Blog posts

The excitement still continues for those who participated in this years Green Resources fair. Held at the Broadway Library on Saturday July 21, this fair attracted over 300 participants. There were various vendors and many fun activities to take part in. The Environmental Assistants from various branches showed children how to make upcycled crafts. Children were able to identify leaves, paint rocks, and make miniature pencil holders out of plastic bottles! One vendor in particular showed people how to make their own composting! Another showed people how to fix flat tires, while one special vendor showed people how to make their own tea bags. There were raffles and giveaways. A few of the prizes offered were, a tee shirt, a cloth tote bag, and a child's mountain bike. Everyone walked away with a Greening Library tote bag, and a choice of a basil, parsley, cabbage, pimento pepper or begonia plant. Many people walked away looking forward to attending another Green Resources fair.

Children at The Woodside library created their very own eco-friendly envelopes. Using old magazines and NYC transit maps, glue, scissors, and a sticky label, the children made envelopes of various colors and sizes. The children used sample cut outs as guides,which resulted in a fun and easy activity. Every envelope had a personal touch to it. Even parents started to join in once they saw how nice the envelopes turned out. If there is interest in learning how to make envelops simply leave a comment under this post and a member of our team will contact you.

Astoria Library holds a weekly Summer Reading Program; children from the age 5 and up are welcome to join. (The summer reading program requires you to sign up with Mrs. Sofia, so we may would be able to know what reading level you’re at).  Books are picked out according to reading level, while the children are assigned to a group according to their reading level.  One of the books read was The Imaginary Garden by Andrew Larsen, (donated by the Read & Seed Club).  The children read a book about how an imaginary garden came to be with just Theo’s love and the help of Poppa.  The children later on answered a questionnaire, so we know that they not only just read, but they are able to apprehend what they read. 

Astoria library holds a weekly Science Club for children. This week, the kids participated in an experiment in which they simultaneously learned about sound vibrations and used old resources! They made sound carriers out of old plastic and Styrofoam cups (don't worry, they were cleaned) and discovered whether or not a plastic sound carrier or a Styrofoam sound carrier would be an efficient mode of sending sound vibrations. They tested this by talking into the mouth piece and having a partner listen and report what they heard when putting the other side to their ear. The kids found that the plastic cups carried a significantly greater amount of sound.

This week the kids at Astoria Library have been busy working in the outdoor garden. They’ve been transplanting peppers from pots kept inside the library to the raised beds outdoors. In addition, they’ve been weeding and tending to the plants in the Shakespeare Garden.The kids put the weeds and dead leaves that they’ve raked into our compost bin. The children loved taking turns to water the plants and were very enthusiastic about all of the gardening activities!

On March 2nd, the kids at Steinway library helped start its first indoor garden!For our flower pot, we used plastic cups (cups that would have been thrown out anyway) and seeds that I bought 5 for $1.00 in a nearby store. The kids were divided into five groups with five different types of flowers. Each group had to work together to put the soil into the cups. Once each group got the soil into their cups, we used a pencil to make holes so that we can easily drop the seeds into the soil. Lastly, we placed our flower pots on the window ledge and watered them very carefully. The kids were so excited and interested in the project, that everyone wanted to take a plant home. However, after explaining to them that the plants were to stay at the library, they got even more excited when I explained the concept of "Gardener of the Day." This role is extremely important because each day a new child will take care of the plants and water them. This project will not only teach them how to take care of plants, but will show them that gardening is easy and fun!

Erik’s Reptile Edventure came to Steinway library this week and put on an amazing interactive performance for the kids. Erik, the Reptile Ranger, came in with different creatures including: two different kinds of snakes, toads, a snapping turtle, a lizard and even an endangered alligator! The kids loved being able to learn about these different types of critters AND being able to touch some of them. One brave girl,  had the opportunity to feed the alligator a dead mouse! This program was definitely enjoyed by all and we can’t wait for Erik and his reptiles to visit us again!

On Friday June 15th, Stephanie Huffaker visited the Woodside Library to show us all how to make her wonderful and eco friendly bracelets. This fun craft included regular bangles, tape, a needle, clear thread, Plastic bags of various colors and LOTS OF PATIENCE! Not only were the bracelets beautiful but they projected a conscious effort in helping to make our world a greener place. Are you aware that plastic bags take approximately 20 to 1000 years to breakdown? They simply sit in landfills or end up killing over 100,000 birds, whales, seals and turtles. It’s our job as consumers to ensure that this doesn't continue. Simply reuse your bags, by turning it into something as simple and fun as a bracelet!

Here at Steinway Library, we are big on environmental awareness and in order to show everyone how much we care about the Earth, we made an Earth Day quilt. Every child received a blank piece of paper and was instructed to write what they will do to save the planet and draw a corresponding picture. There were so many beautiful ideas and pictures that once we collected all of them, we “stitched” them together on one big piece of paper that resembled a quilt and posted it on our bulletin board. The kids love looking at the different pictures that their friends drew and reading the different strategies on how to be more conservative. I just hope they are taking each others advice!

Worldwide economic collapse, totalitarian U.S. government and televised gladiatorial killing are not new to The Hunger Games. Now with that film’s enormous success, chances are good that we will be seeing many more futuristic, blood-sport-centric films hitting the cinemas in the coming years. Until then, there are DVDs available at Queens Library with the same general plot lines and social commentary that will keep the fire alive as you await the anticipated sequels of The Hunger Games.

Set in the year 2012, Death Race is a sequel/re-make of the 1975 movie Death Race 2000. In this story’s version of the near future, American society has collapsed, unemployment and crime have sky-rocketed, and prisons are run for profit. Much of the profits come from marketing “the Death Race,” where prisoners are offered a chance of freedom if they manage to survive five brutally sadistic car races. The character that brings the films together is called “Frankenstein” and is played by several different actors wearing the same mask. Where the original film was satirical and campy fun, the second film just manages to be fast and furious. The car chases make the movie worthwhile, but the pointed commentary of reality TV gone amuck ironically just gets lost in the action. A more recent “prequel,” Death Race 2, was released direct-to-DVD last year. This third film is for completionists only and will really strain your brain as you try to figure out how a movie set in 2012 can be a prequel to a movie set in 2000.

In 1987, when Arnold Schwarzenegger was box office gold, Tristar Pictures released The Running Man with Schwarzenegger as the star. The set-up is familiar — only this time the year is 2019 and prisoners have to outwit and outlast “stalkers” who hunt them down while they try to make it through the game zone to the finish line. Similar to The Hunger Games, there is a smarmy TV game show host (played brilliantly by a real life TV game show host — Richard Dawson, of Family Feud) and an underground resistance movement. The Running Man is a popcorn movie, an entertaining diversion from our own reality that may be a little too close for comfort to current events. However, that is ultimately the point of these dystopian fictions — projecting our current fears on to a future where the results of our present inaction might just be the death of society as we know it.