Back to school with the Alaska State Library, Archives, and Museum

It's back-to-school time here in Alaska! The State Library, Archives, and Museum support education and teachers with some unique resources and opportunities. Here are some ways that we can help make this your best year ever!

We help students succeed by providing resources and educational support for all Alaskans. Here are a few of our favorites:

• Live Homework Help: Can't afford a tutor? Get free help from the experts at tutor.com every day from noon to 2 am Alaska time.
  
• Test Prep: The Testing & Education Reference Center provides practice tests and resources for students getting ready for the SAT, ACT, AP exams, GED, graduate school tests, or vocational exams.
  
   
• Articles and Databases: The Alaska State Library provides access to research resources to all Alaskans. Find full articles, encyclopedias, news, and language resources for writing reports or just for fun.
  

The Library, Archives, and Museum also supports Alaska's teachers. Although the Archives and Museum are currently closed to the public, we still provide opportunities to bring historical and cultural activities into the classroom.

• Hands-on Loan Program: Alaskan teachers, students, libraries, and museums can borrow objects from the Alaska State Museum's Hands-on Loan Program, managed by the Sheldon Jackson Museum in Sitka. This collection, which is separate from the Museum's permanent collection, includes hundreds of objects from Alaska Native cultures and natural history specimens, including animal hides, baleen, and plant samples.

  

  This Eskimo yo-yo is one of hundreds of objects available to check out. Trying to get the balls rotating in opposite directions is a favorite activity with museum visitors of all ages. Photo courtesy Alaska State Museum.

• Historic photographs: The Alaska State Library Historical Collections is a primary contributor to Alaska's Digital Archives, a photo database that includes thousands of historic Alaskan photographs from major research institutions around the state.

  

  Juneau's first school in Log Cabin Church, 1885. Alaska State Library - Historical Collections, PCA 01-2208.

• Alaska history modules: The Museum and Historical Collections have created Alaska history modules on several topics, including Eight Stars of Gold: The Story of Alaska's Flag, Quilts of Alaska, and Alaska's Gold.

  

  The Alaska's Gold module uses primary source materials to tell the story of Alaska's golden history.

• Art activities: Artists and museum staff develop kids' activities and instructional videos to correspond with their exhibits. A selection of these is available on the Museum's Teacher's Resources page, including hats and headdresses, a birchbark canoe, and Alaskan action figures.

  

  An Alaskan action figure with two dogs and sled, made from pipe cleaners and tongue depressors. Photo courtesy Alaska State Museum.

  
  

We look forward to seeing teachers, students, and families at the new Kashevaroff State Library, Archives, and Museum next spring. In August 2016, we will be hosting First Folio! The Book That Gave Us Shakespeare, on tour from the Folger Shakespeare Library, and will work with teachers to arrange class visits.

Since You Asked! Episode 20: Mango and OWL for Language Learning

Librarian Freya Anderson talks about how she uses Mango Languages and OWL videoconferencing to gain confidence and keep her brain young. Find out more about these great resources, accessible to all Alaska residents with internet access, and how you can join the Alaska State Library's French language discussion group.

Listen to Podcast (.mp3)
[10 minutes]
Recorded on November 12-13, 2014

Find out more:

• SLED
• Mango Languages for Alaska residents
• Language learning resources
• The Alaska OWL Program
• Learning a second language as an adult keeps your brain young, by Jessica Hullinger, in mental_floss, published online July 7, 2014
• What happens in the brain when you learn a language? by Alison Mackey, in The Guardian, published online September 4, 2014

Since You Asked! Episode 18: Juneau Teacher Tales, 1930-1959

The Juneau Retired Teachers Association recently published the second edition of their book about Juneau teachers' experiences. The book includes personal histories by teachers who worked in Juneau in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, as well as information about Juneau's educational history. In this podcast, librarian Claire Imamura talks with retired teachers Barb Potter and Marie Darlin about the project.

Listen to Podcast (.mp3)
[ 20 minutes]
Recorded on September 29, 2014


Learn more about the Juneau Retired Teachers Association and find resources for your own historical research project:

• Alaska Retired Educators Association
• Juneau History Grant
• Alaska State Library Historical Collections

Non-Newtonian Fluids

Question: I am teaching a high school class about non-Newtonian fluids. Could you direct me to some cool facts and experiments on the subject?

Answer: "Interesting Thing of the Day" at http://itotd.com/articles/624/non-newtonian-fluids/ provides a background on the discovery and varieties of non-Newtonian fluids . At the bottom you will find a number of useful links. Perhaps the most fun are the YouTube experiment videos. The viscosity chart further clarifies the distinctions between the different types of fluids. Students may be interested in the links to geophysical diagrams and the MIT research group's page on man made and naturally occurring examples.

A step-by-step guide to an easy experiment is found on Instructables at http://www.instructables.com/id/Oobleck/. The lesson is directed at elementary kids, but the concept applies to all ages. Non-Newtonian fluid is sometimes referred to as an Oobleck based on Dr. Seuss' book Bartholomew and the Oobleck. This lesson incorporates the book into the experiment.

In addition, videos of reproducible experiments can be found on "TutorVista.com" at http://www.tutorvista.com/ks/non-newtonian-fluid-dynamics and "Wonder How To" at http://science.wonderhowto.com/how-to/make-non-newtonian-fluid-18105/.