It seems that as people who grew up playing with Legos become adults, more and more examples of AWESOME Lego sculptures (seriously, works of sculptural art) dance about on the internet. Take this recent article from the Wired blog, “Wired Science.” Generally when you stumble upon a Lego creation, it’s an incredibly intricate sculpture of Barad-dûr, the Fortress of Sauron in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings or an actual working printer constructed out of those small plastic pieces. However, Wired’s article compiles a collection of models and structures of scientific origin: the DNA molecule, a human kidney, and the ATLAS detector (that huge installation used to study fundamental particle physics in Switzerland) are all fodder for Lego creativity. There are many more fascinating sculptures on the article page, so go check it out! Or create a sculpture of your own!
Until recently, I spent a fair bit of time on Twitter. However, as a full-time graduate student in the University of Iowa Library and Information Science program and a part-time intern at ICPL, my time of late has been spent learning, reading, and dreaming about libraries. But when I do manage to stumble back to Twitter, I always check in on the antics of one Maureen Johnson.
Ms. Johnson, the author of such young adult novels as The Name of the Star and 13 Little Blue Envelopes (both available in the young adult fiction area at ICPL), spends an abnormal amount of time in the world of tweets and hashtags, but in so doing, manages to be one of the most entertaining people on the internet, in my opinion. There is something of a learning curve to her tweets: she writes about “Monday dragons,” “flying monkeys,” and what she calls “danubing” (I imagine it’s a dance suspended somewhere between a waltz and hula), but after this short adjustment period, one can’t help but follow along. Although the majority of her tweets are silly in tone, she does occasionally post articles about young adult literature, often inspiring discussion about controversial issues. She frequently travels to the United Kingdom to write, and often offers advice and suggestions to aspiring young adult authors. Be sure to check her out; she’ll put a smile on your face.
Curious about Twitter? Wondering how to compose a thought in 140 characters or less? Stop by the Teen Tech Zone on Thursdays from 3-5 PM and Saturdays from 1-4 PM, and I’ll help you write your first tweet!
Google is looking for the brightest, best young scientists from around the
world to submit interesting, creative projects that are relevant to the world
today.
Students all over the world between the ages of 13 and 18 are invited to enter this exciting new global science fair to compete for prizes including scholarships, internships, and some pretty crazy once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
It’s free to enter and submissions will be accepted until April 4, 2011. For more information visit the Google Science Fair site.
Here’s a video that walks you through the submission process.
The newest installation in Sid Meier’s Civilization series. A lot has happened since the last installment of the series, Civilization Revolution. The biggest change is resources the land resources such as iron or gold can actually be used. another change is that you can trade resources such as gold for iron and you can make open border treaties once you have the resource. ONLY FOR COMPUTER.
There is a new website for all of you out there who love to read, write, and connect. Figment debuted this month and offers young writers the chance to share their work through an interactive and easy to use site. Go check out the short stories, poetry, and novels-in-progress by heading to Figment.com.
Click on the picture above to read Soul by Emily Kane. Each book gives you a short description, approximate reading time, and the genres the author has classified it under. You can also review the works on Figment or just leave a comment for the author. Soul was pretty funny. I really liked the narrator’s voice in this, and the beginning is really strong and includes these lines:
While you pine over fictional brooding vampires or troubled teen wolves, the real thing lurks in the shadow. It has no interest in your feelings or your mind. It stalks you, prey and predator.
Figment also includes sneak peeks of newly published books by adult authors, like Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler. You can read the first three chapters and decide if you like it enough to buy it or check it out at the library. Side note on Hunger:Kim really was not into this book, but she also did not like The Giver, so you can make your own decision and leave it in the Figment comments
There is a lot going on this week for teens at the ICPL. We have some extra Teen Tech Zone hours, a creative crafty day, and a celebration of International Gaming Day on November 13th. Details are below, hope to see you there!
Jamie Smart/Fumblog
TEEN TECH ZONE ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12TH
Open use for teens on the Internet in the Library’s Computer Lab for a two-hour afternoon session after school on Thursday.
Time: 3:00-5:00 pm
Where: Computer Lab
TEEN TECH ZONE ON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12th
Special Teen Tech Zone: School’s Out Session
Time: 1:00-4:00 pm
Where: Computer Lab
TEEN CRAFT: RECYCLED GIFTS ON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12TH
Teens from 7th-12th grade are invited to create crafts from various recycled materials. There will be supplies to choose from, and you can bring in your own materials as well. Drop in any time between 4:00-6:00 to create something great!
Time: 4:30-6:00 pm
Where: Meeting Room B
NATIONAL GAMING DAY ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13TH
November 13th is National Gaming Day, and the ICPL Teen Advisory Group will have open play the Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3 during TTZ! Come and show off your skills, eat some snacks, and hang out with fellow gamers.
Time: 1:00-4:00 pm
Where: Computer Lab
On Saturday, a few of our Teen Advisory Group members, Teen Tech Zoners and other robot enthusiasts participated in a robotics workshop offered in a partnership with the Delta Center. Everyone worked really hard to create their ‘bots, and I was pretty impressed with the creative results! Read more about the event in the Iowa City Press Citizen by clicking here.
Note to event participants: Once I get copies of pictures taken at the event, I will share them with you via the email you used to register. Thanks again for building your ‘bots!
I have been playing lots of online games. I will be sharing two of them, Wizard101 and Poptropica. If you like Harry Potter or have wizardry thoughts, you should play Wizard101. You choose 1 out of 7 magic schools. Next you defeat evil foes, make lots of friends, and save worlds with your wizardry power. In Poptropica you travel to islands to save the local peoples’ problem. You can compete with other Poptropicans in head-to-head games. Both games are free. So go to Wizard101.com and Poptropica.com. See you there!
Am I way behind the times with my not-smart phone and lack of a sweet iPod?
Jason recently shared some info about QR Codes with me.
Qr Codes look like this:
When you scan the code with a smart phone or device with a barcode scanning app, it will bring up the website that the code holds deep in it’s soul. QR codes found everywhere from books, to advertisements, to … CUPCAKES.
SWILSA, the Southwest Iowa Library Association, recently shared some QR codes you could attach to the spine of books in order to find a list of similar books by other authors, as well as links to podcasts, and other resources.
At ICPL, we have attached QR codes to posters to give people more information about different events. What I am wondering is:
You can post your answers in the comments, or take this super quick survey, by clicking here. I’d love to know what your thoughts are on this…
…And in other news, I thought this video of an M&M QR Code was pretty awesome, I’m glad someone found a use for brown M&Ms…they are by far the worst flavor!
