IndyPL Blog

The digestive system breaks down food into smaller pieces so it can be absorbed into the blood stream and carried to the body’s cells which use it to make energy. This energy helps you run and think and play. Organs in this system system include the esophagus, stomach, pancreas & small intestine. Listed below are books and activities to help you learn more about this amazing body system. Have you every wondered exactly how food is digested? Watch this video to solve the mystery and then try out some of the online activities to explore the steps in the digestion process.

Digestive System Websites, Activities & Printables

More Body Systems

Add more to your knowledge about how the body works by exploring each of the major systems that make up human body processes like circulation, breathing, and movement.

Human Body Facts and Functions Revealed in Diagrams, Infographics, and Photographs

Books for kids that explore the digestive, circulatory, nervous, excretory, muscular, and respiratory systems. Learn the names of each body part and all the details about how they function together to keep us breathing, dancing, jumping and running.

Need help? Ask a Library staff member at any of our locations or call, text or email Ask-a-Librarian.

Tags Homework Help

While building sand castles, there is a certain kind of wet sand that is perfect for it. When there is too much water in your bucket the mixture is too soupy. When there is too little water in your bucket the sand won’t hold a shape and just crumbles. How does the perfect mixture of sand and water work? Surface tension is the attraction that happens between water molecules. Water molecules are attracted to each other. The surface of water has an elastic quality because the molecules are hugging close together. This is why some insects can walk on water.

Water is made up of two kinds of atoms, hydrogen and oxygen. The name for the water molecule is H20, it has 2 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom. Water molecules are attracted to each other because hydrogen atoms and oxygen atoms are attracted to each other and hug close together really tight. This is called cohesion. The molecules hug so close together they don’t want to touch other molecules around them. That’s why a bubble or a drop of water is round and only rests a small part of itself on a surface when it lands.

When you add sand to water, the surface tension of the water forms little elastic bridges between the grains of sand. When the ratio of sand to water is just right these bridges are the perfect strength for building sand castles. In today’s experiment you will be able to watch these bridge at work and figure out the best recipe for building sand castles.

What You Need

12 Dixie Cups
Sand
Water
25 Pennies
4 Large Plates
Large Bowl
Measuring Cups (1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 1)

Instructions

You are going to test what ratio of sand to water is the best one for building a strong sand castle. Label each plate – label the first one 1/4 cup, the second one 1/3 cup, the third one 1/2 cup and the last one 1 cup. For each trial you are going to use 1 cup of sand. The variable in this experiment is going to be the amount of water you add to the sand. For the first trial mix 1 cup sand and 1/4 cup water in the bowl.

Fill three dixie cups with this mixture and turn them over to make small sand castles in the plate labelled 1/4 cup. Do the castles flatten or stay formed like the dixie cup? If any of them stay formed, stack pennies on top of the little castle one at a time until the little castle collapses. Write down how many pennies each little castle could hold. Repeat this test using 1 cup sand and 1/3 cup water, 1 cup sand and 1/2 cup water and 1 cup sand and 1 cup water. Keep track of your results on a chart like this:

Amount of Water	#pennies trial #1	#pennies trial #2	#pennies trial #3
1/4 Cup
1/3 Cup
1/2 Cup
1 Cup

One cup of sand to 1/3 cup water is what worked for us!

It turns out that water molecules attract to each other and they ALSO attract to sand. If you have a good balance of sand to water…nice and sticky…then you get a strong sand castle. When there is too much sand the mixture is too dry and the castle crumbles. If there is too much water the mixture is too wet and oozes all over the place.

Websites, Activites & Printables

You can also ask a math and science expert for homework help by calling the Ask Rose Homework Hotline. They provide FREE math and science homework help to Indiana students in grades 6-12.

e-Books and Audiobooks

Use your indyPL Library Card to check out books about Science Experiments at any of our locations, or check out science experiment e-books and audiobooks from OverDrive Kids right to your device! If you have never used OverDrive before, you can learn how to use e-books and learn how to use audiobooks.

Need more help? Ask a Library staff member at any of our locations or call, text or email Ask-a-Librarian. Additionally, the Tinker Station helpline at (317) 275-4500 is also available. It is staffed by device experts who can answer questions about how to read, watch and listen on a PC, tablet or phone.

Surface Tension Projects from Bubbles to Sand Castles

What do bubbles and sand castles have in common? Surface tension! Learn about the amazing science of water and how it makes both bubbles and sand castles “stick” by checking out one of these books. e-Books are also available!

Tags Homework Help, Science Experiments

Person looking at a fake news article on a tablet.

It has always been true that the passing of information can go wrong, like the game “telephone,” in which a piece of information distorts the more times it passes from one person to the next. But sometimes information is false to begin with, or is purposely distorted to mislead an audience. Rising social and political upheaval make the importance of finding accurate news information with thorough, and timely information more vital than ever – in some cases, it can be literally life or death.

Since the rise of social media and the ease with which messages, photos, and videos can spread, it is more crucial than ever to develop skills for finding accurate information as well as spotting inaccurate information. There are some simple tools available to help you give what you see and hear an accuracy check. These skills are for all information consuming people from kids to adults. You can begin honing your information skills in three easy steps.

3 Steps to Improve Information Literacy Skills

1. Learn the Vocabulary

News stories and social media posts can fall in different places on a scale from “true but misleading” to” completely false.” Inaccuracies can be honest mistakes or deliberate attempts to spread false information. It is good to know the words that describe these differences. Knowing them helps us name the problem we see when we read something that doesn’t quite add up.

Some news stories are purposely written to mislead:

fake news: news stories that are untrue and never happened
disinformation: false information that is purposely made up and spread to hide the truth or spread a lie to make it seem like the truth
ommission: purposely misleading by leaving out important details

Some news stories mistakenly report false information:

misinformation: inaccurate information that is mistakenly reported and spread due to an error or mistake; there was no intention to mislead the audience
correction or retraction: when a news source admits an error and publishes an admission of that error, or a correction, if they have learned more accurate information

This video from Cyberwise.org’s Fake News Learning Hub is a great introduction to the concept of fake news.

2. Learn How to Spot Bad Information

Now that you know the different types of information mis-steps from honest mistakes to deceptions, now it’s time to learn how to tell the difference as you read and hear news stories. This infographic from the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is a great checklist of 8 things to consider when deciding if a piece of information is reliable.

You can use this checklist to analyze a news story, facebook post, or youtube video yourself. Another way to verify a news story is to enter a search in one of these sites that specialize in tracking down source information to identify fake news, misinformation, and bias for information consumers. Each one specializes in certain types of information or information channels.

snopes.com A reference source for researching urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation.
politifact.org A website that specializes in fact-checking journalism.
truthorfiction.com Get information about eRumors, fake news, disinformation, warnings, offers, requests for help, myths, hoaxes, virus warnings, and humorous or inspirational stories circulated by email.

3. Learn About Your Own Go-to News Sources

Another very helpful resource is the Interactive Media Bias Chart. You can look up most major newspapers, magazines, or television news channels and see how each rate for both bias and accuracy. You can also look up particular stories to see how individual stories rate.

The chart also helps you see how these news channels compare to each other. Really good advice is to get your news from a variety of sources. In order to get a well rounded understanding from more than one point of view, a good rule of thumb is to pick news sources that don’t sit right next to each other on the chart.

Finding Accurate Information – Dig a Little Deeper

The articles listed below are from libraries, universities, and other organizations who have published in-depth discussions about the challenges associated with being an informed listener and reader.

Center for Media Literacy (CML) works to help people develop critical thinking for the 21st century media culture. Their goal is to empower wise information choices.
Media Literacy Now An organization that wants to ensure all K-12 students receive media literacy education and skills.
National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) A non-profit organization dedicated to advancing media literacy education.
The News Literacy Project (NLP) Provides programs and resources for educators and the public to teach, learn and share the abilities needed to be smart, active consumers of news and information and equal and engaged participants in a democracy.
The Poynter Institute Promotes honest information in the marketplace of ideas.

To level up your skills finding accurate news sources even more, read one of these more comprehensive guides and handbooks:

International Center for Journalists: A Short Guide to the History of ‘Fake News’ and Disinformation. (Also Available in Spanish or Czech.)

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization): Journalism, ‘Fake News’ and Disinformation: A Handbook for Journalism Education and Training (This handbooks is available in English full color or print friendly, Spanish, French, Arabic, and many more. Just scroll down on the page to see the full list of languages.)

Tags Adult Skills

Take a backstage tour.

Learning about puppets is a great first step to get the skills you need to make your own puppets. You can get an inside look at puppets by taking a video tour of Peewinkle’s Puppet Studio in Indianapolis. For even more behind-the-scenes inspiration watch this video to learn how the Sesame Street puppeteers bring Elmo, Big Bird, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Abby Cadabby, and Rudy to life!

Watch a puppet show.

Tune in to the Edmonton Public Library on Youtube to see these puppet shows:

Make your own puppets and put on a show!

There are several workshops available online from puppet theatres all over the country. A wonderful one comes from Fort Wayne, Indiana. Watch Fort Wayne Youtheatre’s video and use their puppet workshop guide to learn how to create your own shadow puppet theatre and shadow puppets.

Also try New Victory Theatre’s Arts Break at Home Puppetry Week.

Still looking for puppet activities? The Jim Henson Foundation is providing links to online performances and workshops provided by grantees from their Foundation.

Are you ready to create yet? Here are some printable patterns and templates to get you started!

PBS Video: How to Make Animal Finger Puppets
PBS Kids Craft: Make a Puppy Marionette
PBS Video: How to Make Shadow Puppets – Make your own shadow theater with just a few household items! Mya shows your how to make some shadow puppets and tells the story of the dinosaurs in her own play.
PBS Kids Video How-to: Put on a Puppet Show Includes directions and printables for a Peg + Cat Shoe Box Puppet Theatre and Peg + Cat Stick Puppets.
Palmer Public Library – Author/illustrator David Hyde Costello shares the process of making a table-top puppet show. Part 1 and Part 2
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County: Dinosaur Shadow Puppet Directions and Printable Template
Printable: Curious George Finger Puppets
Printable: Crayola Dragon Puppet
Printable: Story Place Monkey Paper Bag Puppet
Printable: Story Place Gorilla Stick Puppet
Printable: Story Place Puppy Stick Puppet

Puppet Project Ideas from Old Socks to Paper to Clay!

Upcycle items from your craft bin or trash can, add your creative storytelling, and put on a puppet play!

Title - Puppets Unlimited With Everyday Materials

Title - Nick and Nack Put on A Puppet Show

Title - The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

Title - The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett

Title - How To Create And Animate A Clay Puppet With Stop Motion Pro

Tags Arts & Crafts

The Nervous System coordinates the voluntary and involuntary movements of the body. Without it you couldn’t move, speak, or breath. It includes the spinal chord and the nerves. It also includes the brain, which helps you think and understand. All of those body parts have to work together to make your body move. Listed below are books and online activities to help you learn about this amazing body system!

Websites, Activities & Printables:

Learn about other body systems:

e-Books & Audiobooks

Use your indyPL Library Card to check out books about the nervous system at any of our locations, or check out nervous system e-books and audiobooks from OverDrive Kids right to your device! If you have never used OverDrive before, you can learn how to use e-books and learn how to use audiobooks.

Human Body Facts and Functions Revealed in Diagrams, Infographics, and Photographs

Tags Homework Help

e-Books & Audiobooks

Browse OverDrive’s Amish and Mennonite fiction collection of e-books and downloadable audiobooks you can borrow with your IndyPL library card.

Amish & Mennonite Fiction Authors

Find a book discussion near you!

You are invited to join in one of our many in-person or online book discussions that take place several times each month. In our book discussion groups we read and talk about both fiction and non-fiction books. We express our opinions (both likes and dislikes!) with other avid readers in the city. You might get even more reading ideas on If You Like Christian Fiction.

Event: Adult Book Discussion at Warren
Date & Time: Thursday, June 05, 10:30am
Location: Warren Branch
Description: We will be discussing the book “The House of Eve” by Sadeqa Johnson. Adults of all ages are invited to attend. New members are always welcome! Books are available for checkout at the Warren Circulation Desk.
Register Here

Event: WitLITS Book Discussion Group
Date & Time: Friday, June 06, 10:30am
Location: Spades Park Branch
Description: A read aloud group exploring classic literature in a group reading.
No Registration Required.

Event: Adult Book Discussion at West Indianapolis
Date & Time: Monday, June 09, 5:00pm
Location: West Indianapolis Branch
Description: We will be discussing “All That She Carried” by Tiya Miles. Copies of this month’s book can be picked up from the West Indianapolis Branch. Adults are invited to this free monthly book discussion program. We meet on the second Monday of the month.
No Registration Required.

Need help?

Ask a Library staff member at any of our locations or call, text or email Ask-a-Librarian. The Tinker Station helpline at (317) 275-4500 is also available. It is staffed by device experts who can answer questions about how to read, watch and listen on a PC, tablet or phone.

Tags If You Like, Religion

Vinegar is an acid. Eggshells are made of calcium carbonate. If you soak an egg in vinegar the eggshell will absorb the acid and break down, or dissolve. The calcium carbonate will become carbon dioxide gas, which will go into the air. What is left is the soft tissue that lined the inside of the eggshell. Read on to find out if you can make bouncing eggs.

Science Experiment Idea

Make three bouncing eggs. Soak one egg in vinegar for 24 hours (1 day), one egg for 48 hours (2 days) and one egg for 72 hours (3 days). How do the eggs look when done soaking? Additionally, how do the bouncing eggs behave when you try to bounce them? Hint: BOUNCE OUTSIDE!

Websites, Activities & Printables about Bouncing Eggs

You can also ask a math and science expert for homework help by calling the Ask Rose Homework Hotline. Furthermore, this resource provides assistance with your questions. They provide FREE math and science homework help to Indiana students in grades 6-12.

e-Books & Audiobooks

Use your indyPL Library Card to check out books about chemistry at any of our locations, or check out chemistry e-books and audiobooks from OverDrive Kids right to your device! If you have never used OverDrive before, you can learn how to use e-books and alearn how to use audiobooks.

Ice Cream and Other Edible Science for Kids

Let your kitchen become a science lab and bake, melt, freeze, or boil an experiment you can eat!

Title - Super Fun Kitchen Science Experiments for Kids

Title - 10-minute Kitchen Science Projects

Title - The Complete Cookbook for Young Scientists

Title - Hack Your Kitchen : Discover A World of Food Fun With Science Buddies

Title - Awesome Kitchen Science Experiments for Kids

Tags Homework Help, Science Experiments

The Muscular System moves the body, gives it posture and circulates the blood. It is made up of three types of muscles: skeletal, smooth & cardiac muscles. The books, websites and other activities on this page will help you get starting doing research to learn how this amazing body system makes your body move.

Websites, Activities & Printables:

Learn about other body systems:

e-Books & Audiobooks

Use your indyPL Library Card to check out books about the muscular system at any of our locations, or check out muscular system e-books and audiobooks from OverDrive Kids right to your device! If you have never used OverDrive before, you can learn how to use e-books and learn how to use audiobooks.

Human Body Facts and Functions Revealed in Diagrams, Infographics, and Photographs

Tags Homework Help

A polymer is a chemical compound. Polymers are made up of long chains of molecules that are flexible. Plastic is a type of polymer. Plastics are bendy and stretchy because of their flexible molecule chains. In this experiment we will observe how polymers behave by observing what happens when we poke holes in a ziploc bag full of water. A ziploc bag is a plastic and a polymer.

What You Need

Ziploc Bag
Water
Several Sharpened Pencils

Instructions to Poke Holes in a Ziploc

Fill the ziploc bag half full of water. Zip it closed. Hold a pencil in one hand while you use the other hand to poke the pencil all the way through the ziploc bag – have the pencil go in one side and come all the way out the other side. Repeat with more pencils. Does any water spill out? Do you know why? No water spills out of the holes because ziploc bags are made of a polymer.

When you poke the sharp pencil into the plastic the pencil point slides in between the chain of molecules that make up the polymer. The molecule chains “hug” the pencil, making a seal around the pencil that won’t let the water out. What happens when you pull the pencils out?

Once you figure out how to do this one, try to get someone to stand still while you are holding the bag over their head. Poke the pencils through the bag to get them to trust your science…then pull the pencils out and see what happens! We tried it over the dog’s head. She liked it when the pencils got pulled out – a dog drinking fountain!

Websites, Activities & Printables

You can also ask a math and science expert for homework help by calling the Ask Rose Homework Hotline. They provide FREE math and science homework help to Indiana students in grades 6-12.

e-Books and Audiobooks

Satisfying DIY Recipe Books to Experience and Explain Polymers & the Science of Slime

Between them, these ten books provide 100+ different ways to explore slime, science that is stretchy, squishie and satisfying to mix up and ooze through your fingers! You experiment, these books will help you explain why slime behaves the way it does. Slime is fun. It’s also the science of polymers and chemistry.

Title - Make your Own Super Squishies, Slime and Putty

Tags Homework Help, Science Experiments

The surface layer of liquids has a thin elastic “skin” called surface tension. You can see surface tension at work when you see a drop of water – it creates a little “bead” of water, like a little dome. Surface tension is what makes the dome shape – the water doesn’t flatten out. Look for surface tension at work when you play with bubbles.

Water consists of two kinds of atoms: hydrogen and oxygen. The name for the water molecule is H20. The water molecule has 2 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom. Water molecules are attracted to each other because hydrogen atoms and oxygen atoms are attracted to each other and hug close together really tight. This is called cohesion. The molecules hug so close together they don’t want to touch other molecules around them. That’s why a bubble is round and only rests a small part of itself on a surface when it lands.

Molecules and Bubbles

When you blow air into soap bubble solution the liquid molecules want to attract to each other again so they wrap around the burst of air until they can attach to each other again – this is what makes the round bubble shape. The air inside the solution is pushing the molecules in the soap bubble solution apart but the attraction between the soap bubble solution molecules is so great, the bubble doesn’t pop – the molecules are hugging each other too tight.

To experiment with bubbles you need a good bubble recipe. Below are some simple recipes to try. Each of the recipes use water and dish soap. The “other” ingredient can be baking powder, corn syrup, glycerin (sold at the pharmacy) or sugar. We had the best luck with baking powder. The baking powder recipe made some HUGE bubbles.

Science Project Idea:

Mix different formulas of bubble mix and test them to see which one makes the best bubbles. Use the same amount of water and the same amount of dish soap in at least three different buckets. Choose one “Other” ingredient and add it in different amounts to each of your trial buckets. To be fair, you should hold the bubble wand in front of a fan instead of trying to blow on it, that way you know that the amount of air being blown to make the bubble will be exactly the same. Test the three formulas several times and record your results on a chart. Decide before you begin what property you are looking for in the bubbles. Are you going to test which formula makes the biggest bubble, the bubble that lasts the longest without popping or the formula that makes the most bubbles?

Use your indyPL Library Card to check out books at any of our locations, or check out e-books and e-audiobooks from home right to your device. Need help? Call or ask a Library staff member at any of our locations or text a librarian at 317 333-6877.

Websites, Activities & Printables:

You can also ask a math and science expert for homework help by calling the Ask Rose Homework Hotline. They provide FREE math and science homework help to Indiana students in grades 6-12.

e-Books and Audiobooks

Surface Tension Projects from Bubbles to Sand Castles

What do bubbles and sand castles have in common? Surface tension! Learn about the amazing science of water and how it makes both bubbles and sand castles “stick”.

Tags Homework Help, Science Experiments

Dr. Seuss characters and their stories have consistently been storytime favorites for kids all over the world. Snuggle up and listen to this video reading of the Seuss classic, The Lorax, read by Miss Linda from Brightly Storytime. The Lorax is a timely fable about what happens when greed overtakes respect for nature. Several more stories you can enjoy online follow, it’s Dr. Seuss Online Storytime!

Talk!

After listening to the story, talk about some of the things that happened in it.

Who does the Lorax say he speak for? “I speak for …”
What were some of the animals that lived in the Truffula tree forest?
Do you remember what the Once-ler make with the Truffula tufts?
Picture in your mind a place you know that has trees, like your school’s playground, or a park, or your backyard. What would it look like if all the trees were cut down? What would you miss if the trees were gone?
What problems did the thneed factory cause?
What does the Once-ler give at the end of the story? Why did he give it?

Read!

Use your indyPL Library Card to check out Dr. Seuss books at any of our locations, or check out Dr. Seuss e-books and audiobooks from Overdrive Kids right to your device. If you have never used OverDrive before, you can learn how to use e-books and learn how to use audiobooks.

Click on the book covers below to listen to more Dr. Seuss video read aloud stories right now! It’s Dr. Seuss storytime online! Did you like these? You can find more stories at Free Video Read Alouds and enjoy even more themed reading and activity fun at IndyPL’s DIY Online Storytimes at Home.

title - One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

title - Yertle The Turtle, And Other Stories

A Dozen Classics for a Dr. Seuss Rainy Day (or any day!) Marathon

“The sun did not shine, it was too wet to play, so we sat in the house all that cold, cold wet day.” Turn those frowns upside down with one of these sure winners from the king of zany rhyming. Available as e-books and e-audiobooks.

Sing!

Enjoy this sing along from Seussville’s YouTube channel. Is your tongue quick? Is your tongue slick? Now here’s as easy game to play, here’s an easy thing to say! Can you do it?

Write!

Find a pencil or pen, some crayons or markers to color a school picture, practice writing the letters, or see if you can follow your way through a maze without getting stuck.

Play!

Take a walk and read a story as you go! We invite you to visit StoryWalk® in Ruckle Street Park at 3025 Ruckle Street. Stroll through the park and read a book displayed in mounted frames. You can even skip or gallop! Or plan a Dr. Seuss Field Day with outdoor sports, activities, and games straight out of Dr. Seuss’s books!

Join Us for In-Person Storytime!

Event: Storytime at Lawrence – All Ages Summer Series
Date & Time: Thursday, June 05, 10:30am
Location: Lawrence Branch
Description: Just for the summer, we are having an all-ages storytime every Thursday at 10:30 a.m.
No Registration Required.

Event: Storytime at Warren – Preschool
Date & Time: Thursday, June 05, 10:30am
Location: Warren Branch
Description: Preschoolers and their families are invited for weekly stories, crafts and more. Families and homeschoolers are welcome to attend.
No Registration Required.

Need Help?

Ask a Library staff member at any of our locations or call, text, or email Ask-a-Librarian. The Tinker Station helpline at (317) 275-4500 is also available. It is staffed by device experts who can answer questions about how to read, watch and listen on a PC, tablet or phone.

Tags Storytime Online

Meet Pete, he’s one cool cat! Pete plays baseball, scuba dives, and loves rocking on his guitar. This groovy feline also dresses well! Who wouldn’t want to borrow Pete’s tennis shoes or magic sunglasses?

You can listen to the video read aloud Pete the Cat and the New Guy right now! Watch the story below and then take a look at the fun activities and links to more books you can check out with your IndyPL Library card!

Talk!

After listening to the story, talk about some of the things that happened in it.

How did the new guy feel at the beginning of the story?
Can you describe how Pete feels about meeting the new guy?
What does Pete do to help Gus feel included?
Name two things you could do to help a new friend feel included.
Do you think you can be friends with people who like different things than you do?

Read!

Use your indyPL Library Card to check out Pete the Cat books at any of our locations, or check out Pete the Cat e-books and audiobooks from OverDrive Kids right to your device! If you have never used OverDrive before, you can learn how to use e-books and learn how to use audiobooks.

Click on the book covers below to listen to more alphabet video read aloud stories right now! It’s alphabet storytime online! Did you like these? You can find more stories at Free Video Read Alouds and enjoy even more themed reading and activity fun at IndyPL’s DIY Online Storytimes at Home.

title - Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons

title - Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses

title - Pete the Cat and the Missing Cupcakes

title - Pete the Cat and the Perfect Pizza Party

Pete the Cat Books to Check Out with your IndyPL Library Card

List Cover Images - Here is a selection of books for kids featuring personality plus cats (and one dog!) just as cool and groovy as Pete! “If you want to be cool, just be you!” ~ Pete

Sing!

Get groovy and sing along with Pete!

Write!

Find some crayons or makers to color a picture, practice writing the letters, or see if you can follow your way through a maze without getting stuck.

Play!

Take a walk and read a story as you go! We invite you to visit StoryWalk® in Ruckle Street Park at 3025 Ruckle Street. Stroll through the park and read a book displayed in mounted frames. Try skipping! Or gallop! See if you can do Pete’s Cool Cat Boogie Dance Along!

Join Us for In-Person Storytime!

Event: Storytime at Lawrence – All Ages Summer Series
Date & Time: Thursday, June 05, 10:30am
Location: Lawrence Branch
Description: Just for the summer, we are having an all-ages storytime every Thursday at 10:30 a.m.
No Registration Required.

Event: Storytime at Warren – Preschool
Date & Time: Thursday, June 05, 10:30am
Location: Warren Branch
Description: Preschoolers and their families are invited for weekly stories, crafts and more. Families and homeschoolers are welcome to attend.
No Registration Required.

Need Help?

Tags Storytime Online

Have you ever played with a kaleidoscope? It is a tube that you hold up to your eye. You point the tube toward light and then slowly turn it. As you turn the tube you can see patterns of colors at the other end of the tube. It works by reflecting light.

Light travels in a straight line. When light bumps into something it changes direction. If light bumps into something shiny it reflects back in the direction it came from. Think of light like a bouncing ball inside a kaleidoscope bouncing off all the shiny surfaces.

If you make your own kaleidoscope you can use mirrors or aluminum foil. When you point it toward light, the light enters the kaleidoscope and reflects back and forth between the shiny surfaces inside it. Since you have filled the end of the kaleidoscope with little shiny objects, the light bounces off those too and makes the interesting patterns of color. As you turn the kaleidoscope the little shiny objects move which makes the patterns of color move.

Websites, Activities & Printables

You can also ask a math and science expert for homework help by calling the Ask Rose Homework Hotline. They provide FREE math and science homework help to Indiana students in grades 6-12.

e-Books and Audiobooks

Books for Kids for a Stress-less Science Fair

Here are books to help you pick a science fair experiment that (1) follows the scientific method, (2) uses stuff you can find around the house, and (3) is great fun to do! The books will also help you understand what you are seeing by explaining the science concepts behind the dramatic results.

Title - Stay Curious and Keep Exploring: Next Level

Title - The Simple Science Activity Book

Title - Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Creatures Activity Lab

Title - The 101 Coolest Simple Science Experiments

Tags Homework Help, Science Experiments

The Respiratory System supplies the blood with oxygen so the blood can deliver oxygen to all parts of the body. The respiratory system does this by inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide. Listed below are books and websites to help you learn about this amazing body system.

Websites, Activities, Printables & Databases:

Learn about other body systems:

e-Books & Audiobooks

Use your indyPL Library Card to check out books about the respiratory system at any of our locations, or check out respiratory system e-books and audiobooks from OverDrive Kids right to your device! If you have never used OverDrive before, you can learn how to use e-books and learn how to use audiobooks.

Human Body Facts and Functions Revealed in Diagrams, Infographics, and Photographs

Tags Homework Help

When the atoms in different kinds of molecules come together they can form a chemical bond. This happens when some of the electrons from each kind of atom have an attraction to each other so they stick together. In this experiment you will be able to see a chemical bond. Dye made from kool aid and vinegar will make a bond, or “stick” to the fabric of a cotton t-shirt – kool aid tie dye!

Some chemical bonds are strong and the two substances really stick to each other. Some chemical bonds are weak. The chemical bond between kool-aid/vinegar and the t-shirt is weak. The vinegar added to the kool-aid is called a mordant. A mordant is a substance that helps dye stick to fabric.

What You Need to Make Kool Aid Tie Dye

T-shirt/Sock/Towel – Anything Made From Cotton
Kool Aid Packets
Several Bowls
Spoon
Water
Vinegar
Measuring Cups
Rubber Bands

The kool-aid/vinegar dye will make a weak chemical bond so your shirt will fade over time. The chemical bond in a permanent dye is strong – shirts dyed with this kind of dye stay bright for a long time. After you practice with kool-aid, THEN try a more permanent dye.

NOTE: Even though the kool-aid/vinegar dye is weak…you should still do this OUTSIDE! The kool-aid/vinegar dye will stay on your fingers and especially your fingernails for a day or so unless you wash them really good. (So…it would also stay for awhile on your clothes or the carpet in your house!) My dog licked the bowl of blue kool-aid/vinegar dye and it turned her tongue blue. She also splashed some on her foot. The next day her tongue was not blue anymore put the fur on her paw was!

Science Experiment Idea: Try dying three identical shirts with kool aid using different amounts of vinegar. Which mixture made the darkest color? Which mixture lasted the longest? To investigate chemical reactions further – try some more experiments at home!

Websites, Activities & Printables

You can also ask a math and science expert for homework help by calling the A s k Rose Homework Hotline. They provide FREE math and science homework help to Indiana students in grades 6-12.

e-Books and Audiobooks

Chemistry for Kids: Projects to Makes Things Sizzle, Pop, and Explode!

Chemistry is nature’s magic. With it you can learn to do amazing things, like make erupting volcanoes and and fizzy exploding ziplocs. These books will show you how to do these things and also explain the science behind why these things are happening. You can explore chemical reactions by experimenting with things you find around the house in your kitchen, bathroom or garage.

Tags Homework Help, Science Experiments

In How to Make Ice Cream in a Bag follow step-by-step directions at home for making your own ice cream. Find out the science behind how this works. Smart as well as delicious! Watch a demonstration of how this works in the video below. With a few simple ingredients you can be eating a DIY slushie cold treat in no time! Even on a very hot day!

A little bit simpler science recipe you can try is making a DIY slushie from your favorite drink. The same science principles apply! Your favorite drink is pretty good with ice floating in it. When your drink has ice cubes in it, the ice cubes make the drink colder, but the ice cubes don’t make the drink itself freeze. The ice cubes IN the drink melt because they are colder then the drink itself. The drink melts the ice cubes by lowering their temperature. If you want a slushie you need to put ice AROUND your drink instead of IN it.

Melting point is the temperature at which a solid will melt. For ice this temperature is 32 degrees. If you put a drink in the freezer, where the temperature is 32 degrees or colder, the drink itself will freeze. Solid. You won’t be able to drink it!

To make your DIY slushie you want the temperature around your favorite drink to be lower than 32 degrees so the drink itself will get really cold. Keep an eye on it and stir it a lot so it doesn’t freeze solid. Make an easy slushie using ice cubes and salt. Note: the salt does NOT go IN your drink!

Salt lowers the melting point of water. Adding salt to ice cubes makes them stay frozen longer. If ice with salt added to it is packed around a liquid, like your drink, the salted ice will make your drink so cold that it will turn into a slushie!\

What You Need:

Your Favorite Drink (Soda, orange juice, lemonade, etc.)
Quart-size zip-lock bag
Gallon-size zip-lock bag
2 cups ice
1/4 cup salt
Bowl

Fill the quart size bag with your favorite drink and zip it closed. HINT: Make sure the bag is zipped really good or your slushie will taste bad when some of the salt leaks into your bag. Put the quart size bag inside the gallon bag. Add the ice and salt to the gallon bag. Next, zip the gallon size bag closed. Finally, shake the bag a lot – even play catch with it…gently. In about 15 minutes you will feel the ingredients in the quart size bag starting to firm up. What started out as a liquid is changing to a solid. When it feels done take the quart size bag out of the gallon size bag. Rinse it off good in clean water. Then open the bag, squeeze the slushie into a glass and enjoy!

When you add salt to the ice cubes you lower the melting point of the ice cubes by several degrees. The ice cubes stay colder, longer – long enough to turn your drink slushie. The secret is the catalyst – the salt. A catalyst is a substance that increases the rate of a reaction.

Science Experiment Idea

Make 3 different quart size bags each filled with the exact same amount of your favorite drink. Fill each of three gallon size bag with the exact same number of ice cubes. Add 1/8 cup of salt to the first gallon size bag and label it with a sharpie, “1/8”. Then add 1/4 cup of salt to the second gallon size bag and label it “1/4”. Finally, add 1/3 cup of salt to the third gallon size bag and label it “1/3”. Have a couple friends help you shake and smoosh the bags to make the slushies. Time how long it takes each of the bags to turn into a slushie. Which amount of salt makes a DIY slushie the fastest?

Websites, Activities & Printables:

You can also ask a math and science expert for homework help by calling the Ask Rose Homework Hotline. They provide FREE math and science homework help to Indiana students in grades 6-12.

e-Books & Audiobooks

Use your indyPL Library Card to check out kitchen science books at any of our locations, or check out kitchen science e-books and audiobooks from OverDrive Kids right to your device! If you have never used OverDrive before, you can learn how to use e-books and alearn how to use audiobooks.

Need more help? Ask a Library staff member at any of our locations or call, text or email Ask-a-Librarian. The Tinker Station helpline at (317) 275-4500 is also available. It is staffed by device experts who can answer questions about how to read, watch and listen on a PC, tablet or phone.

Ice Cream and Other Edible Science for Kids

Let your kitchen become a science lab and bake, melt, freeze, or boil an experiment you can eat!

Tags Homework Help, Science Experiments

Every object on earth has potential energy. That means it COULD move even if it isn’t moving right now. When an object IS moving it has kinetic energy. In today’s demonstration you are going to store energy in a spring. That spring will have the potential to move, but it won’t move until you let it move. The marshmallow catapult you make is going to transfer energy from the spring to a marshmallow. The marshmallow will have potential energy until the catapult releases, then the marshmallow will have kinetic energy as it flies through the air.

Watch NASA astronaut Joe Acaba demonstrate kinetic and potential energy on the International Space Station by showing how an object’s potential energy changes.

Websites, Activities & Printables

You can also ask a math and science expert for homework help by calling the Ask Rose Homework Hotline. They provide FREE math and science homework help to Indiana students in grades 6-12.

e-Books and Audiobooks

Stomp Rocket and Sling Shot Science – How Physics Makes Contraptions Work

For kids who like to tinker and build here are projects books using things around the house to make some fun contraptions like stomp rockets, catapults and sling shots. Other books will teach them about the science behind why these clever mechanical wonders like potential and kinetic energy.

Title - The Awesome Physics in your Home

Title - Launchers, Lobbers, and Rockets Engineer

Tags Homework Help, Science Experiments

Sharpie pens are permanent markers. That means that the ink will not come off with water. If something will dissolve in water it is called soluble. If something will NOT dissolve in water it is called hydrophobic. Permanent marker ink is hydrophobic. You can do a sharpie pen tie dye demonstration of solubility.

What You Need

White T-Shirt
Permanent Markers (Sharpies)
Plastic Cup
Rubber Band
Rubbing Alcohol
Dropper

Instructions

To begin your sharpie pen tie dye demonstration, stretch part of the white t-shirt over the top of the plastic cup and secure it with the rubber band – it will look like a little drum. Choose one of the colors of Sharpie pen and make dots in the center of the t-shirt circle. Choose another color and make more dots. Repeat. The circle of color should be about the size of a quarter.

Sharpie pen tie dye science experiment supplies.

Now slowly squeeze about 20 drops of rubbing alcohol into the center of the circle of dots. Drip the rubbing alcohol really slowly. What do you see happening to the ink? Let the ink dry for about 5 minutes and then you can move the cup to a different part of the shirt. When you are done making colorful circles put the shirt in the dryer for about 15 mintues to set the colors.

The permanent ink of Sharpie pens is hydrophobic. It will not dissolve in water. The permanent ink WILL dissolve in rubbing alcohol though. That is why the colors “run” to make the pretty pattern.

Science Project Idea:

Try this method of tie dying with different kinds of markers and pens. Test whether the ink in the pens is soluable or hydrophobic. HINT: the word “washable” would be a clue to help you guess the answer to that question. Then try using the rubbing alcohol. Can you find an ink that will not dissolve in water OR rubbing alcohol?

Websites, Activities & Printables

You can also ask a math and science expert for homework help by calling the Ask Rose Homework Hotline. They provide FREE math and science homework help to Indiana students in grades 6-12.

e-Books and Audiobooks

Chemistry for Kids: Projects to Makes Things Sizzle, Pop, and Explode!

Tags Homework Help, Science Experiments