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J.K.Rowling releases unpublished book here a few chapters at a time!

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J.K.Rowling releases unpublished book here a few chapters at a time!

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The idea for The Ickabog came to me while I was still writing Harry Potter. I wrote most of a first draft in fits and starts between Potter books, intending to publish it after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

However, after the last Potter book I wanted to take a break from publishing, which ended up lasting five years. In that time I wrote The Casual Vacancy and Robert Galbraith wrote The Cuckoo's Calling. After some dithering (and also after my long-suffering agent had trademarked The Ickabog - sorry, Neil) I decided I wanted to step away from children's books for a while. At that point, the first draft of The Ickabog went up into the attic, where it's remained for nearly a decade. Over time I came to think of it as a story that belonged to my two younger children, because I'd read it to them in the evenings when they were little, which has always been a happy family memory.

A few weeks ago at dinner, I tentatively mooted the idea of getting The Ickabog down from the attic and publishing it for free, for children in lockdown. My now teenagers were touchingly enthusiastic, so downstairs came the very dusty box, and for the last few weeks I've been immersed in a fictional world I thought I'd never enter again. As I worked to finish the book, I started reading chapters nightly to the family again. This was one of the most extraordinary experiences of my writing life, as The Ickabog's first two readers told me what they remember from when they were tiny, and demanded the reinstatement of bits they'd particularly liked (I obeyed).

I think The Ickabog lends itself well to serialisation because it was written as a read-aloud book (unconsciously shaped, I think, by the way I read it to my own children), but it's suitable for 7-9 year olds to read to themselves.

I'll be posting a chapter (or two, or three) every weekday between 26th May and 10th July on The Ickabog website. The Ickabog is available to read in English (UK/US), French, Italian, German, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese, check the website for updates on additional languages.

The Ickabog is a story about truth and the abuse of power. To forestall one obvious question: the idea came to me well over a decade ago, so it isn't intended to be read as a response to anything that's happening in the world right now. The themes are timeless and could apply to any era or any country.
The Illustration Competition
Having decided to publish, I thought how wonderful it would be if children in lockdown, or otherwise needing distraction during the strange and difficult time we're passing through, illustrated the story for me. There will be suggestions about the illustrations we might need for each chapter on The Ickabog website, but nobody should feel constrained by these ideas. I want to see imaginations run wild! Creativity, inventiveness and effort are the most important things: we aren't necessarily looking for the most technical skill!

In November 2020, The Ickabog will be published in English in print, eBook and audiobook formats, shortly followed by other languages. The best drawings in each territory will be included in the finished books. As publishers in each territory will need to decide which pictures work best for their own editions, I won't be personally judging the entries. However, if parents and guardians post their children's drawing on Twitter using the hashtag #TheIckabog, I'll be able to share and comment! To find out more about the Illustration Competition, go to The Ickabog website.
Covid-19 Donation
I'm pledging all author royalties from The Ickabog, when published, to help groups who've been particularly impacted by the pandemic. Further details will be available later in the year.
Huge thanks are due...
... to my dear friend and editor Arthur Levine; to the phenomenal James McKnight of the Blair Partnership, who's worked tirelessly to make this project a reality in a very short space of time; to Ruth Alltimes at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, whose help has been invaluable; to my peerless management team, Rebecca Salt, Nicky Stonehill and Mark Hutchinson and to my wonderful agent Neil Blair. I promise all of you not to have any more bright ideas for a few months at least.

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J.K. Rowling Introduces The Ickabog - J.K. Rowling

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About The Ickabog The idea for The Ickabog came to me while I was still writing Harry Potter. I wrote most of a first draft in fits and starts between Potter books, intending to publish it after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. However, after the last Potter book I wanted to take a break [...]

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This is great! Stop what you're doing and watch. It's so good!

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This is great! Stop what you're doing and watch. It's so good!

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SERIES TRAILER: James and the Giant Peach, with Taika and Friends

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Eddie Redmayne reads chapter 3 of Harry Potter #1

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Eddie Redmayne reads chapter 3 of Harry Potter #1

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Redmayne reads the third chapter of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone, as part of Harry Potter At Home.

Eddie narrates the Dursleys' desperate attempts to escape the mysterious letters addressed to Mr H Potter. But will Harry ever get to read one?

You can register with the Harry Potter Fan Club to get all the latest updates on further video readings too. Or remind yourself of Chapter Two, read by Noma Dumezweni.

Eddie Redmayne is well known for playing the role of Newt Scamander in J.K. Rowling's Fantastic Beasts series as well as his portrayal of physicist Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.

Look forward to more famous faces and friends of the Wizarding World (and beyond!) to help us to read through all seventeen chapters of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone over the upcoming weeks. Read more about our future contributors here.

You may notice some wonderful drawings representing the third chapter during the read-through. Look forward to more artwork in every chapter and read below to see how you can get involved in contributing yourself.

You can also listen to 'The Letters from No One' on Spotify if you fancy an audio-only version.

Chapter Three: 'The Letters from No One' - Further reading and new activities

Now that you've refreshed your memory of J.K. Rowling's third chapter of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (or Sorcerer's Stone for our US readers), here's more about 'The Letters from No One'.

But when is Chapter Four coming, we hear you cry? Don't worry, this is just the beginning. Be sure to check back at HarryPotterAtHome.com every week where you can expect new readings from a stellar cast of narrators.

And what about this fan art? Yes, well reminded. We're inviting you to send in your pieces to represent key moments from the first book, which will feature in future videos. At the moment, we're looking for moments that feature in Chapter Four onwards.

By our mathematics skills, that would give us fourteen chapters to go, so please do send us your interpretations of famous scenes from those chapters via the hashtag #HarryPotterAtHome to @WizardingWorld's Twitter account. Submitting your artwork this way ensures the Harry Potter At Home project absolutely has your permission to use your pieces online.

You can check out our rules and guidelines to submitting here and an important note to all parent and guardians that you must submit your children's art on their behalf.

If you're old enough, come join us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram where the fun just keeps on coming with more quizzes, puzzles and extra challenges.

The easiest way to keep up to date with all the wizarding business we're up to, is simply by registering. Go here for more details.

Harry Potter At Home

Harry Potter At Home is our way of bringing the magic into people's homes, casting a Banishing Charm on boredom. These special video readings are just one of the many things you can do at home with us, whether alone or with your friends or family. Our new Harry Potter At Home project is very much a team effort, combining the resources of Harry Potter UK and US publishers Bloomsbury and Scholastic, Pottermore Publishing, Warner Bros., leading spoken-word producer and provider Audible, our numerous library suppliers, library supplier OverDrive, streaming platform Spotify, and of course, our very own magic-makers here at WizardingWorld.com.

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Chapter Three: 'The Letters from No One' | Wizarding World

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Redmayne reads the third chapter of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone, as part of Harry Potter At Home. Eddie narrates the Dursleys' desperate attempts to escape the mysterious letters addressed to Mr H Potter. But will Harry ever get to read one?

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Now, the time has come to say goodbye to the Harry Potter At Home hub, which, among many things, saw both familiar faces and a few new friends get together to read the first Harry Potter story, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone/Sorcerer's Stone.

To everyone who took part, the Wizarding World thanks you for joining us on this incredible journey.

But the magic doesn't end here. You can take part in our many craft tutorials, quizzes, puzzles and family-friendly activities for all ages, simply by exploring wizardingworld.com.
Sign up to the Harry Potter Fan Club to get all of our latest updates before anyone else.

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A trip down memory lane with Harry Potter At Home | Wizarding World

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Now, the time has come to say goodbye to the Harry Potter At Home hub, which, among many things, saw both familiar faces and a few new friends get together to read the first Harry Potter story, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone/Sorcerer's Stone.

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SYNC is a free summer audiobook program for teens 13+. AudiobookSYNC gives participants two thematically paired audiobooks each week.

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Gollum reads The entire Hobbit in one day for charity!

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Gollum reads The entire Hobbit in one day for charity!

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Looking for creepy? Take a virtual trip to Philly's Mutter Museum!

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Looking for creepy? Take a virtual trip to Philly's Mutter Museum!

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Mütter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia

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A trip down memory lane with Harry Potter At Home | Wizarding World

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This year, we brought Hogwarts to you with a very special campaign called Harry Potter At Home. As the year comes to a close, we take a look back at some of our favourite moments.

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Go to a virtual festival featuring some of our favorites!

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Go to a virtual festival featuring some of our favorites!

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Join Everywhere Book Fest's special keynote speaker, Gene Luen Yang (AMERICAN BORN CHINESE, BOXERS & SAINTS), as he discusses his writing process and his highly-anticipated new graphic novel, DRAGON... Learn more

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Alison Vance, middle school math teacher from Massachusetts, shares how she facilitates content review and encourages participation with student-paced challenges while school is closed.

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How to host Kahoot! remotely | Connect with video conference or webinar

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Employees don't need to be in the same place at the same time to learn together. Kahoot! offers several ways to host, anytime, anywhere. Read more.

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New techniques are being used to transform images from the Hubble Space Telescope into spectacular 3D visualisations of the Universe.
Today the Hubble Space Telescope - affectionately known as "our eye on the Universe" - celebrates 30 years in orbit around Earth. To mark the occasion, astronomers have released a special anniversary image of a beautiful star-forming region in the Milky Way galaxy.

It's the nearest Hubble gets to having to a birthday present. But this year, there's a second part to the present, because accompanying the image is a "3D scientific visualisation" - offering the incredible sensation of floating through outer space to see what Hubble saw, first-hand.

Whilst the image comes from Hubble's main camera. Its 3D representation is the product of weeks of work by a team of visualisation specialists at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, US.

The team led by Greg Bacon and Dr Frank Summers has transformed many of Hubble's most awe-inspiring images into 3D visualisations - from the spectacular Orion Nebula to the fabulous Whirlpool Galaxy and ethereal Horsehead Nebula.

A nebula is a giant cloud of dust and gas in space. Some nebulas come from the gas and dust thrown out when a dying star explodes. Others are regions where new stars are beginning to form.

Much of the visualisation team's incredible work is showcased on tonight's Horizon programme on BBC Two which tells the story of the Hubble Space Telescope.

"There are several important reasons why we make these visualisations: they bring the Hubble images alive, they showcase the 3D structure of astronomical objects, and they are visually compelling with widespread appeal well beyond the science-attentive public," says astronomer Dr Frank Summers.

"Our hope is that the public will not only marvel at the splendours of the cosmos, but also intuitively develop a more scientific mental model of the Universe."

Behind the Scenes

One of the most mind-blowing of the visualisations takes the viewer on a remarkable journey, flying across the Universe to witness almost 13 billion years of cosmic evolution.

As incredible as it seems, all the hundreds and thousands of galaxies you see in this visualisation come from a single image taken by Hubble.

It's called the "Hubble Ultra Deep Field" and was created when Hubble stared at a small patch of sky for the equivalent of more than 11 days to see some of the most distant galaxies ever observed.

To make the visualisation, the team cut-out 5,333 galaxies from Hubble's image and then extrapolated the distance of each galaxy (using "redshift" measurements) and carefully placed them one-by-one into a virtual 3D space.

The distance scale was compressed by a factor of a few hundred to make the fly-through feasible. But apart from this, it's an authentic 3D representation of Hubble's image.

According to Dr Frank Summers: "The vast growth of computers, along with graphics software for feature films, has helped fuel our expansion of astronomy visualisations. We can now handle much larger images and datasets as well as render high-resolution, complex scenes that would have been impossible before. Further, we get to ride on the coattails of expensive software investments made for fiction and fantasy, then utilise the appropriate parts of those packages for scientific purposes."

The Pillars of Creation in 3D

Every Hubble visualisation brings its own unique set of challenges. A good example is the 3D scientific visualisation of arguably Hubble's most iconic image and one of the great celestial wonders of the Milky Way: the magnificent Pillars of Creation.

It was produced for Horizon by visualisation specialists at the European Southern Observatory (Eso) and takes the viewer on an exhilarating journey: flying 100 light-years into a giant hollowed-out cloud of dust and gas called the Eagle Nebula. Upon reaching the Pillars of Creation, the view transitions to infrared, revealing embryonic stars within the columns of gas.

Hubble most recently observed the Pillars in 2014 in visible and infrared light. To show the surrounding nebula landscape, visualisation specialists Luís Calçada and Martin Kornmesser chose to supplement Hubble's images with other observations - from Eso's La Silla Observatory in Chile and the Digitized Sky Survey.

The first job in creating the visualisation was to build a 3D representation of the Eagle Nebula. To do this, the team first removed the stars from the images, and then extracted the nebula's many shapes and layers, before re-assembling these "cut-outs" in 3D space. Akin to erecting scenery on a theatre stage, except this stage spans 100 light-years!

"This is a very intuitive process - visually judging which layers of gas are foreground, which are background, how they interact with the light from the stars at its core," says Luís Calçada.

To add the missing stars back in, the team used data from Esa's "Gaia" spacecraft - which has mapped the 3D position, brightness and colour of more than a billion stars in the Milky Way. This allowed them to accurately recreate approximately 4,000 "synthetic stars" within 1,000 light-years either side of the nebula.

Having built the nebula, this left the daunting task of creating a 3D representation of the pillars.

The tallest pillar actually stands behind the two other pillars and each is at a particular angle. The team used data from the Very Large Telescope in Chile to accurately position and orientate the pillars in 3D space. They then "sculpted" a 3D model of the pillars - and mapped-on Hubble's beautiful imagery.

The end result is a visualisation based on real telescope images and data, but with intuition and extrapolation filling in the gaps where the data is lacking.

According to Luís Calçada: "Conveying a correct sense of scale of the nebula was perhaps the hardest challenge. Processing, importing and lining up the Gaia catalogue stars to our reconstructed 3D nebula was also quite a difficult task, since we wanted to render an aesthetically pleasing nebula, but also one which was realistic."

Hubble: The Wonders of Space Revealed is broadcast on BBC TWO at 9pm on 24th April.

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Hubble telescope's Universe revealed in 3D

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New techniques are being used to transform images from the Hubble Space Telescope into spectacular 3D visualisations of the Universe. Today the Hubble Space Telescope - affectionately known as "our eye on the Universe" - celebrates 30 years in orbit around Earth.

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Free cooking lessons from world renowned chefs!

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Free cooking lessons from world renowned chefs!

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While we're all dreaming of the next time we'll have a meal out, peeking into someone else's home kitchen can at least give you a moment of culinary escape. Luckily, chefs around the world, from the amateur to the Michelin star-caliber, have opened up their kitchens to give us a glimpse of what they're cooking-with online cooking classes for those of us who could really use them. From step-by-step tutorials and precise recipes to comfort food and casual table talk, here are the chef-led cooking shows worth tuning into right now.

Massimo Bottura's "Kitchen Quarantine"

Coming live from Modena, Italy is superstar chef Massimo Bottura from his home kitchen. Though Bottura temporarily closed the doors to his Osteria Francescana, he's now inviting all of us to join his family with a new Instagram series he's calling Kitchen Quarantine. "It's not a master class, it's quarantine with our family. We just want to show to the world that with a few things-a table, a few ingredients, a family-we can have fun," Bottura says. He is cleaning out his fridge, making ragú from leftovers, elevating simple dishes like macaroni and cheese, and even whipping up Modena's signature soup, tortellini in brodo.

Tune in: At 8p.m. CET, daily, on Massimo Bottura's IGTV

Christina Tosi's #BakersClub

To power up your home baking, tune in to Milk Bar founder Christina Tosi's #BakersClub, which she hosts every day at 2p.m. from her home in New York City. Tosi provides the shopping list, a playlist, and the recipe in advance, so all you have to do is open up your Instagram and start prepping. Come ready to sugar load as Tosi breaks down iconic Milk Bar sweets like her gooey butter cake, brownies, blondies, and chocolate chip cookies, as well as the occasional savory recipe like tortillas.

Tune in: At 2p.m. EST, daily, on Christina Tosi's IGTV

David Chang's "In the Time of COVID-19"

It's hard not to love David Chang: He's creative, sarcastic, and delightfully honest. Chang's near-daily cooking videos posted on Instagram are more than just recipes, too-they're running narratives on what's going on in his head as he cooks. (In his recent lasagna video, expect to hear things like, "I was going to roll out pasta sheets with an old bottle until I thought...what the fuck am doing?") Follow along for home-made kimchi recipes, simpler options like tuna salad, and plenty of entertainment.

Tune in: Most days, on David Chang's IGTV

Antoni Porowski's "Quar Eye"

We're fans of everything Queer Eye's Antoni Porowski does, and his new quarantine cooking videos are no exception. Currently quarantined in Texas, Porowski is putting together dishes like "The Keep Calm-lette", "Chicken Soup for the Soul(cially) Distanced", "Farro Away from Others Bowl". Frankly, it's worth following along for the captions alone.

Tune in: Several times a week, on Antoni Porowski's IGTV

José Andrés' #RecipesforthePeople

Chef José Andrés is unstoppable. He has donated food to Washington, D.C.'s firefighters, he's made meals for quarantined cruise ship passengers, and he's mobilized chefs for his World Central Kitchen. He's even turned DC's baseball stadium into a community kitchen. In the downtime he manages to find each evening, Andrés is posting videos of himself and his family in their home kitchen making easy dishes like brisket and eggs, to uplifting playlists (which, spoiler alert, often include Hamilton songs). It's a cozy look inside their family time, and as delightful as Andrés himself.

Tune in: Evenings, on José Andrés' Twitter (or search for the tag #RecipesforthePeople)

Seamus Mullen's Quarantine Kitchen

Food Hero chef and clean eating guru Seamus Mullen, who is based in Los Angeles, is cooking live on Instagram every evening as he leads conversations on food, health, and wellness. When you need a break from heavier comfort food, this is the spot to find dishes like pasta-free lasagna and celery root puttanesca (talk about mentally transporting yourself to LA). Mullen posts his dish list at the beginning of the week and shares ingredients on the day of each video, so you'll know exactly what you need to bring to the table.

Tune in: At 6:30p.m., Monday-Saturday, on Seamus Mullen's IGTV

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These Chefs Are Hosting (Free) Online Cooking Classes Right Now

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While we're all dreaming of the next time we'll have a meal out, peeking into someone else's home kitchen can at least give you a moment of culinary escape. Luckily, chefs around the world, from the amateur to the Michelin star-caliber, have opened up their kitchens to give us a glimpse of what they're cooking-with online cooking classes for those of us who could really use them.

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Virtual tours of Frank LLoyd Wright's building

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Virtual tours of Frank LLoyd Wright's building

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Ever wanted to go inside Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic Fallingwater? Now's your chance (even if the US is on lockdown) thanks to a new series of digital tours.

The waterside home in Pennsylvania is among a dozen of Frank Lloyd Wright's most iconic designs available to explore as part of the #WrightVirtualVisits initiative. The social media project is a collaboration between the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and Unity Temple Restoration Foundation.

The participating organisations will swap a short video touring a different Wright-designed house on their social media channels at 12 pm CST every Thursday over the coming weeks.

'It is precisely at this time, when so many are shut inside, that we need to experience beauty and inspiration,' said the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy.

Hollyhock House, Taliesen West, Unity Temple, Emil Bach House, Fallingwater and The Westcott House are among those involved. Ebsworth Park, Gordon House, Graycliff, Martin House, Willey House and Samara are also participating in the initiative. You can get a taste of what's on offer below.

Self-isolating in an interesting space? Show us via our new hashtag #athomewith

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12 Frank Lloyd Wright buildings are now hosting virtual tours - The Spaces

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Ever wanted to go inside Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic Fallingwater? Now's your chance (even if the US is on lockdown) thanks to a new series of digital tours. The waterside home in Pennsylvania is among a dozen of Frank Lloyd Wright's most iconic designs available to explore as part of the #WrightVirtualVisits initiative.

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Check out ebooks from GVMS by following directions here!

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Check out ebooks from GVMS by following directions here!

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Access to ebooks and audiobooks through the Destiny Discover App:
1. Go to Destiny and login. In the upper right hand corner you will see the "login" button. Most of you did this already, so you won't have to do it again. Your username and password are your lunch account number.

2. Click on "catalog" at the top, and then Destiny Discover on the left. This will be your first login to the shelf and allow you to use the app.

3. On your device, go to the app store and download Destiny Discover.

4. Open the app once it is downloaded.

5. Choose Pennsylvania as your location and GVMS as your school.

6. Enter in your username and password - both will be your lunch account number.

7. Click on the box to stay signed in so next time all you will need to put in is your password (lunch account number).
Access to ebooks and audiobooks from a COMPUTER:
8. Click on My Library to see all eBooks and audioBooks. Click My eReader to view ebooks or Audiobooks you have checked out.

9. You can search ebooks and audiobooks by typing in the title and it will show an E for ebooks and a sound icon for audiobooks.

1. Open a web browser and go to the library catalog Destiny through the library page or by clicking HERE.

2. Click on Garnet Valley Middle School and then click on Login in the upper right hand corner.

3. Enter your username and password - both are your lunch account # .

4. In Library Search you can find ebooks and audiobooks by typing the title into the search box, just like any other book, but it will show an E for ebooks and a sound icon for audiobooks.

5. OR you can click on Destiny Discover on the left hand column to only search for ebooks and audiobooks.

For Kindles, Nooks, or other devices you can find more information by clicking HERE.

IMPORTANT - Check out your eBooks and Audiobooks:

You may read or listen to these online books without checking them out but if you'd like to continue later make sure you click on Check Out.This will put the book into your Bookbag at the top of the screen - otherwise somebody else may check out the book or read it and only one student can view or listen to each book at one time.
YOU MAY ONLY CHECK OUT ONE EBOOK OR AUDIOBOOK AT A TIME
PLAYAWAYS

The GVMS Library owns nearly 100 play-aways, which are recorded novels. They are packaged in self-contained units that are accessed with headphones and take AAA batteries.

Play-Aways are available to any student who thinks it will help them with their reading. They may be borrowed by students whose parents have signed the attached permission slip ( click here).

In order to see what playaways we have available in the library, please go to the Destiny Catalog and simply type in "playaway" and you will see what is available. You may also come by the library to have a look.

Happy Listening!

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Access to ebooks and audiobooks through the Destiny Discover App : 1. Go to Destiny and login. In the upper right hand corner you will see the "login" button. Most of you did this already, so you won't have to do it again. Your username and password are your lunch account number.

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Experience Interactive Nonfiction Categories for Elementary Readers

Help your readers immerse themselves in learning with categories featuring media-enhanced titles! The All About Animals, Sports Essentials and About Our World categories help nonfiction topics come to life with animated illustrations, live videos, slideshows, and quizzes. And, our new World Languages category allows your readers to read and listen to books in 11 different languages! From Spanish to Mandarin, your readers will hear stories in their own language and learn new ones, all while studying everything from space to geography!

Each category brings you one new print book every month that contains a multi-use code allowing an unlimited number of readers simultaneous online access to the media-enhanced/multi-language version of the book-driving comprehension, retention, and enjoyment!

Explore all 4 categories
Plus, find out about the promotions available when you add one or more of these categories to a new or existing subscription! View all JLG categories for grades K-12 Need help choosing the best categories for your library?
Contact your account rep or call us at 800.491.0174 for personalized guidance.

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Interactive Nonfiction Library | Interactive Elementary Reader

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Experience Interactive Nonfiction Categories for Elementary Readers Help your readers immerse themselves in learning with categories featuring media-enhanced titles! The All About Animals, Sports Essentials and About Our World categories help nonfiction topics come to life with animated illustrations, live videos, slideshows, and quizzes.

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Welcome

Lit2Go is a free online collection of stories and poems in Mp3 (audiobook) format. An abstract, citation, playing time, and word count are given for each of the passages. Many of the passages also have a related reading strategy identified. Each reading passage can also be downloaded as a PDF and printed for use as a read-along or as supplemental reading material for your classroom.

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Lit2Go is a free online collection of stories and poems in Mp3 (audiobook) format. An abstract, citation, playing time, and word count are given for each of the passages. Many of the passages also have a related reading strategy identified.

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The Good News Network: Positive Stories 24/7

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Your daily source for only good news: Inspiring stories and images from around the world will make you feel uplifted, optimistic and positive about life.

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Read.Right.Rite series with Jason Reynolds and the Library of Congress!

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Read.Right.Rite series with Jason Reynolds and the Library of Congress!

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Welcome to the "Write. Right. Rite.," a "GRAB THE MIC: Tell Your Story" video series! The "Write. Right. Rite." is meant to be an entertaining and inventive way to engage with the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, Jason Reynolds.

According to Reynolds, the "Write. Right. Rite." is all about learning the ritual of "authentic"-not to be confused with "correct" or "exact"-expression. Throughout the series, Reynolds shares his passion for storytelling while discussing topics like creativity, connection, and imagination. At the end of each video, Reynolds shares a prompt that encourages young people to work toward a specific idea. The activities are fun-filled and some are more challenging than others, but Reynolds always makes sure to include brainstorming "get-you-going" questions.

So, what do you say? Are you ready to dive into, try on, and work through all the "Write. Right. Rite." episodes?

Go for it!

Watch the Entire "Write. Right. Rite." Series:

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Research Guides: Jason Reynolds, National Ambassador for Young People's Literature: "Write. Right. Rite." Series

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On January 13, 2020, Jason Reynolds was announced as the seventh National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. Learn more about Jason and his activities as National Ambassador through this guide.

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By now, you're surely aware of the plethora of livestreaming and virtual options available on the internet. There's the Metropolitan Opera, a virtual museum visit, a walk down the Great Wall of China, and much more. But, we want to add one more to the list because not only is it super cool, but it will also make you feel like you're getting out in nature too.

The National Parks Service (NPS) has long offered virtual experiences of some of its greatest parks to help people the world over to come and explore digitally. And one of its neatest explorations is its virtual visit to the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico.

"High ancient sea ledges, deep rocky canyons, flowering cactus, and desert wildlife - treasures above the ground in the Chihuahuan Desert," NPS wrote about the park. "Hidden beneath the surface are more than 119 caves - formed when sulfuric acid dissolved limestone leaving behind caverns of all sizes."

The service further explained, the park has a particularly storied history as it's a place where plenty of human activity has taken place from prehistoric people to historic American Indians. It added, "...Cavern accessibility development and tourism have left reminders of their presence, and have contributed to the rich and diverse history of the area."

For in-person visitors, the park has two historic districts, both of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: The Cavern Historic District and the Rattlesnake Springs Historic District. Guests can also learn more about the rich history of the area at its museum, where they can also search the park archives, which NPS explained, contains approximately "one million cultural resource artifacts that are being preserved and protected."

But, again, you don't have to physically go to feel like you're there. Just hop on the virtual tour with a park ranger, who starts the tour by explaining the cave swallows flying around during the day will soon be replaced by "hundreds of Brazilian free-tailed bats."

As you move through the experience, you can choose to see the caves as if you too were one of those flying bats, and learn a bit about echolocation along the way.

From there, virtual visitors will move into The Big Room, a cave structure larger than six football fields, making it the "largest single cave chamber in North America."

And the tour doesn't stop there. But, we'll let you click over and discover all the hidden caverns and treasures for yourself.

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This Virtual Tour of the Carlsbad Caverns Will Entertain You (and Your Kids) for Hours

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The National Parks Service (NPS) has long offered virtual experiences of some of its greatest parks to help people the world over to come and explore digitally. And one of its neatest explorations is its virtual visit to the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico.

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Browse online exhibitions featuring leading street artists and their work, with Google Art Project #streetartproject

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Tate is a family of art galleries in London, Liverpool and Cornwall, known as Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Tate St Ives and Tate Liverpool + RIBA North. Tate art museum houses the UK's collection of British art from 1500 and of international modern art

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Showing this week: One Man, Two Guvnors

Visit YouTube now, for the much-loved National Theatre Live production of One Man, Two Guvnors, free to stream on YouTube for seven days.

Watch on YouTube

National Theatre Collection

World-class productions are now free to UK state-funded teachers and pupils at home. We have also extended our free trial for other educational institutions.

Find out more

Show your support

Please consider making a donation to support us through this difficult time.

Use the drop-down below to choose your donation amount in GBP, or select 'Other amount' and enter your donation below.

One Man, Two Guvnors

Featuring a Tony Award-winning performance from James Corden as Francis Henshall in this hilarious West End and Broadway hit.

Streaming now and available until 9 April.
Jane Eyre

This bold and innovative reimagining of Charlotte Brontë 's masterpiece uncovers one woman's fight for freedom and fulfilment on her own terms.
Streaming from 7pm on Thursday 9 April. Available until 16 April.
Treasure Island

Robert Louis Stevenson's story of murder, money and mutiny is brought to life in this thrilling stage adaptation.​ Featuring Arthur Darvill as Long John Silver.
Streaming from 7pm on Thursday 16 April. Available until 23 April.
Twelfth Night

Where music is the food of love, and nobody is quite what they seem, anything proves possible in Shakespeare's classic comedy. Featuring Tamsin Greig as Malvolia.
Streaming from 7pm Thursday 23 April. Available until 30 April.
Photography of One Man, Two Guvnors by Johan Persson, Othello by Johan Persson, Jane Eyre by Manuel Harlan, Treasure Island by Johan Persson and Twelfth Night by Freddie Helwig.

The American Associates of the National Theatre (AANT) is a US based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 13-4140412). Contributions made to the AANT are tax deductible for US taxpayers to the full extent allowed by law.

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Visit YouTube now, for the much-loved National Theatre Live production of One Man, Two Guvnors, free to stream on YouTube for seven days. Watch on YouTube World-class productions are now free to UK state-funded teachers and pupils at home. We have also extended our free trial for other educational institutions.

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Nikon offers free photography classes for April!

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Nikon offers free photography classes for April!

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Nikon has made its entire curriculum of online photography classes free until the end of May. The classes were originally made free throughout April, but Nikon has now extended access for another month.

All 10 classes available at the Nikon School can be streamed for free. The classes are normally priced anywhere between $15 and $50 each.

Each class is taught by a professional photographer and provides in-depth lessons to help you get better at taking photos. Some courses cover Nikon-specific products, but many of them teach the fundamentals of photography, such as a course that teaches you how to photograph your children or pets or the basics of making a music video. So even if you don't own a Nikon camera, many of these classes might still be worth a watch.

If you're interested in streaming the courses, you can do so by going to Nikon's official website. You will need to sign up by entering your name and email address before you can view the classes, but you can opt out of receiving marketing emails.
Update May 7th, 1:54PM ET: This story has been updated to mention Nikon extending its free online courses through the end of May.

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Nikon is extending its free online photography classes until the end of May

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Nikon has made its entire curriculum of online photography classes free until the end of May. The classes were originally made free throughout April, but Nikon has now extended access for another month. All 10 classes available at the Nikon School can be streamed for free.

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Before you begin

Decide whether you want to run this activity as one base during a creative session. It may work well to give people a choice of this activity, an activity for their Artist Activity Badge, or an activity for their Entertainer Activity Badge.

It's up to you whether you use old newspapers and magazines or photocopy pages from books. You could ask people to suggest books to photocopy or ask them to bring photocopies of their favourite pages (if you do this, make sure to take some spares).

What's a blackout poem?

1. The person leading the activity should show everyone the blackout poetry examples below. Has anyone seen this type of poetry before?

2. The person leading the activity should explain that blackout poems are made using pages from books, newspapers, or magazines. Blackout poets pick out single words or phrases from the existing text, then piece them together to make something new. This kind of poetry embraces randomness, and also gives people a chance to mix poetry and visual art.

Become a poet

People can choose any word for their theme word - it's about choosing something that stands out to them. Words may stand out because they have meaning or significance, for example, because they link to a personal value, a favourite feeling, or a special event. The meaningful theme word decides the topic of the whole poem. Don't circle more than three words in a row. If possible, pick words that work on their own.

1. Everyone should get into a space with a pencil and a page of text.

2. Everyone should scan the page looking for a 'theme word' to inspire possible topics for their poem.

Everyone should read the page more carefully. They should lightly circle any words that connect to their theme word or resonate with them - it's also OK to circle words just because they sound nice! The person leading the activity should remind everyone that this is all about self-expression. There aren't any right or wrong answers here.

1. Everyone should piece together the circled words in the same order that they appear on the page (so, in English, top to bottom and left to right). They should aim for about eight lines of poem - it's up to them where a line stops and a new one starts.

2. Everyone should go back through their poem - do they want to remove any words? Are there any spaces where they need to add something? Everyone should experiment with a few different possibilities. If things aren't working out, it's OK to go back and repeat step three to find some more words.

3. Once everyone's settled on a final poem, they should erase any circles around words they're not using.

4. Everyone should circle the words they are using more obviously - they could press harder with their pencil or use a pen.

5. Everyone should share their poem with someone else. They should chat about what it means and how they pulled words together.

Blackout poetry examples

Make tea, ride a bicycle and penny-whistle. For knowledge is in the senses.

Sometimes the log fire almost talk. That is clear. But you usually take very little attention. Again, only fire should not wander.

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Decide whether you want to run this activity as one base during a creative session. It may work well to give people a choice of this activity, an activity for their Artist Activity Badge, or an activity for their Entertainer Activity Badge. It's up to you whether you use old newspapers and magazines or photocopy pages from books.

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Fun activities for wizards and muggles alike!

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Fun activities for wizards and muggles alike!

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Join Harry Potter and journey into the wizarding world with our new site! Discover puzzles, quizzes, crafts and more to guide you through the very first book.

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Make your name in a one point perspective!

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Make your name in a one point perspective!

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Live bookclub! And you don[t have to read the book. Just listen to some great authors chat!

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Live bookclub! And you don[t have to read the book. Just listen to some great authors chat!

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The #BrightSideBookClub has been reschuled to THURSDAY @ 6PM EST on my Instagram Live ❤️ ! @kkletter @jeffzentner

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The #BrightSideBookClub has been reschuled to THURSDAY @ 6PM EST on my Instagram Live ❤️ ! @kkletter @jeffzentner

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The #BrightSideBookClub has been reschuled to THURSDAY @ 6PM EST on my Instagram Live ❤️ ! @kkletter @jeffzentner
— Jennifer Niven 🌻 (@jenniferniven) March 31, 2020

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The #BrightSideBookClub has been reschuled to THURSDAY @ 6PM EST on my Instagram Live ❤️ ! @kkletter @jeffzentner

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The #BrightSideBookClub has been reschuled to THURSDAY @ 6PM EST on my Instagram Live ❤️ ! @kkletter @jeffzentner

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The #BrightSideBookClub has been reschuled to THURSDAY @ 6PM EST on my Instagram Live ❤️ ! @kkletter @jeffzentner

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Easily create movies using Google Photos movie maker!

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Easily create movies using Google Photos movie maker!

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All JJK episodes plus submit your own work!

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All JJK episodes plus submit your own work!

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The 2020 National Wildlife Photo Contest is closing soon.
Enter today!

The National Wildlife® Photo Contest, which began more than four decades ago, celebrates the power of photography to advance conservation and connect both photographers and viewers with wildlife and the outdoors. The most compelling nature images can help protect wildlife in profound ways.

We are excited to announce the following eight categories for entry in our 2020 contest:

NEW Mobile: Nature, wildlife and people outdoors photographed with a mobile device (phone or tablet)

Birds: Portraits and behavior

Mammals: Portraits and behavior

Baby Animals: Portraits and behavior of young animals of any species

Other Wildlife: Portraits and behavior (includes underwater life, reptiles, amphibians, insects, spiders and more)

Landscapes & Plants: Scenic views and native plants from backyards to wild places

People in Nature: People enjoying the outdoors or connecting with nature and wildlife

Youth category for nature photographers age 13-17

Entry Fee: Your fee helps support the National Wildlife Federation's work to protect wildlife and wild places. There is no limit on the total number of images allowed.

Enter one photo for $15

Enter up to 10 photos for $20

Enter up to 15 photos for $25 (BEST VALUE, includes free one-year digital subscription of National Wildlife)

Grand Prize: Cash Prize of $5000 and a Tamron 100-400mm Di VC USD lens

First Place: $500 for the winner in each category

Second Place: $250 for the winner in each category

Honorable Mentions: Each will receive a National Wildlife Federation calendar

With thanks to Tamron, proud supporter of the 2020 National Wildlife Photo Contest.

Consider donating: The National Wildlife Federation greatly appreciates when photographers choose to donate some of their images. These donations help support our mission to protect wildlife and habitats. Photographers will always retain ownership and rights to their images. We encourage you to consider donating some of your images to the National Wildlife Federation to help us save the world's treasured wildlife species and their habitats. See more information about donating your photos in the Rules section.

You can further support our mission by becoming a member of the National Wildlife Federation, which entitles you to receiveNational Wildlife magazine as a benefit of membership. For more information on how to join and get the magazine, click here.

© 1996-2020 National Wildlife Federation 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
PO Box 1583, Merrifield VA 22116-1583
1-800-822-9919 (M-F 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. EST)

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The National Wildlife ® Photo Contest, which began more than four decades ago, celebrates the power of photography to advance conservation and connect both photographers and viewers with wildlife and the outdoors. The most compelling nature images can help protect wildlife in profound ways.

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It looks like you're offline.

Around the Library

Here's what's happened over the last 28 days. More recent changes.

About the Project

Open Library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. More

Just like Wikipedia, you can contribute new information or corrections to the catalog. You can browse by subjects, authors or lists members have created. If you love books, why not help build a library?

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Open Library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. Read, borrow, and discover more than 3M books for free.

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Kwame Alexander reads The Crossover live starting 3/30!!

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Kwame Alexander reads The Crossover live starting 3/30!!

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I’m hittin’ y’all with #TheCrossover next week. Starting Monday, March 30, I’ll be READING LIVE at 10:30 am EST every day. Y’all ain’t ready for this! #kidlit #DistanceLearning #poetry #novels #literacy #authorvisit https://t.co/eNaaTRr3hq

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I’m hittin’ y’all with #TheCrossover next week. Starting Monday, March 30, I’ll be READING LIVE at 10:30 am EST every day. Y’all ain’t ready for this! #kidlit #DistanceLearning #poetry #novels #literacy #authorvisit https://t.co/eNaaTRr3hq

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I’m hittin’ y’all with #TheCrossover next week. Starting Monday, March 30, I’ll be READING LIVE at 10:30 am EST every day. Y’all ain’t ready for this! #kidlit #DistanceLearning #poetry #novels #literacy #authorvisit https://t.co/eNaaTRr3hq
— Kwame Alexander (@kwamealexander) March 27, 2020

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I’m hittin’ y’all with #TheCrossover next week. Starting Monday, March 30, I’ll be READING LIVE at 10:30 am EST every day. Y’all ain’t ready for this! #kidlit #DistanceLearning #poetry #novels #literacy #authorvisit https://t.co/eNaaTRr3hq

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
I’m hittin’ y’all with #TheCrossover next week. Starting Monday, March 30, I’ll be READING LIVE at 10:30 am EST every day. Y’all ain’t ready for this! #kidlit #DistanceLearning #poetry #novels #literacy #authorvisit https://t.co/eNaaTRr3hq

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I’m hittin’ y’all with #TheCrossover next week. Starting Monday, March 30, I’ll be READING LIVE at 10:30 am EST every day. Y’all ain’t ready for this! #kidlit #DistanceLearning #poetry #novels #literacy #authorvisit https://t.co/eNaaTRr3hq

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Le Mont-Saint-Michel is an island and mainland commune in Normandy, France. The island is located about one kilometer off the country's northwestern coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is 7 hectares in area. (Wikipedia)

The Mont Saint Michel Abbey is located within the city and island of Mont-Saint-Michel in Lower Normandy, in the department of Manche. The abbey is an essential part of the structural composition of the town the feudal society constructed. (Wikipedia)

3D Virtual Reality Powered by Matterport Service Partner Network - Distributed by HistoryView, LLC. Matterport, 3D Showcase, Mattertag are registered trademarks of Matterport, Inc. All Rights Reserved ©2017

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Mont Saint-Michel - HistoryView Virtual Tours

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Le Mont-Saint-Michel is an island and mainland commune in Normandy, France. The island is located about one kilometer off the country's northwestern coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is 7 hectares in area. (Wikipedia) The Mont Saint Michel Abbey is located within the city and island of Mont-Saint-Michel in Lower ...

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GRACE Gorilla Forest Corridor | Explore.org

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Watch live video of gorillas at the Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education Center (GRACE) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa. Watch as the gorilla's pass through, graze on vegetation, and make their nest for their overnight slumber

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Regular exercise is essential for supporting immune functions, preventing weight gain, boosting your mood, and keeping you healthy overall. This is especially important during times of stress and uncertainty.

Now is the perfect time to take control of your health by building daily exercise into your routine. You don't need a ton of equipment or time, you just need to make a conscious effort to incorporate movement into your daily schedule.

We're here to help! We are live-streaming online classes and workouts to members and non-members, for FREE! The daily live workouts are streamed via The Edge Fitness Club's Instagram and Facebook pages, offering 3+ classes per day. All classes will be 30 - 45 minutes, and you do not need any equipment to participate. Class offerings include Cardio Dance, HIIT, plus many more! All virtual workouts are led by The Edge Fitness Club's certified Group X Instructors and Trainers.

tune in today!

Click below to view schedules and to join a workout!

Want to stay updated on new classes? Sign Up Here!

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The Edge Fitness Clubs Corporate Headquarters

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Live Workout Classes From The Edge Fitness Clubs

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Regular exercise is essential for supporting immune functions, preventing weight gain, boosting your mood, and keeping you healthy overall. This is especially important during times of stress and uncertainty. Now is the perfect time to take control of your health by building daily exercise into your routine.

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Thanks, April B!

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I became an author because I love telling stories. Ever since I was a little girl, I've always LOVED telling stories. I tell all kinds of stories -- stories about immigrant girls, loan sharks, wealth, privilege, motels, first love, relationships, family, trauma, poverty, and race.

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The 16 Characteristics of Successful Schools

The Association for Middle Level Education position paper, This We Believe: Keys to Educating Young Adolescents (2010), has an overarching framework of four essential attributes that connect with the 16 characteristics of successful middle grades schools.

This We Believe color chart
This We Believe black and white chart

Essential Attributes

An education for young adolescents must be

Developmentally responsive
Using the distinctive nature of young adolescents as the foundation upon which all decisions about school organization, policies, curriculum, instruction, and assessment are made.

Challenging
Ensuring that every student learns and every member of the learning community is held to high expectations.

Empowering
Providing all students with the knowledge and skills they need to take responsibility for their lives, to address life's challenges, to function successfully at all levels of society, and to be creators of knowledge.

Equitable
Advocating for and ensuring every student's right to learn and providing appropriately challenging and relevant learning opportunities for every student.

Characteristics of Successful Schools

This We Believe: Keys to Educating Young Adolescents (2010), organizes the 16 research-based characteristics of effective middle grades education into three areas: Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment; Leadership and Organization; and Culture and Community.

Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment

Leadership and Organization

Leaders are committed to and knowledgeable about this age group, educational research, and best practices.
(Committed Leaders)
Courageous, collaborative middle level leaders understand young adolescents, the society in which they live, and the theory of middle level education. Such leaders understand the nuances of teaming, student advocacy, exploration, and assessment as components of a larger middle level program.

Culture and Community

How It Works in Schools

The position paper of the Association for Middle Level Education, This We Believe: Keys to Educating Young Adolescents, is recognized as the best articulation of the middle school concept, the accepted standard. Schools that focus on the attributes and characteristics of successful schools, as identified in This We Believe are successful at reaching every student, helping them succeed as learners and make positive contributions to their communities and to the world.

How do you go about transforming your school into a high-performing school with engaged and motivated learners? The book/DVD combo, This We Believe in Action: Implementing Successful Middle Level Schools (2012), is designed to demonstrate how schools use This We Believe as the foundation for school improvement plans. The book includes policies, programs, and practices that are effective in developing the talents, skills, knowledge, and character of young adolescents. The accompanying DVD provides vivid scenes, interviews, and narrative from classrooms around the country to highlight how each school meets its students' needs.

Call for Student Voice and Visuals

The Association for Middle Level Education is updating our foundational position paper (previously titled This We Believe), that identifies the characteristics of successful middle schools. This critical document serves as the centerpiece of exceptional middle schools around the world that are focused on shaping the best possible educational experiences for their students ages 10 to 15. We're interested in bringing student voice and visuals to the new edition of the book, and we need your help. We're seeking student submissions as follows:

1. A testimonial

How has a teacher, principal, or other adult in your school had a positive influence on or encouraged you?

What's your favorite thing about middle school?

Two-dimensional art

A reflective poem.
We're seeking a poem either about the student, about an adult they appreciate at the school, or about their experiences in middle school.
Each student whose quote, art, and/or poetry is featured in the new book will receive a $25 Amazon gift card and their work will be displayed on AMLE.org and at the #AMLE20 Annual Conference, November 12-14, in National Harbor, MD.

Teachers need to be prepared to submit the art as a high resolution photo in .jpg or .eps format. Poems can be submitted as .doc or .pdf files.

Submissions are due by May 15, 2020.

Submit a Student Entry

In August 2020, we'll notify you if your students' entries are selected for inclusion in the new book.

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The Association for Middle Level Education position paper, This We Believe: Keys to Educating Young Adolescents (2010), has an overarching framework of four essential attributes that connect with the 16 characteristics of successful middle grades schools.

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Author and Illustrator Mo Willems has been awarded the American Library Association’s Caldecott Honor three times for his picture book illustration. Additionally, he is the recipient of two Theodor Geisel Medals and five Geisel Honors for his Elephant & Piggie early readers. Mo began his career as a writer and animator on Sesame Street, where he garnered six Emmy Awards. His work has been exhibited around the world, including solo retrospectives at the High Museum in Atlanta and the New-York Historical Society. Over the last decade, Mo has written three musical theater works based on his books, two of which were commissioned and toured by the Kennedy Center.

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Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

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The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History virtual tours allow visitors to take self-guided, room-by-room tours of select exhibits and areas within the museum from their desktop or mobile device. Visitors can also access select collections and research areas at our satellite support and research stations as well as past exhibits no longer on display.

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Number two Neal Shusterman virtual reading series

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Number two Neal Shusterman virtual reading series

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Number Two | Storyman Virtual Reading Series

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All Loft Programming Through January 1, 2022 is Virtual

Wordplay 2022 will take place May 7!

Stay tuned for more details.

Wordplay 2021 is all virtual due to public health concerns.

What does that mean? We will host a series of livestreams throughout the week. This will include a regularly scheduled morning program focused on children's and young adult books, an afternoon program focused around international books, and an evening conversation focused around timely themes and topics.

There is no charge to attend any Wordplay event, but we will be offering an enhanced ticket that will include virtual, facilitated discussion hours before or after events-some of which will include visits from the authors!

As in 2020, this transition to a virtual festival places a large financial burden on the Loft. We need your donations more than ever to help us build something that still connects us while keeping our community healthy.

The Loft's Wordplay launched in May 2019 as Minnesota's largest celebration of readers, writers, and great books. Over 10,000 people showed up for the inaugural festival weekend, joining famous authors like Stephen King, Edwidge Danticat, and Amy Tan in a celebration of books. We enjoyed readings, conversations, writing workshops, kids' activities, and one-of-a-kind happenings with outdoor stages, cooking stages, book signings, quiet reading corners, boisterous parties, food trucks, beer tents, and books, books, books.

Minnesota has one of the most celebrated literary communities in the country. We are rich with celebrated presses, locally owned bookstores, author events, writing classes, vibrant libraries, and great writers. We are perennially ranked one of the most literate communities in the country. A community like ours deserves a celebration like Wordplay.

There is something for every reader at Wordplay. Whether your book club reads literary fiction or paranormal zombie romance, whether you get your books at your library or on your e-reader, or even if the last book you read was a movie, this festival is for you. Wordplay's mission is to celebrate the ways in which people connect to and through words and welcomes anyone who shares a belief in the connective power of story. Join us in 2021 as we continue that vision through all the digital methods we can dream up!

Lesley Nneka Arimah
Charles Baxter
Alexander Chee
Sarah Park Dahlen
Matt de la Peña
Lisa Von Drasek
Geoff Dyer
Louise Erdrich
John Freeman
LeAnne Howe
Mira Jacob
Margo Jefferson
Ada Limón
Karan Mahajan
Nina McConigley
David Mura
Celeste Ng
Téa Obreht
Danez Smith
Jeff VanderMeer

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey

"There are so many things that bond us in our pride for our city and state-including our love of words.

Minnesota is consistently ranked as one of the most literate states, and Minneapolis is home to dozens of publishers, multiple thriving booksellers, and the preeminent literary center in the country in the Loft. In addition, the economic impact is enormous: publishers and writers comprise more than $1 billion each year in economic impact to the state of Minnesota.

That's why I'm thrilled that we get to celebrate our love of words, books, and authors together at the Loft's inaugural Wordplay Festival in downtown Minneapolis this spring. There will be something for all ages and tastes-whether you're into biographies, mystery novels, cookbooks, teen lit or if the last book you "read" was a movie adaptation. Reading unites people from all walks of life. I'm looking forward to connecting with book lovers from Minneapolis and around the country."

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All Loft Programming Through January 1, 2022 is Virtual Stay tuned for more details. Wordplay 2021 is all virtual due to public health concerns. What does that mean? We will host a series of livestreams throughout the week.

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Author RJ Palacio will be reading aloud her book Wonder every day starting 3/25

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Author RJ Palacio will be reading aloud her book Wonder every day starting 3/25

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Hello Wonders! I'm so happy with the response to my plans for a WONDER read aloud! Here's a quick update.

Start date: 
Wednesday, March 25

When:
Every weekday (until we finish the book)

Time: 
12pm-12:45pm EST

Platform:
Twitter LIVE

#WONDERreadaloud

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Hello Wonders! I'm so happy with the response to my plans for a WONDER read aloud! Here's a quick update.

Start date: 
Wednesday, March 25

When:
Every weekday (until we finish the book)

Time: 
12pm-12:45pm EST

Platform:
Twitter LIVE

#WONDERreadaloud

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Hello Wonders! I'm so happy with the response to my plans for a WONDER read aloud! Here's a quick update.

Start date:
Wednesday, March 25

When:
Every weekday (until we finish the book)

Time:
12pm-12:45pm EST

Platform:
Twitter LIVE#WONDERreadaloud
— RJ Palacio (@RJPalacio) March 23, 2020

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Hello Wonders! I'm so happy with the response to my plans for a WONDER read aloud! Here's a quick update.

Start date: 
Wednesday, March 25

When:
Every weekday (until we finish the book)

Time: 
12pm-12:45pm EST

Platform:
Twitter LIVE

#WONDERreadaloud

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Hello Wonders! I'm so happy with the response to my plans for a WONDER read aloud! Here's a quick update.

Start date: 
Wednesday, March 25

When:
Every weekday (until we finish the book)

Time: 
12pm-12:45pm EST

Platform:
Twitter LIVE

#WONDERreadaloud

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
Hello Wonders! I'm so happy with the response to my plans for a WONDER read aloud! Here's a quick update.

Start date: 
Wednesday, March 25

When:
Every weekday (until we finish the book)

Time: 
12pm-12:45pm EST

Platform:
Twitter LIVE

#WONDERreadaloud

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Writing lesson every day at 1 with Ralph Fletcher!

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Writing lesson every day at 1 with Ralph Fletcher!

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https://www.facebook.com/ralph.fletcher.31

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Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

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Online author events. (Thanks Children's Book World! They are the best little independent book store!)

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Online author events. (Thanks Children's Book World! They are the best little independent book store!)

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http://www.childrensbookworld.net/

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Our physical store will be closed until further notice. Check back for updates and in the meantime, explore our online offerings - gift cards, online ordering audio, e-books, and more!

Hello Friends!
Here at Children's Book World, the health and safety of our customers and staff is our #1 priority. Governor Wolf has requested that all non-essential retail stores remain closed.

Therefore, we will be extending the closing of our physical store.
We will miss seeing all your lovely faces, but it is important to us to do what is best for the community and to be part of the solution.

Our events are postponed at this time and will be rescheduled for a time when everyone can comfortably participate.

Although we will be closed, there are new ways you can purchase books from us - online ordering, audio books, and e-books!
Click for more information!
Amazing Online Author Events!

Dear Friends,

We at Children's Book World are thinking of all of you and your children, many of you trying to implement school at home. Not easy, we know! We want to help by sharing some information.

We've been hearing from many authors and illustrators who are stepping up to help our children while schools are closed. The authors and illustrators are offering daily or weekly read-alouds, discussions about their books, art lessons, presentations about writing, and some are offering live-time question and answer sessions.

We want to make sure you hear about all that's being offered. To that end, we are trying to maintain a listing of the amazing author offerings we hear about. Feel free to share this information with anyone who might benefit from it-and let us know about the things you have found and are enjoying!

to see our current list of events!

Stay healthy and keep reading!
CBW

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Our physical store will be closed until further notice. Check back for updates and in the meantime, explore our online offerings - gift cards, online ordering audio, e-books, and more! Hello Friends!Here at Children's Book World, the health and safety ... Continue reading →

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ebooks and audio books through Delaware county library systems

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ebooks and audio books through Delaware county library systems

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Delaware County Library System - OverDrive

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Browse, borrow, and enjoy titles from the Delaware County Library System digital collection.

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Marine biology camp! Mondays and Thursdays at 11am est

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Marine biology camp! Mondays and Thursdays at 11am est

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For Immediate Release: 8/26/20 - Seattle, WA
Download Press Release as PDF
Download Photographs

Photo credit: Laura Bogaard, Oceans Initiative

SUMMARY
A group of partners working to improve salmon stocks have deployed a newly developed device on the west side of the Ballard Locks that uses underwater sound to keep harbor seals away from this salmon migration bottleneck. If effective, the device may help salmon populations in jeopardy by reducing predation without harming marine mammals.

STORY
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Oceans Initiative, with support from Long Live the Kings, University of St Andrews, Genuswave, Puget Sound Partnership, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, and other partner organizations have deployed a Targeted Acoustic Startle Technology (TAST) on the west side of the Ballard (Hiram M. Chittenden) Locks. The TAST is intended to keep harbor seals away from the fish ladder allowing salmon to reach the Lake Washington Ship Canal from Puget Sound. Seals and sea lions are known to linger at this migration bottleneck and consume large numbers of salmon returning to the spawning grounds. If successful, the device may help recover dwindling salmon runs, without harming marine mammals.

"We are always looking for new innovations to help the environment," said USACE spokesperson Dallas Edwards. "We are excited to see the results of this study."

Every salmon and steelhead originating from the Sammamish or Cedar river must pass through the Ballard Locks twice during its life, once as a young smolt and again as an adult. With limited routes to get through the locks, salmon are funneled through a small area. This makes an easy meal for some marine mammals that use this human-made obstacle to their advantage.

Over the past 50 years, observers have also seen a spike in marine mammals near the locks, compounding the significant habitat declines over the past century across the watershed. This combination of factors has led to the lowest returns of salmon and steelhead in history, resulting in fishery closures and populations on the edge of extinction.

During the summer and fall salmon migration, the area is being monitored by scientists from Oceans Initiative, a Seattle-based marine conservation research nonprofit. The scientists are observing marine mammal behavior when the device is on and comparing that with their behavior when the device is off.

"Everyone at Oceans Initiative is excited to see whether this benign use of acoustic technology can protect endangered salmon, without harming seals," said Laura Bogaard, who is leading data collection at the Locks. "During the first week of observing with the TAST on, it feels like the seals have shifted away from the fish ladder compared to observation days when the TAST was off. We are keen to see if this observation is also reflected in our data when it comes time for analysis."

If the device is effective at reducing the presence of marine mammals at the Locks, it may then be deployed at other locations in Puget Sound, giving resource managers a sorely needed tool to prevent marine mammals from consuming large numbers of salmon and steelhead at migration bottlenecks.

Designed at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, the TAST uses sound to startle animals and induce a flight response, causing the animal to leave the area, with the intention of training the animals to keep away altogether. It produces short sounds that are unexpected and startling, but does not lead to hearing damage, as is often the case for other acoustic methods. This helps to maintain its effectiveness much better over time. Recently, a Scotland-based company, Genuswave, brought the device to market after a number of peer-reviewed articles showed positive results.

Prof Vincent Janik, the Director of the Scottish Oceans Institute and one of the developers of the system remarked: "My colleague Thomas Goetz and I came across this very specific acoustic method after testing many commercially available devices and generally aversive sounds on seals. The reactions in our tests were in stark contrast to the habituation we saw in response to all other sounds. Seals avoided the area of exposure more and more over time, even when freely available food was presented next to the device."

The TAST deployed at the locks is a marked improvement over similar devices used in the past. Some other devices using noise to deter marine mammals have seen very limited success and rely on high-volume sounds that risk damaging the hearing of marine mammals. The TAST being deployed at the Locks emits sound at volumes that do not harm seals or sea lions, and at frequencies outside the hearing range of salmon and other marine mammals, such as whales.

Marine mammals are notorious for eating fish at the Locks thanks to Herschel, an 800-pound sea lion that, with other sea lions, was a significant factor contributing to the decline of the nearly extinct steelhead population in the watershed. Almost every strategy available, including other acoustic devices, has been used to separate marine mammals from salmon at the Locks, but none have proven successful. While Herschel hasn't returned to the locks since the 1980s, other sea lions appear annually, and smaller harbor seals are now seen camping in the fish ladder to intercept returning fish.

If the Locks are reopened this summer to the thousands of tourists who visit each year, they may be able to see the device in action or see scientists observing marine mammals in the area. Operation of the device should not affect visitors to the locks.

The effort to deploy and evaluate the TAST at the locks is made possible through a grant from the Puget Sound Partnership to build on the findings from the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project, an international research effort led by the salmon recovery nonprofit, Long Live the Kings and their Canadian co-leaders, the Pacific Salmon Foundation.

Other partners have invested time to make this effort possible including, NOAA Fisheries and the Suquamish Tribe.

PHOTOS
Album by Laura Bogaard, Oceans Initiative

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Laura Bogaard, Oceans Initiative, laura@oceansinitiative.org, Phone: (206) 334-4743
ALT: Rob Williams, Oceans Initiative, rob@oceansinitiative.org

Lucas Hall, Long Live the Kings, lhall@lltk.org, (206) 382-9555 Ext. 30

Prof Vincent Janik, University of St Andrews, vj@st-andrews.ac.uk, +44 1334 467214

On Thursday, April 16, we have a very special guest, Sophia Trinh, joining our Virtual Marine Biology Camp. Sophia has very generously offered to lead a free ocean-themed painting class for kids of all ages. In this hour-long session, we'll be learning to paint the iconic killer whale!

Sophia Trinh is an American-Vietnamese watercolor artist from Seattle, Washington. She started painting at the age of four and soon developed a love for watercolors. Today, Sophia's work is a synthesis of creativity, and imagination, science, and geometry. She is inspired to use art as a tool to engage others, and communicate ideas. Sophia's hope in sharing her art with the world is that others will be encouraged to find space in their lives for art and creativity. You might enjoy following Sophia on Instagram.

In addition, Sophia has kindly agreed to donate an original painting of an endangered North Atlantic right whale (shown above) to Oceans Initiative. Oceans Initiative works with colleagues at New England Aquarium and NOAA to try to help protect these endangered whales by reducing impacts of ocean noise, ship strikes, and entanglement in fishing gear. We invite you to make a donation to support our conservation mission. Sophia will select the winner of the painting.

Visit our Get Involved page to make a tax-deductible donation in the USA.

Our Canadian friends and neighbours may make a tax-deductible donation here.

Whether you donate or not, please know the art class is free, like all of the sessions we've done so far. We hope to see you online Thursday, April 16, at 11 am (Seattle time) for this very special ocean-themed painting class with Sophia! Watch for updates, as we identify the best free platform to use, so you can watch Sophia live on Thurs. Please have ready your watercolor paints, paintbrushes, paper, and a rag or towel. We can't wait to see what you create!

A few of you have asked for projects for your kids to do between our episodes. We'd love to see your kids coloring these images of the outline of a Chinook salmon, a spyhopping orca (check out our social media logos for inspiration), and a pair of leaping Pacific white-sided dolphins. Email colored images, or your own drawings, to team AT oceansinitiative DOT org. Need some inspiration for your drawings? Check out our photos by following us on Instagram.

We are thinking about summarizing these interviews into an e-book of the most commonly asked questions. We'd make it free to download, with a suggested donation to support our conservation mission. If you submit your images by email, we may use your child's drawing (with first name and age) in our book.

FAQs
Hi all. We apologize for not being able to respond personally to the thousands of messages we are receiving. We're two scientists (with a kid stuck at home) and are struggling to keep up with this venture on top of our workloads doing science and running a nonprofit. Thanks for your patience. If you see someone asking a question you can answer, please do! We're all trying to get through this mess together.

Here are the most frequently asked questions:

1. What time is it where you are? Here is a great tool to find out your local time at 11 am Pacific https://www.timeanddate.com Or google "Current time in Seattle" to see the time difference between your home and Seattle. (Yes, that is a typo in the graphic. It should say PDT, not PST, because we're in Daylight Savings Time. But you can still type Seattle into Google or timeanddate.com to find out the corresponding time in your time zone.)

2. Where can I see the first two videos? They should be on a videos tab on our Facebook page. (Most people are seeing it on the left in their computers but we're not sure about the app.) We're trying to copy these videos to our website (or YouTube) for families and teachers who don't use social media. Thanks for your patience.

3. Can we add subtitles or translations? We'd love to! We don't know how. We're trying to copy the videos to our webpage. When we do, we'll make them downloadable in case anyone wants to translate or add captions. Please know we're volunteering as much and as fast as we can.

4. How can I help? First, you already are helping by spreading the word about Oceans Initiative's work. Many of the foundations and individual donors who support our conservation nonprofit measure impact by the size of our audience. It's a measure (albeit an imperfect one) of our reach. Like, comment, share, and invite friends to join us.

For those asking, here is the best way to make a tax-deductible, charitable gift in Canada or USA. Those donations go directly to our nonprofit's conservation mission. But please know that there is no charge to join these events, and there is no pressure to give. We understand first hand that families have been hit hard by this challenge. We'll keep up these events as long as there is need, interest, and capacity.

Thank you for your support. We love seeing your kids' photos and drawings. Thanks for joining us. Please stay safe and healthy.

During the school shutdowns, we've decided to launch a (very) informal, impromptu, virtual marine biology camp. Follow us on Facebook or Instagram, and you should see us in your news feed when we go live, Mondays and Thursdays at 11 am Pacific time. For Paddington Bear fans, you'll note that this is conveniently timed to coincide with elevenses. We've been using this as an excuse to bake yummy treats, for educational purposes of course. The recipes help us practice our reading and math skills. What are you making for Monday's elevenses?

Thanks, GeekWire, for the great profile of this event. We did this primarily as parents of an almost six-year-old kid who is really missing her friends. Please like, comment, share, and tell us in the comments below what you'd like to see us cover in future episodes. We'll keep this up as a free community service as long as schools are closed, kids are interested, and our nonprofit team has the capacity to keep up with demand.

We're scientists. We're also parents. Our daughter is stuck at home as public schools in our area have been closed for 6 weeks. Yikes! How do we entertain and educate them, while we all figure out how to work from home?

We have a fantastic team of biologists at Oceans Initiative, each of whom runs at least one fascinating project. We're planning to live stream an event Monday 16 March 2020 at 11 am (Pacific). Choose your favourite platform. We'll be streaming simultaneously on Instagram and Facebook. No need to sign up. Just like and follow the pages, and we'll "see" you Monday at 11. (When we studied at University of St Andrews, we loved the tradition of "elevenses" when scientists met in the lobby every morning at 11 to drink tea and coffee, eat pastries, and talk about science.)

Feel free to email us your questions ahead of time, to get the conversation started. We'll start out by talking about southern resident killer whales. But let's brainstorm the next topic for our meeting. This quarantine may last a while. We could talk about Pacific white-sided dolphins, including Erin's work collecting breath samples to understand diseases in wild dolphins. (That may be an age-appropriate way to talk about viruses.) We could talk about our efforts to keep whales, dolphins, and porpoises safe from fishing gear. One of our team, Natalie Mastick, could talk about her studies of parasites in marine mammals - if we talk on a Thursday, she could stream from her lab and show you some worms, in jars. Or maybe we can figure out how to invite guest speakers when we run out of topics.

Let us know in the comments below if this is a community service you'd use. How are you keeping your kids entertained and educated at home these days? We're all in this together.

"Parasitism may play a role in the recovery of at-risk marine mammals, but without digging in and figuring out if this is a new problem or status quo, we won't know."
- Natalie Mastick

Posted originally at nataliemastick.com/blog/

There are indents on my nose, my hair smells faintly of ethanol, and I am actively working on realigning my spine after several hours hunched over a microscope. I have just wrapped up a fish dissection, but not a normal fish dissection of a fresh or even thawed fish. This fish was caught in 1985. Once captured, it was fixed in formalin and then stored in ethanol, living in a jar in the Burke Museum's fish collection at the University of Washington for the last 35 years. This dissection is a small piece of the Wood lab's effort to reconstruct the past of Puget Sound, and the parasites that lived in it. Each fish preserved contains a snapshot of what parasites infected it when it was caught and subsequently stored in ethanol, to live on a shelf for eternity. By dissecting the species commonly caught in Puget Sound and stored over the past century (that's right, 100 year-old fish!) we are able to see how parasite diversity has changed in the region.

This has important implications for the fish that these parasites infect. Some of the parasite species found in fish use that fish as their definitive host; they'll live in that fish for the rest of their lives. Other species, however, use the fish as a stepping stone-or intermediate host-to get to their ideal definitive hosts. These parasites wait until their intermediate host gets eaten, hopefully by a definitive host that they can infect for the rest of their lives. The parasites found in the fish represent the transferable parasites that were inhabiting the environment at that time, available to be eaten by a definitive host.

A group of these parasites are parasitic nematodes (worms) of the family Anisakidae, or anisakids, which I discussed in my blog post "Anisakid risk to endangered marine mammals." These nematodes have multiple life stages, in which they depend on different hosts. Their first host, or primary host, is a copepod, which then gets eaten by a small fish or squid. In this second host, the nematode encysts in the muscle and waits to get eaten by the next biggest animal, hopefully a marine mammal (a whale, dolphin, seal, sea otter, or sea lion). Unfortuantely for the worm, from there it gets eaten by another fish. But evolution prepared them for this! Anisakids can keep getting eaten by fish and encysting them until they finally reach a marine mammal. Then, once they finally reach a warm-blooded host, they inhabit the stomach or intestine and reproduce. Those eggs are then sent out into the marine environment through the host's feces, where they can get eaten by a copepod and the whole life cycle can begin again.

Aniskaids might play a bigger role in marine mammal health than previously thought. Once in the intestinal tract of a marine mammal, anisakids absorb nutrients from the host, taking up energy that would otherwise be used by the host alone. At larger burdens, large amounts of energy can be taken from the host, effectively acting as an energy sink. The whale or seal needs to eat more to account for this energy lost to its parasitic stowaways. But for at-risk or endangered species like the southern resident killer whale, which is already nutritionally stressed, parasitism by these nematodes may represent an additional stressor inhibiting the recovery of the species by acting in concert with other stressors.

In the lab today I was dissecting herring. Herring are an important forage fish in the Pacific Northwest. They form large schools and can be found in open ocean as well as bays. Herring are eaten by humans, fish, and birds, and they also make up a large part of the diet of some marine mammals, including whales, seals, sea lions, and porpoises. They form a foundation of the food web, so that the parasites that they harbor can continue on to a marine mammal, even if they are not consumed by one directly. By assessing how the abundance of anisakid nematodes has changed in herring and other fish, both small and large, that are common prey to marine mammals, I am uncovering how the risk to anisakid infection has changed locally over the past century.

While we are still in the dissection stages and not the analysis quite yet, I think we may see an increase in anisakid abundance. Marine mammals are key to the spread of anisakids in the marine environment, and surprisingly enough some marine mammals in this area have been increasing in number since protections were put in place in the 1970s (think of the skyrocketing populations of sea lions and harbor seals in the area). With more definitive hosts shedding eggs into the environment, the likelihood of infection of fish and subsequently of other mammals increases. I expect that this will be evident through the historical record we're currently examining.

It is important to determine what parasite abundance in the ecosystem was like in the past because it provides context for what we see today. A component of my research is assessing how parasitized marine mammals in the area are now, and if parasites are likely impacting the health of marine mammals more than they were in the past. If we don't know what the past was like, we can't tell if marine mammals today are any worse off now than they were before, especially the at-risk ones like the endangered southern resident killer whale. If at-risk species are facing a more significant threat from parasites today than they were in the past, then those threats could be incorporated into their management. Parasitism may play a role in the recovery of at-risk marine mammals, but without digging in and figuring out if this is a new problem or status quo, we won't know.

UPDATE (March 05, 2020): Thank you to everyone who has submitted an application. We were truly impressed by both the number (almost 200!) and quality of applicants. Due to our organization's small size and the sheer number of applicants, we had to interview people on a rolling basis and are currently in the the final stages of the interview process. Thank you again for your time and interest in working with Oceans Initiative and please keep an eye on our social media channels for information on upcoming projects and job openings in Canada and the US.

Four PAID Field Technician Positions Available: Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) Research, Summer 2020.

June 25 - September 4, 2020 (1 month minimum; start/end dates flexible; preference given to applicants available for the entire period), with a possibility of extending fieldwork through September.

Oceans Initiative is a team of scientists on a mission to protect marine wildlife. Our US team is based out of Seattle, WA. We are currently recruiting 4 highly motivated field technicians to collect behavioral and AIS data on killer whales and vessels from land-based study sites on San Juan Island for our summer 2020 field season. Experience with theodolite tracking of cetaceans, and SRKW identification skills, are highly valued. Must be able to work independently and as part of a close-knit team where a positive attitude is essential. Applicants with substantial experience in theodolite tracking, project leadership, and project management may be considered for a coordinator role. Applicants must be eligible to work legally in the U.S. for the duration of the employment period.

The primary goal of this project is to measure the effectiveness of recent efforts to reduce impacts of vessel noise and disturbance on foraging of SRKWs. Data collection involves: recording behavioral observations of SRKW activity in Haro Strait, theodolite tracking of vessel and whale movement, storing and processing AIS data, and documenting small vessel presence and activity within 1000m of the whales.

Qualification requirements: Student or recent graduate of a biology/marine biology, marine science, oceanography, zoology or related program, or related experience. Excellent communication skills. Experience working as a naturalist on a whale watching boat in the Salish Sea would be helpful. Genuine interest in killer whale behavior, and conservation. Valid driver's license and clean driving record. Must be able to collect data on uneven terrain, in variable weather conditions (4-37C, 40F-100F, rain, humidity and biting insects). Knowledge of digital SLR cameras and lenses an asset. Familiarity with data storage and management processes. Ability to work on-call, dawn-dusk, for multi-week shifts with scheduled days off.

Duties include: staying current on location of SRKW through frequent monitoring of sightings network, high-quality data collection, data management, meticulous note-taking, providing daily communication with executive team via Slack, maintenance of field equipment, and some content creation for social media posts.

Preferred applicants will be available for the entire 2 month period, with the potential of extending into September. Those with first hand marine mammal observing experience and/or experience working on whale-watch vessels in the San Juans, are especially encouraged to apply. If you have experience with theodolite tracking of cetaceans, please mention this clearly in your cover letter, and mention the software you have used to track cetaceans.

This position is PAID (remuneration dependent upon qualifications and experience) and housing on San Juan Island will be provided. While technicians will have to provide their own food and transportation to and around the island, one round-trip ferry ticket will be provided-any additional trips off-island must be covered by the individual.

Interested applicants must send a cover letter, CV and dates of availability to team@oceansinitiatve.org before April 3rd, 2020 to be considered. Applicant must be authorized to work in the US as we cannot sponsor overseas visas. Preference will be given to applicants who can stay through the entire project. Application review will begin immediately. More information about Oceans Initiative can be found at www.oceansinitiative.org or by contacting us directly at team@oceansinitiative.org.

Thank you,
Erin Ashe, PhD
Rob Williams, PhD
Laura Bogaard, BASc

PS: We have seen this ad shared to other sites, where it has been described as a paid internship. This is well suited for an early career researcher, or a naturalist wishing to gain experience in science, but our team is unable to provide the one-on-one mentorship we would normally expect in a paid internship. We are looking for people who are ready to work as paid field technicians. These are short-term, contract positions to carry out specific tasks. They are not intended to become full-time salaried positions, or to support data collection for your graduate degree.

"There are vulnerable marine mammals around the world. If these species are also facing an increase in parasitism, that may be an added stress impacting their rate of recovery."
- Natalie Mastick

Posted originally at nataliemastick.com/blog/

Until last year, my research revolved around whale foraging behavior. I studied the foraging behavior of humpback whales for my masters and spent several summers in the San Juan Islands studying southern resident killer whale behavior in response to shipping noise with Oceans Initiative. When I met Chelsea Wood, a parasite ecologist at the University of Washington, while scoping out PhD advisors it dawned on me that there was a whole other scale of foraging ecology to consider in whales- that of the parasites living within them.

I had worked with sick marine mammals before and assisted on a handful of necropsies at that point. Parasites were relatively commonplace, but generally not the cause of rehabilitation for the sick animals or death for those we necropsied. I had grown accustomed to ignoring parasites and assuming their effects were negligible. But after meeting Chelsea, it was clear that parasites may play a bigger role in animal health and survival than I had given them credit for. I had been studying southern resident killer whales with Oceans Initiative for several years, working on assessing the impacts of a suite of threats to the population. I thought more about the role parasites might play in an endangered species like the southern resident killer whales, whose recovery is inhibited by multiple stressors. For marine mammals that are already facing a multitude of threats, parasites could be an additional burden that might make the difference between a healthy and a sick animal.

Marine mammal parasites are nearly as widespread as their hosts. Parasitic nematodes of the family Anisakidae, or anisakids, are transmitted to marine mammals through the fish that they eat. Anisakids travel up the food web from copepods to fish or squid until they reach a marine mammal, their definitive host. They inhabit their host's intestinal tract, reproducing and sending their eggs back into the ocean via their host's feces to continue the cycle. These parasites can infect a wide range of fish species, leaving many marine mammals vulnerable to infection if their prey harbor anisakids.

There is evidence that anisakids are on the rise around the world. This led me to wonder, are these parasites increasing in the prey that marine mammals eat? And could the most vulnerable marine mammals be at risk to increases in parasitism? This seemed like an important question to address from a recovery and management standpoint. There are vulnerable marine mammals around the world. If these species are also facing an increase in parasitism, that may be an added stress impacting their rate of recovery.

The first chapter of my PhD has focused on answering these questions in some of the most at-risk species- those listed as threatened or endangered in the Endangered Species Act and the IUCN Red List. My lab-mate Evan Fiorenza recently completed a major meta-analysis of the publications on anisakid prevalence over the last 60 years. I compared the ranges and diet species of all IUCN listed species and ESA listed populations, resulting in 14 populations that overlapped with this meta-analysis dataset, ranging 30 years. I also subset the data to look at the species with the most data to see if there was a trend in any of the most well-represented diet species, grouped by the mammal that eats them.

As I am still actively analyzing the data, it is too soon to say whether there has been a change in anisakid abundance in the prey that endangered marine mammals are eating. That being said, I am excited to be presenting my preliminary data and analyses at the World Marine Mammal Conference in Barcelona this week. With any luck, I will be able to talk to some of the experts on these endangered marine mammals to gather more information about their diets to improve the resolution of my study. When I return, I plan to work on increasing the scope of my study to include species listed under Canada's Species At Risk Act (SARA), and working with the experts at Oceans Initiative to improve range estimates of these species. But for now, I am excited to soak in new information more from the world's marine mammalogists over the next week.

"It's always such a privilege to study marine wildlife. I am especially grateful to join Oceans Initiative in their research with Pacific white-sided dolphins in truly one of the most beautiful places on Earth."
- Laura Bogaard

This summer marks our 11th year of Pacific white-sided dolphin research in the Broughton Archipelago of British Columbia, Canada. Since the birth of this project with Dr. Erin Ashe's PhD research, we have learned so much about this fascinating and under-studied species. The Broughton Archipelago also provides a rare opportunity to study a generally pelagic (open ocean) species in inshore waters. We now think that this habitat may be crucial to their feeding on herring. It also acts as a nursery for rearing their babies. The initial goal of our study was to use dorsal fin photographs for identification to model population level changes from year to year. You can read more about the post-season intricacies of this work from Natalie Mastick's blog post on our website.

It's a 3-day trip on our research vessel, Wishart, from Seattle to Malcolm Island in British Columbia. On the way, we stopped briefly at San Juan Island to check in on our Southern Resident killer whale field team. As we navigated up the inside waters between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, we spotted a plethora of marine mammal species including humpback whales, transient killer whales, harbor seals, harbor porpoise, Dall's porpoise, and Steller sea lions.

We were also delighted to be joined for a few days by Ryan Tidman and Chelsea Xavier-Blower of SeaLegacy. They brought lots of creative energy (and of course, their drones) and helped us with building some fun new behind the scenes content that we are very excited to share on social media in the upcoming months.

Photo credit: Ryan Tidman

The two action-packed weeks that followed covered three research aims: investigate the effectiveness of a fishing pinger on dolphin avoidance behavior, collect breath samples in order to better understand their individual health, and capture as many identification photographs as possible. We collected almost 700 GB of identification photos and 17 breath samples, and conducted 30 experimental trials for our pinger study. Satisfied, fulfilled, and exhausted we ended our expedition on a high note.

On our last day in the Broughton, we had a rare opportunity to re-sight my favorite humpback whale, Lucky, whom I wrote about in my first blog post as an intern three summers ago. We even got to watch as she and another humpback were bubble-net feeding! This is where humpback whales blow bubbles in a large circular motion, creating a "net" around a school of fish. Then, they lunge up through the school, mouths open wide, gulping large quantities of prey.

It is always such a privilege to study marine wildlife. I am especially grateful to join the Oceans Initiative team in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

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For Immediate Release: 8/26/20 - Seattle, WA Download Press Release as PDF Download Photographs SUMMARYA group of partners working to improve salmon stocks have deployed a newly developed device on the west side of the Ballard Locks that uses underwater sound to keep harbor seals away from this salmon migration bottleneck.

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Book talks with Mr. Provence and guests!

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Book talks with Mr. Provence and guests!

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Stream your favorite programs, classes and instructors. Anywhere. Anytime.

Stream Now on Mobile, Desktop, and TV Apps

A new kind of membership.

Now available to all YMCA members, YMCA360 brings to life the people, places and programs of the Y, and brings membership full-circle.

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From yoga to youth sports, enjoy our exclusive collection of on-demand and livestream classes, on all your devices in cinematic 4K. Experience YMCA360, wherever you are and whenever you want, and experience healthy living for all.

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Stream your favorite programs, classes and instructors. Anywhere. Anytime. Stream Now on Mobile, Desktop, and TV Apps Now available to all YMCA members, YMCA360 brings to life the people, places and programs of the Y, and brings membership full-circle. From yoga to youth sports, enjoy our exclusive collection of on-demand and livestream classes, on all your devices in cinematic 4K.

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What if something out there had your kid begging you to turn off the TV or tablet, put away the video games, and listen to a story? It seems practically impossible in today's media environment. Why would anyone (especially kids who've grown up with YouTube and Netflix) bother with screenless entertainment? But with podcasts, "no screens" becomes "no problem." Podcasts made for -- and even by -- kids are popping up all over the place.

Many adults are already familiar with podcasts, thanks to popular but mature hits such as Serial and Radiolab. But thankfully, podcasters are starting to realize that kids love what they're doing as much as grown-ups. Teachers are even using them in the classroom. With exciting stories, fascinating facts, and lively sound effects to grab kids' interest, all you need for an entertaining family-listening experience are some headphones or a set of speakers. Check out these 20 awesome podcasts for kids -- including perfect bedtime stories, science exploration, cool news, and more. Plus, find out the best way to get them and use them. (We took our best guess for the target ages but include them as a guide since some of the content can be mature.)

How to Listen

It can be daunting for a first-timer to enter the world of podcasts, but digital tools have made it easier than ever to start listening. Podcasts are available to stream online or with a "podcatcher," an app you can download specifically for podcasts. Here are some popular options for listening:

Podcasts. The original podcast app (only available for Apple iOS)

Stitcher Radio for Podcasts. "Stitch" together custom podcast playlists with this mobile app

Pocket Casts. A mobile app with a sleek, easy-to-use interface

SoundCloud. An online audio-streaming platform for podcasts as well as music (also an app)

Podbay.fm. Streaming platform specifically for podcasts (app available for Android, but iOS coming soon)

Kids Listen. An online (but not mobile) app that only features kid-friendly podcasts

Once you have your favorite app or website, search its library by topic and start exploring everything from science to sports to movies and more. And don't forget to subscribe! Subscribing lets the app push new episodes directly to your device as soon as they're available, so you'll always have the latest update at your fingertips.

Pros and Cons of Podcasts for Kids

On the plus side, podcasts:

Boost learning. With engaging hosts and compelling stories, podcasts can be great tools to teach kids about science, history, ethics, and more. Listening to stories helps kids build vocabulary, improve reading skills, and even become more empathetic.

Reduce screen time. With podcasts, families can enjoy the same level of engagement, entertainment, and education as screen-based activities without worrying about staring at a screen.

Go anywhere. Podcasts are completely portable. You can listen in the car, on the bus, or in a classroom or even while doing chores around the house.

Cost nothing. Podcasts don't have subscription or download fees, so anyone with internet access can listen and download for free. Most podcatcher apps are free, too.

Get two thumbs up from kids! Podcasts are designed to hook kids with music, jokes, compelling stories, and more. Some are designed in a serial format with cliffhangers at the end to get kids to tune back in.

On the downside, podcasts:

Play lots of ads. Many podcasts run several minutes of ads at the beginning or end. Because they're often read by the podcast host, the ads can feel like a hard sell.

Can be confusing. Many podcasts update regularly, so you can jump right in and start listening. Others are styled like radio or TV shows, so the most recent episode is actually the end of a season. Check whether something is serialized or long-form before listening to the most recent update.

Vary in age-appropriateness. The iTunes Store labels podcasts "Explicit" or "Clean," but even a "Clean" label doesn't guarantee kid-friendly content. When in doubt, listen first before sharing with your kids.

Luckily we've discovered some excellent kid-friendly podcasts that you and your family will love listening to. Here are 20 of our favorites:

For the Whole Family

Dream Big
Precocious 7-year-old Eva Karpman and her mom interview celebs, award winners, and experts in a range of fields each week, with a hope of encouraging young people to find their passion and follow their dreams. The relatable mother-daughter dynamic and the big-name guests make this a fun choice for kids and their parents to listen to together. Best for: Kids

Wow in the World
One of the newest podcasts to hit the scene, NPR's first show for kids is exactly the sort of engaging, well-produced content you would expect from the leaders in radio and audio series. Hosts Guy Roz and Mindy Thomas exude joy and curiosity while discussing the latest news in science and technology in a way that's enjoyable for kids and informative for grown-ups. Best for: Kids

This American Life
This popular NPR radio show is now also the most downloaded podcast in the country. It combines personal stories, journalism, and even stand-up comedy for an enthralling hour of content. Host Ira Glass does a masterful job of drawing in listeners and weaving together several "acts" or segments on a big, relatable theme. Teens can get easily hooked along with their parents, but keep in mind that many episodes have mature concepts and frequent swearing. Best for:Teens

Best Bedtime Podcasts

What If World
With wacky episode titles such as "What if Legos were alive?" and "What if sharks had legs?," this series takes ridiculous "what if" questions submitted by young listeners and turns them into a new story every two weeks. Host Eric O'Keefe uses silly voices and crazy characters to capture the imaginations of young listeners with a Mad Libs-like randomness. Best for: Kids

Stories Podcast
One of the first kids' podcasts to grasp podcasts' storytelling capabilities, this podcast is still going strong with kid-friendly renditions of classic stories, fairy tales, and original works. These longer stories with a vivid vocabulary are great for bigger kids past the age for picture books but who still love a good bedtime story. Best for:Big kids

Best Podcasts for Road Trips

The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel
This Peabody Award-winning scripted mystery series has been called a Stranger Things for tweens. With a voice cast of actual middle schoolers, a gripping, suspenseful plot, and interactive tie-ins, this story about an 11-year-old searching for his missing friends will keep tweens hooked to the speakers for hours -- more than five, to be exact. Best for: Tweens

Welcome to Night Vale
Structured like a community radio show for the fictional desert town of Night Vale, the mysterious is ordinary and vice versa in this delightfully eerie series. Both the clever concept and the smooth voice of narrator Cecil Baldwin have helped the show develop a cult-like following. It's a bit creepy and dark for kids, but older listeners will find it perfect for a nighttime drive along a deserted highway. Best for: Teens

Best Podcasts for Science Lovers

Tumble
Often compared to a kid-friendly Radiolab, this podcast not only addresses fascinating topics but also tries to foster a love of science itself by interviewing scientists about their process and discoveries. The hosts don't assume that listeners have a science background -- but even kids who think they don't like science may change their minds after listening to this podcast. Best for:Kids and tweens

Stuff You Should Know
From the people behind the award-winning website HowStuffWorks, this frequently updated podcast explains the ins and outs of everyday things from the major ("How Free Speech Works") to the mundane ("How Itching Works"). Longer episodes and occasional adult topics such as alcohol, war, and politics make this a better choice for older listeners, but hosts Josh and Chuck keep things engaging and manage to make even complex topics relatable. And with nearly 1,000 episodes in its archive, you might never run out of new things to learn. Best for:Teens

Best Podcasts for Music Fans

Ear Snacks
The catchy soundtrack is the star in this delightful podcast from children's music duo Andrew & Polly (not surprising since the hosts have created songs for Wallykazam! and Sesame Studios). But this funny program also covers a range of topics by talking to actual kids as well as experts, providing thoughtful fun for young ones and their grown-ups. Best for: Preschoolers and little kids

The Past & the Curious
Reminiscent of the TV show Drunk History (minus the alcohol), this amusing podcast features people telling interesting, little-known stories from history with an emphasis on fun and humor. Although it's not specifically a music podcast, each episode contains an often-silly song that's sure to get stuck in your head. There's even a quiz segment, so kids will learn something, too. Best for: Kids

Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child
Families can enjoy rock and roll without the downsides with this fun radio show/podcast. Each week there's a new playlist combining kids' music from artists such as They Might Be Giants, with kid-appropriate songs from artists that grown-ups will recognize, such as Elvis Costello, The Ramones, and John Legend. It's a perfect compromise for parents tired of cheesy kids' music. Best for: Kids

All Songs Considered
This weekly podcast from NPR covers the latest and greatest in new music with a particular focus on emerging artists and indie musicians. It covers a wide range of genres and even includes artist interviews and live performances. Some songs contain adult themes and explicit language, but teens will love discovering a new favorite that you've probably never heard of. Best for:Teens

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What if something out there had your kid begging you to turn off the TV or tablet, put away the video games, and listen to a story? It seems practically impossible in today's media environment. Why would anyone (especially kids who've grown up with YouTube and Netflix) bother with screenless entertainment?

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Most Recent Episode

In an interview from 2002, Jane Goodall gave Ira a lesson in how to speak with chimps. Plus, highlights from the 33rd First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, which celebrate the silly side of science. And, stories that share the research of a few Ig Nobel winners.

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Science Friday is your trusted source for news and entertaining stories about science. It's brain fun for curious people

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Create your own living history journal with Google Slides

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Create your own living history journal with Google Slides

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Make a copy of this and get started!

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Your journal will be a primary source document one day!

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Your journal will be a primary source document one day!

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Read this article, then make a copy of the Google slide activity to create your own living history journal.

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By Lauren S. Brown

Several weeks ago - what is starting to feel like a lifetime ago - I finished grading 100 plus family history projects. Some were videos, but most were illustrated stories my students had written about someone they interviewed in their family.

Some kids interviewed parents or grandparents about their parents or grandparents. Some, who swore to me they had no interesting stories in their families' past, wrote about a parent's experience during 9/11 or how they felt during the last 2-3 presidential elections.

Now all of us, including my students, are living through a historical moment. If you are looking for a meaningful assignment that you can give students while we are all stuck at home, consider doing a "living through history" assignment.

Just a few days ago (which now seems like much longer ago, doesn't it?), I saw a couple of dozen students. Our district had quickly rescheduled an institute day; teachers prepared for e-learning and students were able to get into the building one last time to pick up any belongings.
As students came by, they were eager to share their observations, questions and concerns.

Hey, Ms. Brown, do you think we'll be out of school for longer than 2 weeks?

Do you think we'll still have the Great American field trip at the end of the year? Will we still have graduation? ( I teach 8th graders).

My sister is a senior in high school. She heard there won't be prom this year.

We going to pick up my brother at the airport today because his college closed.

We went to Costco this morning and the line was all the way to the back of the store.

My dad is worried that he will lose his job.

My mom told me a few days ago to stop putting the rubber bands on my braces so I don't have to put my fingers in my mouth.

I think I'm going to go nuts at home.

Ms. Brown, have you ever lived through anything like this? This will be in the history books, won't it?

Students can create "primary sources" for future historians

There are so many unanswered questions right now, but the answer to that last question is yes. So consider a simple assignment in which your students jot down their thoughts, questions, concerns and observations about what is going on. I suggested that they could do this as a letter, a diary/journal entry or just write.

Here are a few suggestions to get them started:

your family's trip to the grocery store and "stocking up"

cancelled family vacations, cancelled field trips, cancelled school

how weird it is to have to "e-learn"?

how are you occupying your time?

how do you feel about this? psyched that you don't have to come to school? bored? worried? bummed that you won't get to see your friends?

what is changing for you because of this?

what kinds of things are your families thinking/saying/doing?

Or have them post short videos about what they are thinking. Flipgrid is great for this. One of my colleagues is posting a question each day for students to reflect on. I know I have enjoyed this glimpse into my students' worlds, seeing the posters on the walls of their bedrooms, or their dog on the couch in the living room. You can come up with some fun questions to get the ball rolling:

What is your "must have" if you are going to be cooped up inside for awhile?

What are your "binge watch" recommendations?

Where is your new "desk"?

And then you can get into deeper questions, as long as you let students know that they don't have to share anything they don't wish to.

What is the #1 concern you have about what is going on right now?

What is a small way in which your life has changed right now?

What mattered to you a few days or a week ago that now seems irrelevant? Vice versa?

Things are changing very quickly now. This seems to be an assignment you could keep adapting as time passes. It doesn't necessarily require the internet, should that availability become restricted in some way.

Remind your students that they are creating a primary source - documentation of what one student was thinking in March of 2020 during the global pandemic. Now we are all a part of history.

Stay well!

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Students' Pandemic Journals Could Become Primary Sources

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By Lauren S. Brown Several weeks ago - what is starting to feel like a lifetime ago - I finished grading 100 plus family history projects. Some were videos, but most were illustrated stories my students had written about someone they interviewed in their family.

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We're Planet Fitness - The Judgement Free Zone®. We're known for our low prices, friendly staff, and positive environment. Become a member today!

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Famous illustrators offer free drawing classes!

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Famous illustrators offer free drawing classes!

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Stuck at home? Take free drawing classes from famous illustrators

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Most are designed for kids-but all welcome the young at heart.

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Experiments you should try at home featuring topics from the Bill Nye The Science Guy show.

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Take a crash course on just about anything (younger learners version)

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Take a crash course on just about anything (younger learners version)

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Welcome to Crash Course Kids! This bi-weekly show from the producers of Crash Course is all about gradeschool science. We’ll look at Earth, Habitats, Space, Chemical Reactions, Engineering, and much much more with host Sabrina Cruz. So, join us every Tuesday and Thursday for new uploads. This series is beginning with 5th grade science, so we’ll be delving into Earth Science, Physical Science, Biology, Geography, Engineering, and Astronomy. Have a look at our playlists on each subject!

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Take a crash course on just about anything!

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Take a crash course on just about anything!

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history biology literature learning education science humanities school "world history" ap tests smart fun chemistry psychology apush whap study "crash cours...

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At Crash Course, we believe that high-quality educational videos should be available to everyone for free! Subscribe for weekly videos from our current courses! The Crash Course team has produced more than 45 courses on a wide variety of subjects, including organic chemistry, literature, world history, biology, philosophy, theater, ecology, and many more!

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Learn about anything and everything! Brainpop!

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Learn about anything and everything! Brainpop!

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login: garnetvalley Password: password

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BrainPOP - Animated Educational Site for Kids - Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts & Music, Health, and Technology

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Stay at Home Fest harnesses the power of the internet for good, by creating a central hub to find all the fantastic decentralized events that are happening online, and aiding music discovery during the global pandemic. We all know that the best thing we can do to slow down the spread and save lives is washing our hands and staying at home. Because of this, artists are losing gigs and income that they depend on. We're all sitting at home, looking for ways to connect. So, tune in here for an epic, open-source online music festival schedule, resources for artists to host their own shows, and our own very special mainstage livestream event, coming in April.

Want to learn more? Enter your contact information below to join our mailing list and we'll send you updates that include a daily digest of awesome upcoming events, plus lineup and ticketing information for the "Main Stage" event when it becomes available.

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Stay At Home: online music festival and events calendar

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Stay at Home Fest harnesses the power of the internet for good, by creating a central hub to find all the fantastic decentralized events that are happening online, and aiding music discovery during the global pandemic. We all know that the best thing we can do to slow down the spread and save lives is washing our hands and staying at home.

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Meet Neil Gaiman

Sometimes, when he was smaller, people used to tell Neil Gaiman not to make things up. He never listened. Now he's written more than twenty-five books and has been given dozens of awards, many of them been given dozens of awards, many of them astonishingly ugly. He's written television drama and for movies, and for comics. He's even written "non-fiction", which he learned is only marginally less made-up than the fiction.

Sometimes he thinks about finding some of those people who warned him of all the awful things that would happen if he kept making things up, and finding out if it's happened yet, or is still going to happen, and whether he should buy a tin hat and thick boots for protection. In the meantime, he grows pumpkins and keeps on making things up.

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MouseCircus.com - The Official Neil Gaiman Website for Young Readers

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Meet Neil Gaiman Sometimes, when he was smaller, people used to tell Neil Gaiman not to make things up. He never listened. Now he's written more than twenty-five books and has been given dozens of awards, many of them been given dozens of awards, many of them astonishingly ugly.

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NASA, JPL, and Google bring the real surface of Mars to your browser.

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Google Arts and Culture- Art collections from all over the world!

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Google Arts and Culture- Art collections from all over the world!

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Explore all Collections on Google Arts & Culture.

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Exploring the world is something that's always been a bit of a luxury for those who can afford to travel, but technology is changing that. With VR and 360-degree videos, you can now immerse yourself in virtual environments that give you a real sense of what a place is like, without actually being there. Google has been taking advantage of things like VR field trips and virtual reality to transport students to distant lands, but today it's releasing a way to explore scenic wonders closer to home: the U.S. National Parks.

The Hidden Worlds of the National Parks is a new Google Arts & Culture exhibit and interactive documentary, timed to launch in celebration of this month's NPS Centennial.

The exhibit allows you to take 360-degree tours of some of the most remote and beautiful U.S. National Parks. Instead of featuring much-documented vistas like Yosemite or the Grand Canyon, for example, the exhibit instead focuses on a selection of parks you may not have traveled to yet (or may never see), including the Kenai Fjords in Alaska, Hawaiian volcanoes, New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns, Utah's Bryce Canyon, and Florida's Dry Tortugas - the latter which was reviewed this month in a New York Times travel piece which called it an "under the radar" national park.

In the video experience, a local ranger will guide you through each park, allowing you to do things like fly over the active volcanoes in Hawaii, snorkel the coral reefs in the Dry Tortugas, or kayak through Alaska's fjords, among other things.

The virtual tours are available both online, in the Google Arts & Culture App on iOS and Android, as well as in the Google Expeditions app for use in the classroom.

Expeditions, available here on Google Play, is Google's virtual reality teaching tool that lets students travel the world with their teacher acting as the guide. The app offers 360 degree and 3D imagery of over 200 places around the world, and allows for a VR experience when used with the Google Cardboard viewer.

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Google now lets you explore U.S. National Parks via 360-degree virtual tours

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Exploring the world is something that's always been a bit of a luxury for those who can afford to travel, but technology is changing that. With VR and 360-degree videos, you can now immerse yourself in virtual environments that give you a real sense of what a place is like, without actually b...

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LUNCH DOODLES with Mo Willems! Episode 01

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Desmos offers best-in-class calculators, digital math activities, and curriculum to help every student love math and love learning math.

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Teaching London Computing: A RESOURCE HUB from CAS LONDON & CS4FN

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Teaching London Computing in conjunction with cs4fn have produced a series of fun, mainly unplugged, activities for use in the classroom, suitable for all ages. Also see our page on resources listed by topic for secondary computing and our resources for primary schools .

Magic

Use magic tricks to introduce computing ideas

Learn about computational thinking, algorithms, Human-computer interaction, error-correcting codes and more...

Craft

Lots of craft-based computing-linked activities

Mosaics, Knitting, Cross-stitch, Origami, ...

Learn about algorithms, sequencing, notation, digital images, steganography and cryptography and more.

Art

Lots of art-based computing-linked activities

Learn about digital images, recursion, CGIm and more.

The Chocolate Turing Machine

Learn about Turing Machines (a fundamental idea in computer science)

Build working Turing Machines that can do anything any computer could ever do ... out of chocolate.

Have the class act out an array and gradually work out how to sort it more efficiently.

Learn about sort algorithms, bubble sort, efficiency of algorithms, computational thinking, programming algorithms.

The Divide and Conquer Sort Algorithm

Have the class act out an array and gradually work out how to sort it more efficiently.

Learn about sort algorithms, divide and conquer, merge sort, quick sort, efficiency of algorithms, computational thinking.

Devise a tour that gets a tourist from their hotel to all the city sights and back to their hotel.

Learn about algorithms, sequences of instructions, graphs, data representation, computational thinking, requirements.

Solve a puzzle where you must find a way for a knight to visit every square on a board exactly once.

Learn about graphs, data representation, generalisation, abstraction, pattern matching computational thinking, graph traversal algorithms algorithms.

The HexaHexaFlexagon Automata Activity

The JFLAP: Getting Started Activity

The Sweet Learning Computer Activity

The Emotion Machine: Create-a-Face Card

TEMI: Using Mysteries to Support Learning

This guidebook for teachers describes the TEMI methodology which is an approach to teaching based on mysteries. Focussed on science generally, the approach applies to computing and other STEM subjects too.

Learn about mysteries as a way to support learning.

More of our resources, including linked computing 'story' booklets can be found in our . You may also want to look at cs4fn's teacher resources or browse the latest cs4fn magazine .

Other excellent sources of a similar style of activity are the New Zealand based but globally used site and the Glasgow University .

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Teaching London Computing in conjunction with cs4fn have produced a series of fun, mainly unplugged, activities for use in the classroom, suitable for all ages. Also see our page on resources listed by topic for secondary computing and our resources for primary schools. Christmas Computing Lots of (mainly unplugged) computing-linked activities.

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Learn computer science. Change the world.

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Every student in every school deserves the opportunity to study computer science.

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Raise a reader by getting the best book recommendations, reading tips, and discounts delivered straight to your inbox.

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Live animal visit daily at 11:00!

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We May Be Closed, But We're Doing What We Can To Bring The Zoo To....

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Introducing the Storyman Virtual Reading Series

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Duolingo is the world's most popular way to learn a language. It's 100% free, fun and science-based. Practice online on duolingo.com or on the apps!

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Free 30days of books no credit card required.

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Free 30days of books no credit card required.

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https://www.scribd.com/?lohp=2

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An Introduction / Draw Every Day with JJK,  ep. 1

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Jarrett J. Krosoczka—author & illustrator

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Expressions / Draw Every Day with JJK, ep. 2

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If do you write something based on one of my prompts, share it with me here (just paste it in) and I'll post it on my website!

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Submit your writing or ask authors questions!

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Submit your writing or ask authors questions!

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Grace Lin and Laurie Keller answer this wonderful kid question: "If you were to become a character in your book, which would it be and why?"

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The Monterey Bay Aquarium Sea Otter Program has played an important role in the continued recovery of the southern sea otter population with our research, rescue, rehabilitation, and surrogacy work.

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Kelp Forest | Live cam | Monterey Bay Aquarium

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See sardines swirl and leopard sharks glide through gently swaying kelp canopies. Narrated feedingsDaily 11:30 a.m. PT

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Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Cincinnati. 1.8M likes. The mission and vision of the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is dedicated to creating adventure, conveying knowledge, conserving nature,...

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Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Storylines: Contemporary Art at the Guggenheim, New York, United States - Google Arts & Culture

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Google Arts & Culture features content from over 2000 leading museums and archives who have partnered with the Google Cultural Institute to bring the world's treasures online.

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The history of the museum, of its building is quite unusual. In the centre of Paris on the banks of the Seine, opposite the Tuileries Gardens, the museum was installed in the former Orsay railway station, built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. So the building itself could be seen as the first "work of art" in the Musee d'Orsay, which displays collections of art from the period 1848 to 1914.

Open from 9.30am to 6pm daily, except Mondays
Late night on Thursdays until 9.45pm
Last tickets sold at 5pm (9pm Thursdays), museum cleared at 5.30pm (9.15pm Thursdays)
Closed on Mondays, on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December

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Musée d'Orsay, Paris, Paris, France - Google Arts & Culture

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The history of the museum, of its building is quite unusual. In the centre of Paris on the banks of the Seine, opposite the Tuileries Gardens, the museum w...

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The British Museum's remarkable collection spans over two million years of human history and culture. Over 6 million visitors every year experience the collection, including world-famous objects such as the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures, and Egyptian mummies.
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How To Do A Podcast: Get Started Today

Ever listened to a podcast and thought, "hey, I could do that."?

Or maybe you've heard of others making six figures every month from podcasting.

The good news is that the barrier to entry for starting a podcast is low. Even without technical skills, almost anyone can start a podcast.

However, it's not easy to make a successful podcast.

At this point, you probably don't know exactly what goes into starting a podcast, which is exactly what this guide will tell you.

This is an in-depth guide that will cover:

1. The cost and effort required to make a podcast.

2. What equipment you'll need.

3. How to pick a topic.

4. How to record episodes and distribute them.

5. How to maximize your chances of success.

I've included step-by-step instructions for almost every part of the process. By the end, you'll know whether or not starting a podcast is right for you, and have a solid understanding of the time and resources required.

What is Podcasting and How Does it Work?

The easiest way to grasp podcasting is to think of it as audio blogging.

Each episode is like a blog post, covering a specific topic.

Podcasting has been a mainstream content channel for years now but is still growing.

In Infinite Dial's 2017 research, they found that 67 million Americans listen to at least one podcast per month.

Additionally, podcast listening rate has been consistently growing 10 to 20% per year.

With new technology like Amazon Alexa and Google Home becoming more popular, it seems reasonable to expect this trend to continue for the foreseeable future.

One final factor to consider is that podcasting is most popular with the middle-aged and young demographic.

As the population ages as a whole, the number of podcast listeners will increase as well.

Put that all together and there's a bright future ahead of podcasting, and it's still a good time to start a podcast now.

A Short History of Podcasting

Radio came before television, much like how podcasting came before YouTube (and other online video sites).

Podcasting and radio are similar in a lot of ways, but podcasting really leverages newer technology.

Audio blogging in any form began back in the 1990s, but it wasn't until 2000 when MP3 players started to include features to download and store episodic content.

In 2003, podcasting really started to take shape.

Since it required a lot of technical knowledge to create and distribute audio online, it wasn't long before the services that allowed people to record and upload audio easier appeared.

Most notably at the time was Audioblogger.com, which allowed people to record and automatically upload files to Google's blogging platform Blogger.

Around the same time, the development of RSS feeds rapidly progressed. This was crucial for tracking new blog content, both text, and audio. (RSS feeds are still a crucial part of podcasting, which we'll cover later in this guide.)

Also in 2003, Christopher Lydon, who was also a former NPR talk show how and TV news anchor, started recording audio interviews with notable bloggers and politicians. He then published the episodes on his blog, releasing them through an RSS feed.

This isn't so different from what podcasts look like today.

Shortly after, in 2004, Ben Hammersley coined the name "podcasting" for episodic audio content that could be automatically downloaded and synced.

By 2005, iTunes added podcasts to their store, and podcasting has taken off from there. There are now hundreds of thousands of podcasts and millions of people who listen to them.

How Exactly Does Podcasting Work?

When I first published a podcast years ago, I was overwhelmed at first.

There are quite a few technical steps that you don't consider when you're only used to listening to podcasts.

So let's take a step back and take a look at a high-level overview:

There's quite a bit of flexibility at each of the 3 main stages of creating a podcast, which is what this guide will cover.

For now, understand that:

1. You record episodes using equipment and your computer.

2. Upload those files to a podcasting host.

3. Then submit those episodes to directories so that listeners can find them.

Within each of those 3 steps, there are a lot of finer details that you likely have questions about:

What equipment do you need?

What software is best?

Where do you get theme music from?

How do you choose a podcast topic?

Which host is best for Podcasts?

Which host is best if you have a WordPress site?

How will you get people to listen to your show?

Don't worry, I'm going to give you a simple answer all of these questions and more in this post.

Benefits of podcasting for bloggers

You have an idea of how much work will be required now, but keep the benefits in mind as well.

As an audio blogger, your content:

Is easier to consume for your audience.

Can be monetized effectively.

Can be listened to just about anywhere.

Can reach a new audience that doesn't read blog posts.

And if you hate writing, you'll likely find talking much easier than writing blog posts.

You can create a podcast as its own business, or use it as an additional marketing channel to complement your existing website.

Look at Karen Erickson, Darren Rowse, Tim Ferris and Pat Flynn for examples of bloggers who have utilized podcasting to build their businesses.

Don't expect overnight success, but one day you might be able to join the list as well. While we're at it, LiquidWeb is a great hosting provider if you have intentions of podcasting. They're not only resource-rich but offer a 100% Uptime Guarantee.

What Equipment do I need to start a podcast?

Everyone wants to know about equipment and tools, so let's get that out of the way right now.

Professional podcasting setups can get quite complicated, but we'll focus on the essentials and keep it as simple as possible.
How much will the equipment itself cost?
You can get a satisfactory setup up and running for $100-200. It will have pretty good audio quality and be reliable.

A professional setup will cost around $1,000 minimum, although it can go much higher.

It mainly comes down to your budget and goals with your podcast. It's fine to start small and upgrade later.

I'll go over options for all budgets in this section.

Microphone (required)

Your laptop microphone is not going to cut it.

Neither are most cheap headset microphones.

These microphones produce too much background noise and low sound quality in general.

This is the one thing you must buy if you don't already have a quality microphone.
So which one should you buy?
First, you need to decide which type of microphone to get.

USB vs analog (XLR): These are the 2 major types of microphones. USB microphones are cheaper in general and can be plugged into your computer's USB port, which is convenient. Analog microphones tend to have better quality, but more expensive, and you'll need extra equipment.

If you want to start on a budget, get a USB microphone.

If you're planning on podcasting for the long-term, invest in a good analog microphone. There are still some budget analog microphones that aren't much more expensive than USB options.

There are tons of microphones out there, but here are some of the most popular ones recommended by most top audio bloggers, from cheapest to most expensive.

Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR Microphone (USB and analog): One of the few microphones with both a USB digital output and XLR analog output. You can get this microphone for well under $100, and for the sound quality it produces, it's a great value. It's a dynamic microphone that doesn't pick up much background noise. The one caveat is that you need to be very close to it for it to work well, so set it up on a microphone stand for comfort.

Blue Yeti USB Microphone (USB): This is a mid-range USB microphone that is often recommended for podcasting beginners. It's not too expensive and produces relatively high-quality sound output. It can pick up room echo and background noise, but if you know that you'll be recording in a generally quiet area, it can do a good job. You'll want a pop filter for this microphone.

Shure BETA 87A Supercardioid Condenser Microphone (Analog): For an analog microphone, this one has a reasonably low price at a few hundred dollars. It's as good or better than what the majority of podcasters use, minus the ones with truly professional setups. It won't pick up much background noise or room echo and is pretty small and practical.

Beyond these, there are more expensive, higher quality microphones, but they're overkill for most podcasters. If you get serious traction, you can upgrade later.

Audio Interface (If you buy an analog microphone)

An audio interface connects microphones to computers.

If you buy a USB microphone, you don't need an audio interface, since you can plug into your computer directly.

But an analog microphone has XLR connectors, which can't be plugged in directly. Instead, you plug them into an audio interface, which can then send the audio data to your computer.

Audio interfaces can cost anything from $100 to the $1,000 range. For podcasters, the low-end interfaces will be more than sufficient in most cases.

Here are a few popular recommendations.

Tascam US-2×2 USB Audio Interface: This is a budget audio interface with 2 XLR input slots. It's compatible with both Mac OSX and Windows. It's also designed to be simple to use, which is why it's great for most podcasters.

Mackie Onyx Producer 2-2 2×2 USB Audio Interface With MIDI: This is another budget audio interface in the same price range, also with 2 XLR input slots. There's no huge difference from the Tascam audio interface, it's just another solid alternative.

There are audio interfaces that produce higher sound quality and accept more inputs, but they're more aimed at musicians than podcasters. Unless you have a unique podcasting setup, either of the above 2 audio interfaces is simple options that will do a great job.

Pop Filter (optional)

A pop filter is put over the front of microphones to reduce or eliminate popping sounds from your speech (like the unavoidable sound at the end of "pop").

It can also keep saliva off your microphone, which will increase its longevity.

A pop filter isn't always needed, it depends a lot on the specific microphone and recording setting.

However, they're cheap (typically $10 or less), and it's a good idea to test one out if you're new to podcasting.

There's not a huge difference in pop filter quality, so just find one that rated well on your preferred store.

Headphones (optional...but not really)

You technically don't need to wear headphones while recording a podcast, but I highly recommend it.

There are a few main reasons:

1. You'll hear yourself clearly, making it easier to maintain a consistent, ideal tone.

2. You'll also immediately hear if the microphone is picking up background noise.

3. If you're interviewing someone, it makes it easier to hear them clearly by reducing background noise.

Simple earbud headphones are okay, but ideally, you have headphones that meet the following conditions:

Comfortable for long periods of time - For obvious reasons, podcasts can be long, and editing can take a long time as well.

"Neutral" - You don't want headphones that are treble-focused or sound unique. Neutral headphones ensure that when you edit your shows, they'll sound good to everybody, not just users with particular types of headphones.

Isolation - It's a good idea to use closed-back headphones (the ones that go around your ear) so that sound doesn't leak out and potentially get recorded as background noise.

Many headphones fit this bill, usually costing around $100-200.

If you'd like a budget recommendation, try the Sony MDR-7506 Professional Large Diaphragm Headphones. They are an affordable, relatively high-quality headphone option that fulfills those 3 main criteria.

Editing software

This is the last main piece of "equipment you'll need.

Recording software is more straightforward, with fewer options, and I'll cover that later on in the guide.

But all good podcasts need editing, and there are many editing software tools to choose from.

Here are the most popular options.
For Mac or PC

1. Audacity (free) - By far the most popular free audio editor, it's the one I'll use in examples later on in this guide. It has many "advanced" features that can be useful for podcasts, like normalizing and noise reduction effects.

2. Hindenburg Journalist (paid) - Hindenburg has multiple audio editing tools, but Journalist is the cheapest and most appropriate one for podcasters. A license costs $95 and is a one-time fee. If you need a higher production value, it's a good option, but not needed for most podcasters.

3. Adobe Audition (paid) - It has a monthly fee of $20/month, but is a solid audio editing tool for podcasters. In general, I'd recommend Audacity over it, but if you're familiar with Adobe products you might find it easier to use.

For Macs

GarageBand (free) - GarageBand is included on Macs for free, and is simple to use. It's a really good option if you have a Mac, as it has a lower learning curve than most. It still has all the main features that most podcasts need.
With equipment out of the way, let's go over the 6 main steps of starting a podcast.
Step 1: Choose a Niche for Your Podcast

Just like with blogging, you need to find a niche for your podcast to fill. Something people desire to learn about that doesn't exist.

There are 2 main situations that you can find yourself in.

The first is that you're thinking of starting a podcast to bring in additional traffic (and customers) for your business.

This means that your general category is essentially chosen for you. It should be highly related to your business.

The second situation is that you want to start a podcast as a business, hoping to make money with it directly over time. Your category is more open-ended at his point.

But before you choose a category, consider that podcast listeners typically look to podcasts for expert advice.

Unlike blogging, where you can try to present a unique perspective as a beginner to a topic, most people motivated enough to seek out a podcast want expert advice.

So I ask you: "What are you skilled at, or an expert at?"

The alternative is to have connections to many experts that you can interview on a podcast, but few people have these. Be warned that it's tough to get good guests if you don't already know them, as people ask them for things all the time.

How to Validate Your Podcast Idea

You don't want to go through all the work of making a podcast and it turns out that no one cares about your niche.
That's why you need to validate demand.
Assuming you have a category or general topic in mind at this point, take a look at the top podcasts in either iTunes or Stitcher.

Click on the most relevant category that you see.

Each of those categories covers a wide variety of topics, for example, business has:

Personal finance

Economics

Entrepreneurship

For the specific topic you have in mind, count up how many podcasts in the top 100 of that category cover that topic.

If there's only 1 or 2, that's a signal that there's low demand. It's going to be difficult to be successful.

Typically there are 4-5 popular topics in a general category, and you want to pick one of those (because they have significant demand).

Competition is a good thing, you just need to find the right approach to your topic that helps you stand out.

An alternative method - Use search engine keywords. There's no public data of what people search for in a directory like iTunes or Stitcher, but there is keyword data for Google.

It won't give you a perfect indicator of interest, but it will tell you if there's some or none.

Decide on a specific topic you want to have a podcast about, then divide that into potential niches.

For example, if I wanted to make a podcast on entrepreneurship, here are some potential niches:

Then, plug these into the Adwords Keyword Planner, appending "podcast" to the end.

In this case, there's interest in all those 3 niches, but e-commerce is the most popular one.

Format and Ideation

If someone already has an e-commerce podcast, how can you differentiate yourself from them?

There are 2 main approaches.

First, you can go more specific. For example, make a podcast about e-commerce marketing, or e-commerce product fulfillment.

As long as you can think of 20-30 ideas relatively easily, it can work.

The second approach is to pick a different podcast format.

Successful podcasts exist for all formats:

Think about the listeners in that niche that aren't being served. How can you fill that gap?

Step 2: Choose a Name, Theme Music, and Design

There's a lot of work that needs to be done before you start recording.

Doing the tasks in this section can have a huge effect on your success.

Your Podcast Name

Take a look at what listeners see when they browse a podcast directory:

It's your title and cover art.

If your title sucks, no one will give you a chance.

Don't try to be too clever, just pick a descriptive name that you think will sound appealing to your audience.

If you are well-known in your industry, you can put your name in the title. For example:

The Dave Ramsey Show.

How I Built This With Guy Raz.

Mad Money With Jim Cramer.

These are all top business podcasts.

Otherwise, pick the main keyword that clearly describes what your podcast is about. For example:

It's good if the remaining word(s) gives some imagery about the general approach your podcast takes.

From above, "Entrepreneurs on Fire " gives you the image that it focuses on successful entrepreneurs.

Or, "Side Hustle School " is mainly focused on educational topics.

Your Cover Art

Your cover art might be the most important part of getting the attention of browsers.

Take some time to analyze the top podcasts in your category and see what trends they follow.

Almost all of them will:

Be easy to read, even when small.

Have the name of the podcast.

Have a single focal image related to the topic.

Have a colored background.

I highly suggest you pay someone to make your cover art unless you have those skills yourself.

This is not the place to cut corners.

You can hire someone to produce a reasonably high-quality cover art from Fiverr or Upwork for not much.

If you can afford it, hire an experienced professional artist with experience working with podcasts.

Most directories share the same guidelines. Here are iTunes' requirements:

1. A minimum size of 1400 x 1400 pixels.

2. A maximum size of 3000 x 3000 pixels.

3. 72 dpi.

4. JPEG or PNG format.

5. In the RGB color space.

When viewed in a directory, your cover art will typically be somewhere between 50 and 150 px wide.

View your cover art at all sizes to make sure that it's readable and still looks attractive before finishing.

Your Podcast Description

When someone clicks through to your podcast page, they can see your episodes, plus your podcast description.

It's a short blurb that explains what your podcast is about, and why someone should listen to it.

This matters for 2 reasons.

First, people will click on your cover art or title, but not decide whether or not to give your podcast a try until reading the description.

An interesting description will get you more listens.

Second, your podcast page (with the description) can show up in search results (in directories themselves or in Google). You should include your main keyword, and any other relevant keywords to increase how often your podcast shows up as a suggestion.

Theme Music

My favorite podcasts coincidentally have a really catchy intro and outro songs.

It's the first thing that listeners associate with your show, and they hear it every episode, so make it good!

If you're really on a budget, you can search for free music on Free Music Archive.

Again, I'd recommend paying a small amount for professional-grade theme music. Audio Jungle has hundreds of thousands of tracks that can be cut down to use as theme music.

They typically cost under $20.

Most will say "No broadcast use", which just means you can't play the whole music clip, which you wouldn't want to. As stated in the FAQ, it's fine to take a clip from the file and use it.

If you have a higher budget you can hire a professional, who will also usually give you a voice over for your intro as well. Tim Paige is well known, but there are others as well. Expect to pay a few hundred dollars for an experienced professional.

Step 3: Pick Your Podcast Hosting Provider

If you don't pick a reliable, good quality host, listeners might have trouble downloading or streaming your podcast episodes. This is a good way to lose listeners.

That's why you must go with a podcast host at the very least. That's different than a website host like Bluehost or HostGator.

Podcast hosting services are built on media servers that are designed to store large media files (your episodes) and support the high bandwidth needed for listeners to download or stream episodes.

Each podcast host has their own strengths and weaknesses.

There are 4 main things that you should consider:

1. Price - How much can you afford? Generally, the more you pay, the more space you'll get. It makes sense to start off with an introductory package and then upgrade later as you record more shows.

2. Simplicity - Some podcast hosts are easier to use than others. If you're feeling overwhelmed, go for simplicity over power.

3. RSS Feed support - The hosts I recommend below all automatically create an RSS feed for you, but if you go with a different host, make sure they do as well.

4. Embeddable players - How easy is it to embed a player with an episode somewhere else (do you even need this feature?). Do you like what it looks like?

5. Sitebuilder - Some podcast hosts give you a site builder so you can build a complete website that can easily integrate your episodes. This may be useful or completely unnecessary for you. Others simply give you a basic podcast page that lists your episodes.

I've created a comparison chart below for the 5 most popular podcast hosting services:

None of them is a bad choice. Try to find the one that has the combination of pricing, user-friendliness, and style that fits you best.

If you'd like a more in-depth breakdown of podcast hosting options, here's a review of the best podcast hosting options.

Step 4: Record Your Podcast

You can finally start creating your podcast episodes.

Start by setting up your microphone.

If you just have a USB microphone, plug it into your computer and it should be recognized automatically.

If you went with an analog microphone, follow the instructions that your audio interface came from.

I'll outline the basics of recording, and your options, for 3 main podcasting scenarios:

1. Solo podcasting (just you).

2. Podcasting with multiple people locally.

3. Podcasting with multiple people in multiple locations (like a Skype interview).

Option #1 (solo podcast) - Record with Audacity

A solo podcast is the simplest type of podcast to make.

All of the audio software I went over in the equipment section has an option to record from a microphone.

The exact details will depend on the software you chose, but in Audacity, you pick your microphone device from the drop-down menu on the top toolbar:

With you microphone selected, you can press the circle "record" button to start recording the audio input to the microphone.

Press the square "stop" button to end the recording.

You can press the "play" button to listen to the clip you recorded and make sure that it was recording your voice.

Don't worry if you have to repeat certain things to get them right during your podcast episode, you can always clip out bad parts later.

Option #2 (multiple microphones locally) - Use Audacity Workaround or Audio Interface

If you have 2 or more people recording locally, you'll want a microphone for each person.

Ideally, you'll have an audio interface that supports however many inputs you need.

This lets you record and edits multiple channels.

Unfortunately, Audacity only supports one audio input for recording at a time.

There are a few workarounds in this situation.

If you're on Windows, use a program like VoiceMeeter (free) or Virtual Audio Cable (paid).

Here is a VoiceMeeter tutorial:

While Virtual Audio Cable is paid, it also supports more inputs.

On OSX, you can set up an aggregate device in Utilities to combine multiple inputs to record as one.

Option #3 (multiple people remotely) - Record Over Skype

Interviewing a guest over Skype is the most common podcasting situation by far.

There are 2 main options that you can pick from, both work fine.
Pamela: A free, easy to use a recorder. It has a nice interface for navigating past recordings.

There is a free version, but it only records up to a maximum of 15 minutes.

The professional version is a one-time $25 fee and has no restrictions.

MP3 Skype Recorder: A very simple recording interface with a minimal learning curve.

It also has a free and paid version, but the paid version is cheaper than Pamela.

The free version works great but is not intended for commercial use, which your podcast probably falls under.

Try the free version of both out and see which one you like best.

Step 5: Editing Your Podcast Episodes

Editing audio is a lot like editing video, but simpler.

Still, all audio editing software has a learning curve, and you'll need to commit time to learn how to use it.

If you want to avoid this, you can use a post-production service like Auphonic. They will take care of volume normalization, hum reduction, and other editing tasks for a reasonably low price.

If you want to DIY, here are the main things you'll need to do.

Import and Clip Together Your Audio Files

First, you'll need to import your audio clips into your editing software, like Audacity.

You do this by going to "File > Import > Audio" in the menu:

You may have multiple clips of your episode content, as well as your intro, outro, and any ads.

You can then see the profile of each clip and edit them individually or together.

To move parts around, you can highlight a portion of a clip, and then cut and paste it somewhere else (just like text):

You can also select any single track and apply effects like 'Noise Reduction':

Audacity has a nice little beginners tutorial that goes over how to do these.

These take time and effort to learn, but once you have them down it won't take too long to edit an episode.

Here's a start to finish example of editing a podcast episode using Audacity:

Export Your Episode as an MP3

If you're using Audacity, download the installer package for the LAME MP3 encoder.

Then, go to "File > Export Audio" in Audacity to bring up a save menu:

Set the file type to MP3, and bitrate to at least 128kbps.

Your sample rate should be 44.1 kHz by default, but you can always confirm it in "Edit > Preferences > Quality".

Once you click "Save", another pop-up will come up that allows you to tag your audio file.

Tags are used to provide information about your file, like who made it, and what its title is.

Some directories will pull this information automatically from your host, but it's always nice to have here as a backup.

If you're not sure how to label tags, here's a trick: Download a podcast you like, then right-click the file, click "properties", and go to the "details" tab.

You can base your tags on the professionally done ones.

You can access your tags and edit them later in Audacity at any time by going to "File > Open Metadata Editor".

You don't necessarily need all the tags, but here are the basic ones that are good to include when possible:

Track - Your episode number, which may be used for sorting.

Title - Your full episode title, which will probably include the episode number.

Artist - The name of the host(s), which is likely you.

Album - The title of your podcast.

Year

Genre - Most people just put "Podcast".

Comment - A short description of the episode.

URL - The URL for your show notes, or a relevant episode page.

Now you should have a fully polished episode ready to go.

Step 6: After you publish your podcast, how do you promote it?

To publish your episode, upload it to your host provider. This is just a simple file upload, and your host should give you instructions when you sign up.

Now it's time to try and get listeners.

What you'll need: Your podcast's RSS feed (get from your hosting provider).

Start by Listing Your Podcast in Top Directories

When listeners browse directories like iTunes or Stitcher, they only see podcasts that have been added to the directory.

You only have to add your show to a directory once. From there, your RSS feed will update as you add episodes, and the directories will update as well.

Most directories only require you to have a single episode on your RSS feed, but it's a good idea to have at least 5 or so. If someone listens to an episode of yours, you want them to be able to listen to more to encourage them to subscribe.

The main directories you'll want to add your show to are:

Most are simple, you just add your RSS feed.

For iTunes, follow these steps:

1. Open iTunes and go to the iTunes store.

2. Click "Submit a Podcast" on the right menu.

1. Log in to iTunes Connect.

2. Paste in your feed and click 'Continue'.

3. Review the information and submit your podcast.

Increase Your Chances of Success With a Launch

If you've ever tried blogging, you know that putting up posts and then hoping people find them is a bad idea.

The same goes for podcasts.

It's possible that you'll get lucky and end up getting featured in the "New and Noteworthy" section on iTunes (or another directory).

But you're leaving a lot up to chance.

Instead, you should do everything you can to "launch" your podcast and get several good reviews at the start.

Here are some ideas:

Ask any current email subscribers.

Email friends asking them to check out the show and leave a review.

Join niche communities and share your show if they allow it (be transparent).

Don't be afraid to spend a lot of 1-on-1 time to get a review at the start, they can be incredibly valuable over time.

You can also encourage reviews over time by thanking people who leave good reviews in your future episodes.

Publish on Your Website With Show Notes (Optional, but Recommended)

There's one common situation I haven't addressed too much.
What if you already have a website, or want to start one first before starting the podcast?
The simplest option is a WordPress site.

Many podcasters use the following podcasting configuration:

Blubrry podcast hosting.

PowerPress (a BluBrry WordPress plugin).

WordPress.

PowerPress allows you to input your podcast's RSS feed in WordPress, and then attach podcast episodes to posts on your websites.

Most podcasts use these posts as "show notes", where you provide links to things talked about in each episode, and maybe a transcription.

Perhaps the best thing about PowerPress is that you can upload your episodes from your WordPress admin panel, and it will upload it to your hosting automatically.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

When you ask failed podcasters what went wrong, you'll hear certain things come up often.

1. Not Planning Long-Term

If you do everything in this guide, it will take quite a bit of time and effort. You might spend a month planning your podcast before you even start.

But, you'll have a single episode up and more importantly, a solid foundation to grow on.

You will not have thousands of downloads per day overnight.

If you're not prepared to work hard for 6-12 months, knowing that you won't see a ton of positive results in that time, you're unlikely to succeed. That's the harsh truth.

The work in this guide is just a start, and you need to continue to put in the work after.

2. Not Being Consistent

Just like it's a good idea to blog consistently, it's a good idea to publish podcast episodes on a consistent schedule.

Your most loyal listeners will expect to see a new episode from you based on whatever publishing schedule you pick. If you randomly miss publishing dates, you'll find that you'll lose listeners.

Plan ahead and always have multiple episodes ready to publish in case you can't record one at some point due to vacation or illness.

3. Not Promoting Your Show

Finally, as mentioned before, promoting your show is the best way to get early traction.

When you have no listeners initially, you have no reviews or downloads, which means that you have no way to get new listeners.

Promoting your show on your blog, email list, social media, or in forums is the best way to get the early listens and reviews that will determine how fast your audience grows.

Five thousand words later and you should have a good idea of what you'll need to do to start a successful podcast.

If you're overwhelmed, just start at step 1 and take it one step at a time.

It's still a great time to start a podcast, and with some hard work, it could be your sole business or a great marketing channel in a year or so.

Good luck!

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How To Do A Podcast: Get Started Today Ever listened to a podcast and thought, "hey, I could do that."? Or maybe you've heard of others making six figures every month from podcasting. The good news is that the barrier to entry for starting a podcast is low.

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Some Strangeness in the Proportion: The Exquisite Beauties of Edgar Allan Poe

We are gathered here together, in the front pages of this book, so that I may tell you, and myself, several matters concerning Edgar A. Poe, "Edgar, a poet to a T," as he once described himself, and the strange tales and poems by him that are here assembled.

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Some Strangeness in the Proportion: The Exquisite Beauties of Edgar Allan Poe We are gathered here together, in the front pages of this book, so that I may tell you, and myself, several matters concerning Edgar A. Poe, "Edgar, a poet to a T," as he once described himself, and the strange tales and poems by him that are here assembled.

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Jason Reynolds reading an excerpt from For Everyone

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Jason Reynolds reading an excerpt from For Everyone

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3 EASY Card Tricks You Can Learn In 5 MINUTES!!!

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Searching for kid-friendly science experiments to do at home? Whether you're prepping for a fifth-grade science fair or want something fun to do with preschoolers, these cool science experiments for kids are super easy and a lot of fun for kids of all ages. Parents may end up learning a new thing or two, too!

Children are born scientists. They're always experimenting with something, whether they're throwing a plate of spaghetti on the wall, blowing bubbles in the bathwater, or stacking blocks into an intricate tower only to destroy it in one big swipe. Happily, you can do some pretty mind-blowing, hands-on science experiments at home using stuff you probably have lying around the house.

Want even more science experiments for kids like this? Check out our list of 25 Preschool Science Experiments, and more, in our Guide to Science Experiments for Kids, which is packed with fun STEM activities.

Popular KiwiCo, Green Kid Crafts, and Mel Chemistry subscription boxes send age-appropriate projects every month, so you never run out of science experiments you can do at home.

Coolest Science Experiments for Kids at Home

1. Make rock candy

Learn about the crystallization process by learning how to make rock candy in a glass.

2. Make a lava lamp

Make a lava lamp by pouring vegetable oil into water and then adding an Alka-Seltzer tablet to make the blob of oil move.

3. Make homemade slime

Borax plus glue equals homemade slime.

4. Frozen bubbles

Blow bubbles outside when temperatures dip to the single digits and watch them freeze.

5. Invisible Ink

Use lemon juice to make invisible ink that can only be seen when held up to a heat source.

6. Walking rainbows

Use food coloring and water to make a walking rainbow and explore how combining primary colors makes secondary colors.

7. Paper towel art/magic

This paper towel art magic trick, which also involves science for an added bonus. Permanent and washable markers make art and teach about solubility at the same time.
RELATED: 1000s of Boredom Busters for Kids
8. Pepper and soap experiment

Dish soap, pepper, a toothpick, and a little bit of water are all kids need to feel like science wizards. Watch a little drop of soap chase pepper away in the pepper and soap experiment.

9. Balloon carbon dioxide experiment

Create carbon dioxide and hang on while you use it to fill up a balloon.

10. Skittles science experiment

Learn about a phenomenon called water stratification, using Skittles as the subject matter. Perfect for after Halloween!

Fun Science Experiments Using Household Staples

11. Marshmallow catapult

Build a marshmallow catapult out of a plastic spoon, rubber bands, and Popsicle sticks.

12. Make a parachute for toys

Use a plastic bag and cup to build a parachute for a light toy.

13. Dye flowers with food coloring

Place white flowers in colored water and watch how they soak up the hues.

RELATED: 50 Magna-Tiles Games and Building Ideas for Kids

14. Baking soda lemon juice experiment

Create a colorful and fizzy reaction by adding a drop of food coloring and a little baking soda to a sliced lemon.

15. Make homemade butter

Make your own butter by shaking a jar of heavy cream.

16. Homemade ice cream in a bag

Make homemade ice cream in a bag: shake salt, ice, cream, and sugar vigorously until the consistency is right, then enjoy.

17. Do oil and water mix?

Plop oil into water to see that they really don't mix; try it with a variety of liquids to make a rainbow of stripes.

RELATED: 25 Exercise Games to Do with Kids Indoors

18. Egg in a bottle experiment

Force an egg to fit into a bottle by creating a suction using heat.

19. Floating eggs

Change how an egg floats or sinks in a glass by adding salt to the water.

20. Turn milk into plastic

Turn milk into a material that acts like plastic using white vinegar.

21. Thriving yeast experiment

Mix a batch of bread dough and separate it into several different bowls; place them in different places (outside, inside, in the dark, in the light) to see which environment yeast thrives in.

22. How does mold grow?

Grow mold on bread by putting slices in different environments (in a bag in the dark, in a bag in the sunlight, out in the open, in the refrigerator); see which one gets moldy first.

23. The taste-smell connection

Have your kids close their eyes and hold their noses and see if they can still identify foods by taste.

24. Make easy homemade cheese
RELATED: 75 Indoor Activities for Kids for Rainy Days
Dabble in some kitchen science while making this yummy ricotta cheese.

25. Make an eggshell disappear

Your egg will be so embarrassed when you leave it naked! Dissolve the shell right off an egg by simply placing it in a cup of vinegar.

26. Make a taste bud map

Map taste buds by dipping Q-tips into different flavors and placing them on different areas of your tongue.

27. Find the fatty food with a simple trick

Explore the fat content of different foods by wiping them on a brown paper bag; fatty foods leave behind a greasy spot, while fruits and vegetables leave no trace at all.

Slime, Putty, and Oobleck Science Experiments for Kids

28. Silly putty recipe

You will be squeaky clean after creating this satisfying non-sticky putty by simply combining cornstarch and dish soap.

29. Easy Oobleck recipe

Whip up some Oobleck, a fascinating non-Newtonian fluid that can act like a solid or a liquid depending on certain conditions.

30. Ivory soap in microwave

Microwave Ivory soap (or any soap that floats) to create a bizarre puffy soufflé.

Outdoor and Nature Science Experiments

31. Grow beans

Grow a bean in a clear cup to watch the roots grow down and the stem grow up.

32. Make a duck call/whistle from a straw

Craft a duck call by cutting the ends of a straw into a point, then blow.

33. Musical bottles

Set up a row of bottles with varying amounts of liquid and then blow across the openings to hear the different tones.

34. How to make a sundial

Make a sundial by placing a stick in a vertical position and a circle of rocks around it marking each hour.

35. Cut ice cubes like magic

Cut ice in half using a fishing wire-the pressure melts the ice faster than the air.

36. Make a rainbow

Make a rainbow by holding a glass of water up to the sunlight with a sheet of paper behind it to catch the colors.

37. Tornado in a bottle

Create a tornado in a bottle by taping two plastic bottles together neck to neck-one filled, the other empty-and swirling it quickly.

38. How to make a solar oven

S'more science, please! Harness the power of the sun and turn a pizza box into a solar oven and roast some delicious treats for the whole family.

Science Experiments for Kids that Fizz, Bubble, and Foam

39. Baking soda volcano science project

Mix baking soda, vinegar, and glitter for a sparkly volcano.

40. Diet Coke and Mentos

Mix Diet Coke and Mentos and stand back to watch the explosion. (Really! Stand back.)

41. Pop Rocks and soda

Drop Pop Rocks into a bottle of soda and then place a balloon onto the opening to watch it inflate.

42. What will shine a penny?

Discover how to keep your pennies shiny by experimenting with different cleaning solutions.

43. How to make elephant toothpaste

Make " elephant toothpaste" (a.k.a. an impressive large foam) out of soap, yeast, and hydrogen peroxide. For the holidays, turn it into " reindeer toothpaste."

44. Glitter germ experiment

This glitter does more than shine, it sparks a scientific experiment to see how far germs can spread.

45. Dancing popcorn experiment

Baking soda and vinegar react to make popcorn kernels hop around a jar of water.

46. Fizzy chalk fireworks with sidewalk chalk

This STEM activity adds some sizzle to your summertime sidewalk chalk using just a few basic ingredients: baking soda, cornstarch, food coloring, and vinegar.

Physics and Physical Science Experiments for Kids

47. Milk and food coloring experiment

Learn about surface tension by dropping food coloring into milk and watch as the colors move when you add some soap.

48. Rube Goldberg machine for kids

Make a Rube Goldberg machine featuring a series of moving pieces that affect one another: marbles, dominoes, books, and most any surface.

49. Balloon rocket car

Build a rocket balloon car using a Styrofoam tray, a balloon, and a straw; watch how air pressure moves it across the table.

50. Dominant eye / dominant hand

Looking for hands-on science experiments? Ask your kids to do simple tasks with their hands, feet, and eyes (like grab a ball, stand on one foot, or wink) to see which side is dominant.

51. Reaction time test

Test your reaction time by having a friend drop a ruler between two almost closed fingers. See how fast you can grab it.

52. Soap boats

Explore the scientific concept of density while taking a bath. Ivory soap boats do more than just float, they demonstrate density.

RELATED: 40 Snow Day Boredom Busters for Kids

53. Paper cup tower activity

Engineer a tall tower using red party cups and sheets of paper. How high can you go?

54. Best paper airplane design

Fold a paper airplane and then bend a corner to see how that changes its flight path.

55. Blind spots

Find your blind spot by moving a card with a speck on it until you can no longer see the spot.

56. Build a miniature windmill

Build a miniature windmill using a few simple objects. Watch it spin faster or slower based on the direction of the "blades."

57. Simple energy transfer experiment

Bounce a ball on top of another to watch how the energy transfers to the top ball and leaves the bottom one "dead."

58. Easy centripetal force experiment

Demonstrate centripetal force by spinning a bucket of water on a rope in a vertical circle.

More Easy Science Experiments for Kids

59. Egg drop project

Build a container for an egg that protects it from breaking and then test it out by dropping it from on high.

60. How to make a bouncy ball

Fashion your own bouncy balls with this recipe to see how various shapes bounce differently.

61. Balloon speakers

Use a balloon to amplify sound by holding it to your ear.

62. Shaving cream cloud experiment

Budding meteorologists can create shaving cream storm clouds and Technicolor raindrops.

63. Balloon static electricity

Make static electricity by rubbing balloons on clothing or shuffling on the carpet with socks, then zap someone with a quick touch.

64. Gummy bear science experiment

These gummies won't be so yummy in your tummy, but you can watch gummy bears grow by placing them in water, salt water, and vinegar.

65. Make a periscope

Build your own periscope using a milk container and carefully angled mirrors that allow you to see things above or behind you.

66. Fingerprint science experiment

Be a DIY spy with this fun fingerprint experiment. Collect fingerprints using one of these methods, and then dive a little deeper with a forensic study of fingerprint patterns.
This article may contain some affiliate links, which means we might earn a small commission if you make a purchase. There is no extra cost to the reader. We only recommend products and services that we have personally used or have thoroughly researched. This article was first published in 2014, but it has since been updated. Additional reporting and photos by Ally Noel except where noted.
67. Expanding ice experiment

Fill a plastic bottle to the brim with water and put it in the freezer; in a few hours, the bottle will crack because ice expands.

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67 Easy Science Experiments for Kids To Do at Home

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Searching for kid-friendly science experiments? These easy science experiments use household products, food, and other items you probably have on hand.

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Tomi Adeyemi writing courses! Also follow her on IG for a new story writing challenge.

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Tomi Adeyemi writing courses! Also follow her on IG for a new story writing challenge.

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Tomi Adeyemi | Author - Speaker - Teacher

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Shop + Courses - Tomi Adeyemi | Author - Speaker - Teacher

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Learn the exact system I use to outline and plot all of my stories. Using the techniques I'm about to teach you, I was able to plot, write, and edit a new book in 2 months that got me into a top writing competition, landed me my dream agents, and got me my book and movie deal!