http://syndetics.com/index.php?isbn=1562946005/LC.JPG&client=sjose&type=hw7ASaturday, April 20, 2013 is Astronomy Day! Astronomy Day is an annual event which is meant to provide a means of interaction between the public and various astronomy enthusiasts, groups and professionals. There will be many special programs and celebrations throughout California and your very own Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library will be holding 2 special events on that day:

Does your child love to do experiments? Is your child curious? Yes?

Then join us for this  FREE Science Experiments Program on Saturday, March 16 from 1:00-4:00PM in the Children's Room of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library.

Students from Homestead High School's Future Business Leaders of America Club will facilitate this program using experiment kits made available by a generous grant from Agilent. There will definitely be lots of hands-on activities.

After the program be sure to browze our Science Experiments section where you will find many titles for all those future scientists in your family!

We have many tutoring programs available at the Evergreen Branch Library starting January 2013. All programs are free and are run by our very active volunteers.

Volunteer Manuel Beronilla will provide tutoring in Algebra, Geometry, Calculus, Physics and Statistics for high schoolers. This program will be every Thursday (starting January 17) in Group Study Room A at 4:00 p.m. Please drop in, no registration required.

Volunteer Siri Balusu provides tutoring in Math and Science for kids in grades 3-6 every Tuesday and Wednesday starting at 5:00 p.m. in Group Study Room B. Registration is not required.

Volunteer Urvi Gupta will begin her OneInMath program at 4:30 p.m. in the Community Room on Tuesday, January 15. Kids in grades K-2 will learn simple ways to add and subtract. This will help them understand math concepts quickly. Video instructions and face-to-face tutoring will be provided. This program is also offered at the Berryessa and Hillview libraries. Registration is required, so please sign up online at the OneInMath website.

Tutoring for all grade levels is also provided online through tutor.com. All you need is your valid Library card number and pin number.

Has the winter weather and shorter daylight hours created more indoor time for your family? This is the perfect opportunity to capture the moment with winter-themed activities.  Young children can learn a little bit about hibernation, elementary-school aged kids can conduct cool winter-themed science projects and kids of all ages can enjoy making snowflakes for all occasions.

Here are a few titles to help you get started.

Under the Snow
This beautifully illustrated book provides an interesting look at how animals adapt to living in winter conditions. Author Melissa Stewart, an award-winning science writer, captures the quiet and calm of winter days. This is a perfect read-aloud for young, budding scientists.

Explore Winter: 25 Great Ways to Learn about Winter
Aimed at elementary school-aged children, this book is chockful of experiments that can be conducted at home with common household items. Science concepts are introduced, vocabulary defined, and simple activities are provided that emphasize the subject. There are also fun facts and jokes interspersed throughout the book that kids enjoy.

Snowflakes for All Seasons
Tired of the same old snowflakes patterns? This book has an abundance of ideas to craft one of their distinctive snowflakes. You can also learn different techniques for creating your own unique snowflake for different occasions. Who knew you could have so much fun with just a pair of scissors and paper?

 In addition to being the first American woman in space, Sally Ride was
 an accomplished author of astronomy books for children. You can check out
 the juvenile non-fiction written by Ride and her collaborators in the SJPL catalog.

 To be perfectly honest, I’ve grown tired of looking at other people’s tattoos … and yet I can’t avert my gaze completely. Because in spite of my claim of disinterest, I can still recall that waitress in Portland with the dramatic Steel Bridge across her shapely arm and, of course, a lot depends on the canvas, but that’s another story.

So it wasn’t without some mild interest that I picked up this book Science Ink by Carl Zimmer to see just what separates “Tattoos of the Science Obsessed” from the rest of us, whether we have some ink on our bodies or not. It’s a somewhat predictable, yet educational visual and verbal attempt to share what individuals who occupy places in the world of Science, academia or otherwise, want to have inked on their skin. The book is broken up into chapters of scientific fields, so we gather the following: Paleontologists like dinosaurs and fossils as much as Chemistry people can appreciate molecular diagrams of, say, Diazepam. So yes, the book is predictable on that level, but it’s also a clever vehicle to ask just what is an Uffington Horse, or Buckyballs, and who would tattoo Siphonophores on their ankle for that matter?

These individuals are dedicated to their obvious interests and the concept of this book works if you appreciate skin art, the sciences, or some odd combination of both that lead to finding yourself gazing at pages of tattooed science geeks. Fun reading, now if only they’d publish more books about other self-obsessed people who want to tell you their life story via their epidermal canvas. Wait, that didn’t come out right. Anyway, I say check it out!