose?

3. Submit your review to the library for inclusion on the "100 Books in 2009" blog. You may turn in reviews to the circulation desk, mail them in, or send them to us in an email attachment. Library staff will maintain the blog and will add all reviews submitted as soon as they are received.

4. Check this blog frequently to see how we are doing. If we make it to 100 BOOKS by the end of the year, the Friends of the Library will host a special event celebrating our achievement!

5. Read another book!


If you have any questions about this exciting new challenge, please visit the library for more information.

So, are you up to the challenge?

New Books!

The Meigs County - Decatur Friends of Library received a $300 donation from the VECustomer Shares program for the purchase of new items for the library. Members of the Friends group travelled to Books-A-Million on Thanksgiving Day to select a variety of new books to be added to the local collection.

Some of the items that have been added thanks to this generous donation are as follows:

ADULT POPULAR FICTION:
"Show No Mercy" by Cindy Gerard
"Take No Prisoners" by Cindy Gerard
"Duchess By Night" by Eloisa James
"Your Heart Belongs to Me" by Dean Koontz
"Salvation in Death" by JD Robb
"The Pagan Stone" by Nora Roberts

YOUNG ADULT FICTION
"Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer

JUVENILE FICTION
"Dawn" by Erin Hunter
"Moonrise" by Erin Hunter
"Sunset" by Erin Hunter

CHILDRENS FICTION
"Dooby Dooby Moo" by Doreen Cronin
"Angelina, Star of the Show" by Katherine Holabird
"Good Night, Gorilla" by Peggy Rathman

REFERENCE / CONSUMER HEALTH
"The Johns Hopkins Complete Home Guide to Symptoms and Remedies"
"The Merck Manual of Medical Information, Second Home Edition"

Please take the time to say "Thank You" to the members of the Friends of the Library and the members of the VECustomer Shares Board of Directors for making this addition to our collection possible.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town...Again!

Santa and Mrs. Claus will visit the library again this year as part of our annual Holiday Open House. Please stop in for a visit with Santa on Tuesday, December 2, 2008 between 5pm and 7pm. FREE pictures with Santa will be provided by the library, and refreshments will be provided by the Meigs County - Decatur Friends of the Library.