Blog Posts by Subject: Science

Learning about science with books from the library and experimental programs at the library!

The best place to find the answers to existential, scientific, and any other deep questions you're pondering is, of course, the Library.

Although it's true that women are underrepresented in STEM fields, female scientists have been making breakthroughs for centuries. Here are some facts you may not have known about incredible female scientists—and the books about them that you must read.

Did you ever consider the notion that mistakes might be a gateway to ingenuity that can propel further breakthroughs, rather than mere blunders? Here is a list of reading recommendations that might help you start to view mistakes in a new light.

The following is the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor Tom Perez's blog post, Weather Forecasters: Summer's Unsung Heroes.

Books for kids and teens that tie into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) are all the rage nowadays. Here is a list of books for kids and teens that are related to those subjects but which you’ll find in some unexpected areas of the library -- fiction, graphic novels, and poetry!

Join the New York Public Library as we collaborate with the Children's Museum of Manhattan for the Summer Reading Challenge's Science Clubs! Educators will lead weekly workshops exploring simple machines and their unique functions.

It was 51 years ago to the day, June 16th, 1963, that Valentina Tereshkova left the earth aboard the Vostok 6, and became the first woman to enter outer space.

The NYS STEM Incentive Program provides a full SUNY or CUNY tuition scholarship for the top 10 percent of students in each New York State high school if they pursue a STEM degree in an associates or bachelor degree program and agree to work in a STEM field in New York State for 5 years after graduation.

If only Manga Math had existed when I struggled through Calculus. The only solace at that time was the introduction of the high tech (for its era) graphing calculator.

Have you been captivated by Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, the recent follow-up to Carl Sagan's seminal documentary series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage? Me too. While the engaging style would likely draw in high school and perhaps middle grade students, it might be a bit too advanced for the younger crowd, despite some amazing visuals and animations. But why wait to introduce them to basic concept of the world, nay, cosmos they live in? History, nature, and the scientific method can really activate an imagination, stimulate curiosity, and provoke inquiry.

On a snowy Saturday at the branch a few kids came out to try a cool experiment I'd been talking about all week. ELEPHANT TOOTHPASTE!! Too cool.

This exciting experiment is a great example of a reaction that occurs when you combine certain chemicals together (kid-friendly of course). 

At first I decided to give the experiment a test run and as a result I didn’t get the reaction I was quite looking for. Something I used was off. Well it was the bottle I used. It was just too big (2 liter soda bottle).

Learning from my mistake, I decided to do the experiment 

School’s back in session and with it a continued enthusiasm for learning ever after classes are out.

Last Monday at 115th Street’s bi-weekly Science Monday, kids (and some parents) came out to try their hand at some scientific and artistic experimentation.

Remember lava lamps? Those lights filled with glow-in-the-dark liquid and colorful globs of goo? Our younger participants recognized them immediately and were eager to see if they could create their own versions simply using items found in most households.

We used clear containers (with a 

For Webster Library's second big "Dig into Reading" event of the summer, we celebrated digging of all kinds (if you missed our worm races, check them out).

For this program, we separated our room into four main areas:

Paleontologist: Search for laminated dinosaur bones in a kiddie pool filled with packing peanuts. Geologist: Fizzing rocks that dissolve in vinegar to reveal a prize. Paleontologist (part II): 

As President Obama is leading our nation in an education reform to Race to the Top and Educate to Innovate, Mayor Bloomberg of the Big Apple is following suit in raising the education standards of K-12 school students by implementing more effective teaching and learning programs. Fortifying STEM education with a focus on the knowledge and skills for the jobs of the future is also an important aspect on the agenda of Bloomberg's 

The U.S. Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration recently released a report, STEM: Good Jobs Now and for the Future (PDF), that profiles U.S. employment in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

This report is based on analysis to date from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey and Current 

On Monday, March 25th, about 12 kids gathered in the picture book section of the children's room in the 115th Street Library to test their taste buds.

How much do we rely on our five senses? What information do we get from them that we might take for granted or just don't notice? How do they work together to give us a more complete picture of our world and surroundings? The experiment intended to explore just that.

The task was simple: Can you tell the difference between a raw potato and an apple?

A 

A freak October blizzard. Driving to the WOHS reunion. Highway traffic stopped I decided to bushwhack through Newark and the Oranges. Locations remembered, long deteriorated, run-down urban industrial decay.

Really, it was just a patent that started this chain of rememberances. Looking for a different British patent from 1873 I saw the name: Thomas Alva Edison. Dated September 11th, Number 2988 for Perforated Telegraphic Paper. Edison. The inventor. If you lived in West Orange, you definitely heard of him.

The 

I like to cook, but I am not much of a baker. There is one yearly exception... the transition to autumn and then the holiday season usually puts me in a baking mood. For the past few Christmases I've made biscotti — Italian cookies flavored with nuts, spices, or dried fruits. They are something of a tradition in my family. This year when I got out my mixing bowl I grabbed a dry measure for the flour and sugar, but then I put it away. I decided not to use it.

Now, I know baking is all about scientific precision!