Explore Space with NASA and the Library
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Explore Space with NASA and the Library

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Les Murray, NASA Solar System Ambassador (SSA), will present a series of programs on our solar system. SSAs are motivated volunteers trained by NASA Scientists, Project Managers and Astronauts on NASA programs and missions. This season, Les is presenting three exciting all-ages programs – each event is ticketed, and tickets are available 30 minutes prior to the events:

James Webb Space Telescope – Saturday, September 17 at 3pm at Davis Library
Learn about NASAs largest and newest space telescope and participate in a related activity

Sun Power – Saturday, October 1 at 3pm at Davis Library
Learn about space, weather and the sun, safely view the sun through solar telescopes and use the sun’s power to create art with a fun sun-related activity

Explore the Night Sky – Monday, November 14 at 6:30pm at Haggard Library
Find out what is up in the sky at this time, how to observe it and get answers to your questions about space, the sky and NASA missions

Other events you may be interested in:

SNAP Science Explorers – Sundays at 2pm at Haggard Library: September 11, October 9 and November 6 (Grades K-2)
Learning and hands-on science activities geared toward children with special needs, such as autism spectrum disorders, sensory integration challenges or short attention spans. Activities will focus on grade-level K-2 materials. Registration required. Registration opens September 1. Please email snapprograms@plano.gov to register or for more information

Build a Plane Powered by Stored Energy – Monday, October 10 at 3pm at Haggard Library (Grades 4-8)
Build a plane that is powered by stored energy from a rubber band, balloon or spring. Presented by Boeing

Goldilocks According to NASA – Monday, November 21 at 3pm at Haggard Library (Grades K-5)
Not your average fairy tale – the Goldilocks Zone is what scientists call habitable places in space. Create your own alien creature with adaptions that are “just right” for their home world

Learn more about NASA and all things space with resources from the library:

Books
Junior Non-Fiction

History of NASA by Julie Murray Print 
This book summarizes the history of NASA, from its beginnings to its accomplishments, to what it plans for the future. Historical photographs from NASA’s archives, a glossary, and an index are included

Imagining Space by Mike Downs Print 
Readers explore how we thought about space in the past, how we imagine it in the future, great space mysteries, how astronauts live in space, and what space inventions help us here on Earth

Space Exploration by Jennifer Szymanski Print 
Space scientists use math every day to explore our universe. Join a real astronomer on an amazing adventure to COUNT the planets, MEASURE the stars, ADD on the space station, and more. Then test your math skills with special You Can Do It challenges

Sleeping in Space by Tracie Santos Print 
From shower packs and Velcro straps, to robotic arms and astronaut ice cream, let’s take a look at how astronauts eat, bathe, sleep, and play while in space!

Bringing Space Home by Mike Downs Print 
What do you have in common with an astronaut? We use space inventions and discoveries every day! From cell phones to firemen’s outfits, athletic shoes to robots, and more

First Look at a Black Hole: How a Photograph Solved a Space Mystery by Danielle Smith-Llera Print 
Kids will learn why it was so hard to take a photo of something so dark it does not reflect light, and so far away it could barely be reached

Adult Non-Fiction

Escaping Gravity: My Quest to Transform NASA and Launch a New Space Age by Lori B. Garver Print 
As the head of the NASA transition team for President-elect Barack Obama and second-in-command of the agency, Garver drove policies and funding that enabled commercial competition just as the capabilities and resources of the private sector began to mature. She was determined to deliver more valuable programs, which required breaking the self-interested space-industrial cycle that, like the military, preferred to spend billions of taxpayer dollars on programs aimed to sustain jobs and contracts in key congressional districts. The result: more efficiency and greater progress

How Space Works by Abigail Beall Print 
The clearest, most visual guide to space and the Universe for complete beginners to astronomy. Have you ever asked yourself how big the Universe is, how far it is to the nearest star, or what came before the Big Bang? Then this is the book for you

Astronomical: From Quarks to Quasars, the Science of Space at Its Strangest by Tim James Print 
In Astronomical, Tim James takes us on a tour of the known (and unknown) universe, focusing on the most-mind boggling stuff we’ve come across, as well as unpacking the latest theories about what’s really going on out there

Beyond: the Astonishing Story of the First Human to Leave Our Planet and Journey Into Space by Stephen Walker Print 
A young Russian sits inside a tiny capsule on top of the Soviet Union’s most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile–originally designed to carry a nuclear warhead–and blasts into the skies. His name is Yuri Gagarin. And he is about to make history

General Relativity: the Essentials by Carlo Rovelli Print 
Written by an author well known for the clarity of his presentation of scientific ideas, this concise book will appeal to university students looking to improve their understanding of the principal concepts, as well as to science-literate readers who are curious about the real theory of general relativity, at a level beyond a popular science treatment

STEAM Kits

Preschool: Space
Introduces basic science concepts through hands-on exploration and discovery, in accordance with the TEA guidelines for cognitive development

The Night Sky
Includes binoculars, telescope, books about constellations, flashlight and more

eMagazines

Through the Libby app (and your library card), you have access to a variety of digital magazines, including many which have a science focus. Here are a few you should check out:

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