@ The Library: Programs
Summer Reading Club CARNIVAL!!! Fun and games for children of all ages! No Registration Required! Thursday August 18, 2011 -- drop in anytime between 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM. Participants in our Summer Reading Clubs are invited to celebrate “One World Many Stories” at this afternoon filled with games, prizes and activities. Bring your family and friends for a fun-filled summer afternoon!
There is still time to join in our summer reading clubs…Any reading (or listening to books) done since school ended June 20th counts! And kids and teens (and adults – we have a club for you too!) can win great prizes. Kids count minutes (so the child reading Harry Potter and the one listening to Hop on Pop are on equal footing.) Teens & adults count books read. Stop by the Youth Services Reference Desk for more information. No time to come to the library? Check out the online summer reading clubs in the Useful Websites section (if you are getting this as an email, click on the Headline to open this up as a web page – useful links are in the right-hand column.)
Curious about our Fall Schedule? Check out our September Bridgewater Library Online Calendar.
Teens:
School Year Volunteer applications for the First Session are now available! You can pick up a copy at the Youth Services desk or get one online on the Middle School/High School Volunteer page.The First Session will begin on Monday, September 19th and applications are available now and are due by 5 PM on Friday, September 9th. First Session: 9/19/11 to 1/27/12.
Second Session: 2/6/12 to 6/15/12. Applications will be available in December and are due by Friday, January 20, 5 PM.
Summer Volunteers 2012: A separate application will be available on Friday, March 30 and will be due by 9 PM on Monday, April 30.
Talk-It Up Book Discussion Group Tuesday, August 23 from 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm. For students entering grades 5 – 8 Registration Required. If you love to read and talk about books, you are cordially invited to an hour of book talk and friendly company. Parents and parent substitutes are welcome to join in the discussion.
Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. Miranda's disbelief turns to fear in a split second when a meteor knocks the moon closer to the earth. How should her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis wipe out the coasts, earthquakes rock the continents, and volcanic ash blocks out the sun? As summer turns to Arctic winter, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stock piled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove. Told in journal entries, this is the heart-pounding story of Miranda's struggle to hold on to the most important resource of all--hope--in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar world. @ the Library: Displays & Resources:
Help Winnie-the-Pooh celebrate his 90th Birthday, check out our new display of books and media about Pooh and all his teddy bear friends atop the magazines!Around the Community:
The Environmental Education Center in Basking Ridge has lots of programs this month…including night hikes and science projects and crafts and kayaking…. check out their schedule for a complete listing. Here’s one program:
Thursday, August 25 - Hollywood's Fantastic Science -- Children will investigate Hollywood's movies to discover the natural science used to create the excitement of the big screen. Theme is "Ice Age." Environmental Education Center, 190 Lord Stirling Road, Basking Ridge. 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM Ages 7 to 9. Registration required. Register online at www.somersetcountyparks.org under the Naturalist programs, or call 908-766-2489. Cost: $9 per child. For more info: Call 908-766-2489.
Thursday, August 18 - Outdoor Movie Night: Rudy
Bring your blankets, chairs and picnic dinner to see this week's movie, Rudy, rated PG. Special guest resident Ned Bolcar, who played on two championship Notre Dame football teams, will be there starting at 7pm to toss the football and sign autographs. Hot dog and ice cream truck will also be there, so don't worry if you don't have time to make dinner! Where: Warren Library Field, 42 Mountain Boulevard. Warren. 7:00 PM (Movie begins at 8pm.) All ages, movie rated PG. No registration, just show up! Free. For more info: Go to www.warrennj.org/wtrec.
MORRIS MUSEUM ANNOUNCES AUGUST CHILDREN’S PROGRAMS
Bring your children to the Morris Museum this summer for fun, creative and educational programs. For more information, please call 973.971.3718 or email programs@morrismuseum.org.
Open Art WorkshopWHEN: Thursday, August 18, 3:30 – 6:00 PM Appropriate for all ages. Pre-registration is not required. Adults must accompany children.
COST: Members: $2/child | Non-members: $3/child
Join museum educators to create your own stuffed octopus with yarn. Drop in anytime to participate. Museum admission is included in the price of the workshop.
Jersey Rocks: A History of Rock & Roll in the Garden State
WHEN: Friday, August 19, at 10 AM
COST: Free with museum admission. Pre-registration is not required. Adults must accompany children.
This program is for young children ages 2 – 5 and their caregivers. The museum will open early, exclusively for this program. Activities include a mini gallery tour and an art project. This month children will visit the acclaimed Jersey Rocks exhibition and learn about different kinds of music.
Super Science Saturdays WHEN: Noon – 2 PM
COST: Museum members: Free | Non-members: $3/child plus museum admission. Pre-registration is not required. Adults must accompany children.
Families are invited to drop in and participate in hands-on science workshops. Children are introduced to the scientific method as they conduct experiments and observe the results. Appropriate for ages 5+
- August 20: The Heart Children will play games as they learn about the different parts of the heart.
- August 27: Heartbeat Children will make a tool that can detect their pulse and calculate heartbeats per minute and then listen to the heart with a homemade stethoscope.
The Morris Museum, located at 6 Normandy Heights Road (at the corner of Columbia Turnpike) in Morristown, NJ, is open Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 11 AM to 5 PM; Thursday, 11 AM to 8 PM; and Sunday, 1-5 PM. Admission to the museum is $10 for adults and $7 for children, students and senior citizens. Admission is free for museum members and is free to the public every Thursday between 5 and 8 PM. For more information, call 973.971.3700, or visit www.morrismuseum.org.
August Events at Cooper Gristmill -- For more information, please call 908-879-5463
Metal Crafts Day Saturday, August 20th, 2011 1 PM - 4 PM
Visitors to the Cooper Gristmill can enjoy demonstrations of industrial metal crafts by blacksmith Kevin Perry, tinsmith George Pierson, and tin piercing with Frank and Anita Mai. Visitors will find out how these skills were important to the colonial people. Those who attend can make a tin-pierced ornament to take home. Donations are greatly appreciated.
1890s Music Day Saturday, August 27th 1 PM - 4 PM
Enjoy an afternoon of magical sounds reminiscent of musical events performed in Milltown/Chester more than a century ago. Audiences at the Cooper Gristmill will have a chance to interact with the musicians by playing fiddlesticks and by animating dancing puppets called limber jacks. Donations are greatly appreciated for this event presented by Nancy Shill and Charlie Pellegrino.
National Milling Day Sunday, August 28th 1 PM - 4 PM
The famous inventor of the 1780s, Oliver Evans, will have his 256th birthday celebrated. He created the first automatic flour mill, the first high pressure steam engine, an amphibious vehicle, and much more. See Cooper Gristmill’s operational rendition of his gristmill, a collection of pictures of other mills, and antique printed flour bags. Donations are appreciated.
Kids Knit at Bound Brook Library Mondays August 1-22, 2011 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM (Ages 8+) Please register for this program. 
Do you know how to knit or would like to learn? Whether you are an experienced knitter or just a beginner then this program is for you! Each week, Miss Karen will introduce you to a different technique and a simple project will be done. Please note - When you register your child, he or she will be registered for all sessions.
Do you know how to knit or would like to learn? Whether you are an experienced knitter or just a beginner then this program is for you! Each week, Miss Karen will introduce you to a different technique and a simple project will be done. Please note - When you register your child, he or she will be registered for all sessions. 
MUSIC IS MAGIC! Music for Special Needs Kids at Watchung Library Registration Required for each session. Thursday August 18, 2011 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM ages: Birth through age 5 with Caregiver This program is designed to provide an accepting and stimulating musical environment for special needs children and their families. Using guitar, song, movement, shaky eggs, scarves and drums, Ann Wild creates a musical environment that is meant to be a safe haven where children and their parents/teachers can sit back and enjoy music-making. Music is a powerful tool that can be used to:-comfort a child, help teach new skills, smooth over stressful situations, aid in speech development, help a child transition between activities, help a child self-soothe AND IT'S JUST PLAIN FUN! 
The Planetarium at RVCC has many family shows this summer including: Fee: $6 per person Please call us at 908-231-8805.
The Little Star that Could Tuesdays, July 5 - August 23, 2:00 p.m. Join Little Star, an average yellow star, as he meets other colorful stars in our galaxy during his quest for a name and a planet to call his own. Imagine his surprise when he discovers planets already orbiting him. (recommended for ages 6-12 accompanied by an adult)
Attack of the Space Pirates Tuesdays, July 5 - August 23, 3:00 p.m. Hidden somewhere in the vast reaches of space is an alien technology so powerful that it threatens the very galaxy itself. A gang of rogue pirates will stop at nothing to find that technology and unleash its awesome power against the rest of the universe. Now, only one valiant ship stands between the pirates and their total domination of space. It's a race against time for the Starship Intrepid as it seeks to find the alien technology first while defending itself against the attack of the space pirates! (recommended for ages 8-12 accompanied by an adult)
Attack of the Space Pirates Tuesdays, July 5 - August 23, 3:00 p.m. Hidden somewhere in the vast reaches of space is an alien technology so powerful that it threatens the very galaxy itself. A gang of rogue pirates will stop at nothing to find that technology and unleash its awesome power against the rest of the universe. Now, only one valiant ship stands between the pirates and their total domination of space. It's a race against time for the Starship Intrepid as it seeks to find the alien technology first while defending itself against the attack of the space pirates! (recommended for ages 8-12 accompanied by an adult)
Rockin' Rocket Ride Wednesdays, July 6 - August 24, 2:00 p.m. Put on your space suit and blast off into outer space! Catchy songs teach us about the planets and moon rocks. We'll also discover what stars are in tonight's sky. (Recommended for ages 3-8 accompanied by an adult)
Sky Lights Wednesdays, July 6 - August 24, 3:00 p.m. A laser and video concert featuring songs by Mr. RAY (Kalien the Alien, ROY G BIV) and Jane Murphy (Moon Rock Rock, Is Anybody Else Out There?) as well as favorites like "ABC" by the Jackson 5 and Disney's "When You Wish Upon a Star." (Recommended for ages 4-8 accompanied by an adult)
SETI - The Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence Thursdays, July 7 - August 25, 2:00 p.m. The prospect that we may not be alone in the universe is taken as a fact by the movies, writers, and a great many scientists. As yet, we have no hard evidence of another living thing outside Planet Earth. S.E.T.I. - the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence - is a show that explores all sides of this topic, from the planets we are finding around other stars, to the feasibility of travelling to the stars, and what liens might actually be like, to the possibility that UFO's have been visiting, and the various methods that scientists are using to get in touch. Will we make contact in our lifetimes? This stunning immersive show guides you through the myriad of ideas to a surprising conclusion. (recommended for ages 10 and older accompanied by an adult)
Laser Light Thursdays, July 7 - August 25, 3:00 p.m. Music plays while lasers draw pictures on the dome overhead. Features songs like "Fireflies," "OMG," and "Tik Tok."
Thanks as always to www.njartsmaven.com and warren.macaronikid.com for some of these listings. Looking for more ideas? Check out the “events” listings in the “useful links for families” on the right side of our blog including njkidsonline, and njfamilyevents.
Let Your Fingers Do (More) Walking:
RECALL NOTICE:
Approximately 54,000 table-top feeding chairs for babies and toddlers are being recalled amid safety concerns.LINK: Table-top Clip-On Chair Recalled by phil&teds
The Consumer Product Safety commission says the "metoo" clip-on chairs can unexpectedly detach from a table which can injure a child. There have been 19 reports of the chairs falling from table surfaces. In five of those cases, a child was hurt. The chairs are imported by Colorado-based phil&teds USA Inc. The recall follows a warning from the commission in May that the chairs were not safe.In addition to reading, writing and arithmetic, teaching kids compassion (or inspiring it) is another important life lesson.
Yesterday on the Today Show, there was an inspiring story about a 9-year-old-girl’s wish to help the world – here’s the gist from the Seattle Times:
Editorials / Opinion Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Touched by the heart of a 9-year-old
Rachel Beckwith's wish: clean drinking water for Africa.
Nine-year-old Rachel Beckwith died in a car accident in July; the story of her amazing birthday wish and generous heart has stirred a community and a nation.
IT makes the eyes mist to think what if — what if 9-year-old Rachel Beckwith survived the car wreck to see what her generous and inspiring birthday wish produced: more than $1 million in donations to bring clean water to African villages.
Rachel's ninth birthday was in June. In lieu of gifts, she and her mom created a fundraising page on a charity website seeking contributions for safe drinking water in Africa, a project she learned about through her church.
Her goal was to raise $300 by her birthday but the effort produced only $220. She was a little disappointed.
Flash forward, tragically, to July 20, when Rachel and her family were in a 13-car accident on Interstate 90. She was the only one in her family seriously injured — fatally, it turned out. While her family gathered around her bedside, news stories circulated about a child with the compassion of a dozen saints. Donations poured in for her cause, "charity: water."
For all those cynics who think the younger generation is full of egotistic narcissists yapping away on smartphones, Rachel Beckwith was someone altogether different.
As a 5-year-old, she donated locks of her hair to children who had lost theirs to illness.
After the accident, her family once again gave away hair locks. And donations keep arriving for clean-water projects in Africa. Initially, Rachel's goal was to help 15 kids get clean drinking water. Now, efforts in her honor will produce clean water for more than 51,000 people.
If only Rachel survived. If only she knew how deeply she moved others who were touched by her giant heart.
More about Rachel: http://www.groundreport.com/Business/The-Rachel-Beckwith-Story-Worth-Another-Look-and-A/2940869
On June 12th 2011, I'm turning 9. I found out that millions of people don't live to see their 5th birthday. And why? Because they didn't have access to clean, safe water so I'm celebrating my birthday like never before. I'm asking from everyone I know to donate to my campaign instead of gifts for my birthday. Every penny of the money raised will go directly to fund freshwater projects in developing nations. Even better, every dollar is "proved" when the projects are complete, and photos and GPS coordinates are posted using Google Earth. My goal is to raise $300 by my birthday, June 12, 2011. Please consider helping me. Thank you so much!!
Here’s another way to help your kids learn about making a difference – and it is right in our community:
Continuing the theme of small things with big consequences … Check out this article from Wonderopolis.org (a site that has lots of fascinating questions and their answers!)
Wonder of the Day #313: What Is the Smallest Thing You Can See? 
The human eye is an incredible machine. But it does have its limits. Let’s see what we can learn today in Wonderopolis!
Have you ever wondered…What is the smallest thing you can see?
What are microscopic objects?
How does magnification work?
When you look around you, what do you see? The world is filled with all sorts of things to look at. Trees, birds, people, cars… the list goes on and on.
If you look up at the night sky, you may see the moon, stars and even distant planets. Some of these objects may be millions of miles away. Isn’t it amazing what you can see with your eyes?
Would you believe, though, that there are all sorts of things close by that you can’t see? It’s true! Things like germs, bacteria… even dust mites… are all around us and invisible to the naked eye.
We call these types of things “microscopic objects” because we need a microscope to see them. Our eyes have limits, so we can’t see extremely small objects without help. Certain tools, like magnifying glasses, microscopes and telescopes, magnify objects so we can see them.
“Magnification” means making something appear bigger without actually changing its physical size. Magnifying tools use a special lens (or a combination of lenses) to bend light at an angle to increase the size of the image that is sent to the eye. As the image sent to the eye by way of the lens increases, you see an object more easily, even though its physical size has not changed.
Experts believe that the naked eye — a normal eye with regular vision and unaided by any other tools — can see objects as small as about 0.1 millimeters. To put this in perspective, the tiniest things a human being can usually see with the naked eye are things like human hair (with the naked eye and under a microscope) and lice (with the naked eye and under a microscope).
With the help of powerful microscopes, though, humans are able to see incredibly small things impossible to see with the naked eye. Until recently, standard microscopes would allow you to see things as small as one micrometer, which is equal to 0.001 mm.
A new invention — the “microsphere Nano scope” — combines a standard microscope with a complex device (called a “transparent microsphere”) to allow you to see things up to 20 times smaller! Researchers believe this powerful new tool could allow them to see inside human cells and even examine live viruses in detail for the first time ever.
In the future, scientists believe they’ll be able to develop this tool to see even smaller things. Many researchers believe there is no theoretical limit on how small an object they’ll one day be able to see. Scientists are excited about the research possibilities this new tool will open up in the future.
Try it out!
How good is your vision? Although there’s no substitute for an official eye test by an optometrist, you can get an idea of how well you see by taking this online eye exam.
Once you’ve finished your eye exam, check out the links below to see some really cool microscopic images of all sorts of impossible-to-see objects:
- Protozoa Photo Gallery
- Images of Fleas
- The Micropolitan Museum of Microscopic Art Forms
- Microscope Imaging Station
- Microscopic Image Gallery
- microscopic
- magnification
- germ
- bacteria
- telescope
- lens
- angle
- perspective
- theoretical
Check out Science NetLinks’ Magnify It! lesson to learn more about the limits to what the eye can see and how a magnifying glass can extend those limits.
Other recent questions:
Attack of the Space Pirates Tuesdays, July 5 - August 23, 3:00 p.m. Hidden somewhere in the vast reaches of space is an alien technology so powerful that it threatens the very galaxy itself. A gang of rogue pirates will stop at nothing to find that technology and unleash its awesome power against the rest of the universe. Now, only one valiant ship stands between the pirates and their total domination of space. It's a race against time for the Starship Intrepid as it seeks to find the alien technology first while defending itself against the attack of the space pirates! (recommended for ages 8-12 accompanied by an adult)
