Mars Workshop

Did you know that the theme for this summer's reading program is Dream Big? The theme focuses on nighttime, and many libraries are taking this theme into outer space. And did you also know that on August 6, 2012 the Mars rover Curiosity will be landing on the red planet? (Check out this website for more cool information on that.) That's pretty awesome timing, as it corresponds with the end of most libraries' summer reading programs.

In conjunction with both of these events, I spent some time this week at a very cool workshop sponsored by NASA's Lunar and Planetary Institute called Explore: Life on Mars. The workshop was designed specifically for librarians and other leaders who work with children outside of schools. They gave us a ton of interesting information about the planet Mars as well as ideas for cool hands-on programs that we could use with children.

I have to say, this was probably one of the coolest and most useful workshops I've been able to attend. We were able to teleconferece and meet in person with scientists who work in the field of astrobiology and they all gave great presentations. I got to flex my science muscles as I learned about Mars' climate (dry, dusty, windy, and cold) and discussed exactly what defines life and how we might find it on a planet like Mars. We even got to spend some time talking about the Curiosity rover and past rover missions to Mars.

Best of all were the hands-on activities. Each activity could be replicated with a group of school-age kids and helps to contribute to the scientific discussion about life on other planets. These activities included:

-Planting cactus as a way of talking about what life needs to survive.
-Making volcanoes with baking soda and vinegar, and tracking the lava flow to simulate volcanic activity on Mars.
-Allowing water to flow through a controled mixture of sand and dirt, simulating the way that water would have once flowed and left tracks on Mars.
-Designing our own Mars rovers using craft supplies, equipped specifically to look for microbal life forms on Mars.


I'm so excited to work some of these activities into our library programs! Who knew that Mars could be so interesting?

Midnight Sun

I recently heard that Stephenie Meyer has postponed the publication of Midnight Sun - Twilight from the perspective of Edward - indefinitely due to a leak of one of her drafts of the book onto the Internet.

I have to say, I'm rather disappointed on a number of levels. First, that someone would leak the book in the first place, and second that others would continue to distribute it. This is definitely an infringement on Meyer's rights to the material. Not cool.

But I'm also a bit disappointed in Meyer for her decision to stop writing the book because of it. I truly understand why she is upset, and I can even understand how this could delay her writing, and consequently the publication of the book. However, I think her reaction was slightly over-dramatic. It seems that her relatively public reaction to this, as well as her decision to post the leaked draft on her website as a form of consolation to her fans, actually did more to notify the public of the leak than if she had reacted a bit more subtly. Meyer states that she worried about how to respond without encouraging more people to read the leaked draft, but then goes on to publish the draft herself. I just don't understand the logic. By posting the draft on her webiste, she has erased any doubts that those who found the leaked copy in the Internet may have had about its validity.

Even thought she claims that publication has only been postponed "indefinitely," it really seems to me that she's not going to return to the project. I can only hope to be proven wrong.

Which is a shame. I read the draft (Well, what was I supposed to do; she was practically begging us to read it by posting it! It's like telling someone not to look at something; it just makes you want to peek more.). While it needs quite a bit of polishing (it is a draft, after all), it's very intriguing. Getting this other side of the story reveals so much about Edward's character and his motivations. Nothing much that we didn't already know is found there, but having it laid out for us from his perspective in the form of a story makes it more powerful.

I considered posting a link to Meyer's website to make it easy to find her explanation for these events, but doing so just seemed to perpetuate the problem that I found with her response. If you're interested in Meyer's statement or in the draft, however, check it out. You should be able to find Meyer's website and the Midnight Sun page fairly easily via the search engine of your choice. Just be warned that if Meyer should decide to return to the project in the future, you've spoiled the first 12 chapters by reading it ahead of time.