Students from Harker School will be here at Santa Teresa Library on two Fridays in March eager to teach kids about science! 

 Weather and Natural Disasters

Friday, March 16       A  AA  

4:30 PM

   4:30 PM

Age range:  2nd to 5th grade 

Earthquakes & earthquake safety, hurricanes, tornadoes and other forms of wacky weather will be just some of what the Harker teens will tell us about.  There will also be several fun group activities -- such as making a tornado in a bottle!   kdkdkdkthe 

Earthquakes & earthquake safety, hurricanes, tornadoes and other forms of wacky weather will be just some of what they'll cover.  Also, there will be several fun group activities such as making a tornado in a bottle!

Genetics and DNA

Friday, March 23

4:30 PM

Age range:  4th to 6th grade

The second science event will be all about something very close to you:  your genes!  If you are interested in the structure of DNA, blood types, cloning and more -- this is the place to be.  You may even be able to be a genetic scientist for a day and extract DNA yourself -- DNA from a strawberry! 

A Cloak in Time - By altering the speed of light beams, scientists from Cornell University created a hidden pocket in time that maybe used in computer espionage. They took a stream of light and shifted it through a lens, causing some beams to travel faster and other slower. It created so called temporal void and slower light passes trough the second lens undetected.

Space Tourism - Outer space travel becomes a reality! You can sign up on the web site of Virgin Galactics or go to travel a agent. It costs "only" $200,000 a seat. The ride to space will take three days that include training at Spaceport America in La Cruces, N.M. The flight will not orbit the Earth, but will take you up and down as on a giant roller coaster. A carrier airplane with the SpaceShipTwo rocket ship slung underneath will take off the runaway and fly to 50,000 feet, where the rocket ship will be launched.

Race to Moon - Moon Express is among 26 teams who compete to win $30 million Google Lunar X Prize and to land a private robotic spacecraft on the moon. "The company is building a railway system out to the moon", said Richards, the CEO of Moon Express. Moon Express CSB Lander is getting built in a hanger at NASA's Ames Research Center and will carry the first privately financed telescope.

Amelia Bedelia is the classic, humorous series about what happens to someone who takes everything too literally.  Peggy Parish's Come Back, Amelia Bedelia (AR 0.5, Level 2.1) takes the unusual plot of displacing Amelia Bedelia from the Rogers' household.  Usually, everyone is understanding and tolerant about Amelia's misunderstandings.  This time, however, Mrs. Rogers has had enough and fires Amelia. 

Since Amelia does have to make a living, she blunders through other jobs as a hair dresser, file clerk, assistant dressmaker, etc.  The reader will laugh uproariously to Amelia's hijinks!

The Amelia Bedelia series is an excellent resource for kids on the autistic spectrum or English language learners.  This series demonstrates what happens to a character who takes everything literally.  Children with autism will learn to be amused to see themselves in the Amelia character.  This series is also an excellent way for children with autism and for English language learners to learn colloquialisms and slang. 

Check the City of San Jose's website for information about Fish Camp starting on April 27, 2012.  The City is proud to provide this camp, which is located in the Sierras, near Yosemite National Park. 

The Parks and Recreation has a wonderfully dedicated staff.  In the past, my kids have enjoyed summer camps and afterschool programs.  The kids love the wonderful staff in the Parks and Recreation Department because though they are strict, they definitely make the activities fun.  One of the counselors at the afterschool programs even invented a new wheelchair game to teach kids about compassion for other kids.

If you are thinking about camping this summer, definitely check out http://www.sanjoseca.gov/prns/familycamp/ for important deadlines for getting a spot on the campgrounds this summer!