More Summer Outreach: DoIT ITA!

They're not quite in high school yet, but this August Madison-area ninth graders participating in University of Wisconsin's DoIT ITA program are already preparing for college courses.

DoIT is University of Wisconsin-Madison's Division of Information Technology; each summer DoIT hosts a two-week Information Technology Academy (ITA) pre-college program for a group of high school freshmen from all over Madison.

As part of the ITA program, the Water Library and Steenbock Memorial Library teamed up to host an internet search strategy seminar for ITA student participants. The seminar theme was "What's in your water bottle?" and featured a whole host of activities designed to help the students learn more about searching scholarly databases while investigating the impact of bottled water.

The water bottle research guide (pictured above) helped DoIT ITA students
learn more about searching academic databases.

The seminar included a water taste test, which challenged students to choose the best-tasting water among 3 different samples. The students were also asked to guess which samples were bottled and which samples came from the library's tap. An overwhelming majority of the students preferred the taste of the library's tap water. Many were surprised by the results.

A short video about the increase of bottled water consumption was shown.

Finally, a database scavenger hunt challenged the ninth graders to find information about the growth in bottled-water consumption since 1980 and which university campuses in the US are banning the sales of bottled water. This scavenger hunt also helped introduce different scholarly databases and how to best use keyword searches.

This program is beneficial and fun for the high school participants. The Water Library is so grateful to be involved each year!

Enjoying the Summer!

With summer coming to a close, we would like to offer our readers a review of the unique outreach events that kept us busy over the past few months.

Grandparent's University: During a spell of beautiful July weather in Madison, Water Library staff had the great pleasure of joining other Wisconsin Sea Grant staff to co-present UW-Madison's Grandparent's University (GPU). Along with staff and emeritus professors from the Center for Limnology (CFL), grandchildren (ages 7 to 14) joined their grandparents to explore the Limnology "major" through hands-on activities, both on the water and in the classroom.

During the Great Lakes portion of the major (which Wisconsin Sea Grant teaches) participants joined in a rousing game of Great Lakes Trivia, much like the popular Jeopardy game on TV. They then explored Great Lakes fishes by first learning about one of the mightiest of fish - the Lake Sturgeon - then using a dichotomous key to identify some other native (and nonnative) fish found in Lake Michigan.

The third portion of the session introduced the participants to ROVs (remotely operated vehicles) and gave them an opportunity to test for buoyancy on their own personal coat hangar ROV. This young participant was the first to get her ROV to achieve neutral buoyancy:

The Water Library is already looking forward to co-presenting Grandparent's University next summer!

Story Time @ Madison Public Libraries:

During the summer (and throughout the year) we've had the pleasure of partnering with different public libraries in Southern Wisconsin where we present water-themed story times. This summer we visited two branches of Madison Public Library, Sequoya and Hawthorne. At both locations, we presented our"Sink or Swim" session which has become one of our favorites. After reading some wonderful story books - including Arthur's Dream Boat by Polly Dunbar and Boat Ride with Lillian Two Blossom by Patricia Polacco, the children got a chance to become "citizen scientists" themselves. Their experiment was to  to figure out whether certain household items (bar of soap, bendy straws, toothpicks, egg, etc) would sink or float in the water. They would make a hypothesis (Would it or wouldn't it?), test the item and then record their results. Finally, children were invited to create their own boats with kitchen sponges, bendy straws and foam sails and to test their boat to see if it would sink!

Story Time @ Cross Plains Public Library:

The library also hosted a pond-themed story time at Rosemary Garfoot Public Library in Cross Plains, Wisconsin. The children enjoyed Box Turtle at Long Pond by William T. George and other pond-themed books and then participants had the opportunity to create their own pond ecosystems:

Please contact the Water Library at askwater@aqua.wisc.edu if you would like us to come and visit!

Great Lakes Restoration Success Stories Map

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, an association comprised of more than 120 environmental and conservation groups, has produced an interactive map that highlights the
successful federal restoration projects that abound throughout the Great Lakes.  Users can peruse the map and discover projects that are positively impacting the environment and economy. Examples of projects include ones that combat invasive species, contain toxic pollution, curtail polluted runoff, and support habitat restoration.  There is certainly more work that needs to be accomplished, but this map is useful in highlighting the positive impact many project already underway have had in safeguarding our treasured Great Lakes resources.

Additional reading/viewing on the topic of Great Lakes restoration:
Access the Great Lakes Restoration Success Stories Map
Read Great Lakes Echo's story about restoration projects in Michigan
Watch Revitalizing Local Waterfront Economies: The Great Lakes Legacy Act video

Book Revew: Eating Aliens

This week's discovery that sea lampreys were imported from the Great Lakes and baked into a pie that was presented to the Queen of England on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee made us recall a recent addition to our library's collection.  Eating Aliens: One Man's Adventures Hunting Invasive Animal Species details the unique approach its author takes to the problem of invasives, he eats them.  Author Jackson Landers researches and hunts these animals, cooks and consumes them, and shares all the details.  Some of the animals he samples include Black Spiny-Tailed Iguanas, European Green Crabs, Lionfish, and even our local foe, the Asian Carp. 

Ultimately one might conclude that we humans might be the greatest "invasive species" on earth for our large-scale impact on other species, so it prompts the question:

"Can this human ability to harvest wild food in dangerously efficient ways be harnessed for good ecological cause? ...If invasive species such as starlings and Asian carp were rediscovered as desirable food sources, we would clear our sky and water of them, just as surely as we've wiped out so many native plants and animals." (from Introduction, page 3)

Check out our Water Research Guide on the topic of "Aquatic Invasive Species" here.

If you are a Wisconsin resident and would like to check out this or any other book, please fill out our book request form. If you are a UW student, faculty or staff, please request books through the Library Catalog.

Book Review: Going Full Circle

Join husband-wife team Mike Link and Kate Crowley as they hike around the world’s largest freshwater lake, Lake Superior. The couple adds adventure memoir author to their already numerous list of titles such as, naturalists, travel writers and parents & grandparents.  Their recounting of the five-month's long hike through Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ontario is compiled in this award-winning, recent addition to the Water Library's collection, Going Full Circle: A 1,555-mile walk around the World's Largest Lake. Their walk is filled with personal observations, scientific information, and passages that are certain to connect readers to the awe and beauty of the Great Lakes region.  There is also an abundance of information available of their website: http://www.fullcirclesuperior.org which they use to continue their advocacy of fresh water resource issues.

Next up for this adventurous couple is a 4,500-mile trip by bicycle and boat along the Mississippi River to the Gulf.  

If you are a Wisconsin resident and would like to check out this or any other book, please fill out our book request form. If you are a UW student, faculty or staff, please request books through the Library Catalog.

Views of the National Parks

Screenshot taken from Views website's "Badlands" page

Views of the National Parks (Views) is a program of the National Park Service that presents the vast natural, cultural, and historical resources of our national parks through an info-laden, interactive website. Users can select a specific park and explore countless pages filled with maps, park history, and indispensable suggestions on how to plan your future visits.  Educators may choose to access the "Teacher's Lounge" and select lesson plans or explore suggestions of countless other park-related topics.  The site also offers users the option to navigate by choosing subjects related to our National Parks, such as Air Quality, Storms, and Paleontology. 

Take a moment and navigate around the website, experience the rich visual feast, and perhaps plan for your next summer vacation visit to one of our national treasures.

Book Review: Bird Songs - 250 North American Birds In Song

Hoot, hoot! Tweet, tweet!  Warble, warble! Chirp, chirp!

One of the highlights of Spring is opening your windows and hearing the birds sing outside.  We at the Water Library, have been enjoying those sounds outside our window as well.  We've even spotted a Great Horned Owl and Red Tailed Hawk perched in a nearby tree. 

The library has a number of books on birds, but we'd like to highlight one today that would be of great use for those wishing the could identify the nearby bird by the sing-song sounds its makes.  Bird Songs: 250 North American Birds In Song not only includes descriptive passages and photos, but an audio player that allows one to select the corresponding audio file and listen to the bird song.  They highlighted sections include Seabirds, Shorebirds, and Waterbirds, Forest birds, Woodland birds, and Open-Country birds.

Produced by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, a world renowned resource, the fascinating book can lead readers and listeners of all ages to some wonderful discoveries.  Check out the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's website too.  Their Macaulay Library has a comprehensive collection of sounds made by the birds of North America.  Definitely worth

If you are a Wisconsin resident and would like to check out this or any other book, please fill out our book request form. If you are a UW student, faculty or staff, please request books through the Library Catalog.