NASA @ My Library

NASA @ My Library is a STEM education project and initiative to increase and enhance STEAM learning opportunities to library customers of all ages.  From December 2021 to May 2022, there will be several NASA and STEM programs happening at our libraries.   We are also hosting an online reading program for NASA @ My Library with activities, badges, and recommended reading lists.  

Here are some fun activities to jump start your learning:

• Read a book about astronomy 
• Watch a meteor shower 
• Look up date for James Webb Space Telescope’s launch and put it on your calendar.
• Watch the livestream, read @NASA’s tweets, or look photos of the event in the news! 
• Look up date for James Webb Space Telescope’s first images and put it on your calendar 
• Read about different astronauts and pick your favorite. 
• Draw a picture of your favorite planet, moon, asteroid, nebula, or other celestial body. 
• Look for the moon in the night sky tonight. What phase is it in? 
• Download and print the JWST coloring page or the Webb Telescope Fun Pad and do an activity

NASA @ My Library is offered by the National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL) at the Space Science Institute (SSI) in partnership with the American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office, Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) and Education Development Center (EDC). This material is based upon work supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under cooperative agreement No. NNX16AE30A. This work was also assisted and supported by the Space Science Institute, which was the recipient of the cooperative agreement. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of NASA or the Space Science Institute. 

Where are you? If you were to make a map of your location, what would you put on your map?You’re in a state, which is in a country, which is on a planet.

But keep going! Your planet (Earth) is in a solar system, which is inside a galaxy called the Milky Way—just one of the trillions of galaxies in the universe. It’s amazing to think about how massive the universe is!

Now you can hold a little part of our big universe in your hands by making your own version of a spiral galaxy called the Pinwheel Galaxy.

Supplies Needed:

• Pinwheel Galaxy Printout
• Pipe cleaner or a chenille stem
• Wooden dowel
• Pair of scissors
• Single hole punch

Instructions

1. Print out the Pinwheel Galaxy Printout and cut out the hexagonal shape for your Galaxy Pinwheel.
2. Cut along the dotted white lines.
3. Punch holes in the white circles: six around the edges and one in the center.
4. Turn the paper so it’s facedown.
5. Thread a chenille stem through the center hole. Be careful in case there are sharp edges.
6. Going around the circle, fold each flap so the chenille stem goes through each hole.
7. Tie a knot in the chenille stem at the front of the pinwheel.
8. Wrap the other end of the chenille stem around the stick. Leave space between the pinwheel and the stick.