Ray of Sunshine #4...Aquarium of the Pacific

 

http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/

The Aquarium of the Pacific is located in Long Beach, CA. It looks like an amazing place if you like the sea and the creatures in it. Their webcams are just what the doctor ordered if you need some undersea zen moments. Miss Bunn particularly found the Anthias and Wrasse Exhibit webcam to be very soothing in full screen mode.

Click the link above to get to their main page. Click on exhibits and then webcams to be taken to the webcam page. Their are several to choose from. Penquin Habitat (both above and below water), Sea Jellies, Tropical Reef, Honda Blue Cavern, Anthias and Wrasse Exhibt, and Shark Lagoon. Can you say "Why wait for shark week"?

At the bottom of each webcam screen click on the "Aquarium Webcam Resource Kit" to find lesson plans, short educational videos, worksheets, and web-based activities and resources for K-8th grade students.

The Aquarium is offering an Online Academy to bring educational programming as well as fun and entertaining activities to the public during the current closure.There you will find both on-demand videos and activities for all ages (grade levels K through 12 are listed) and a schedule of interactive live programs with aquarium educators, from virtual classroom sessions to Pacific Pals puppets. Check back often as the page will be updated regularly with new content and live dates as they become available.​ There is even a Sea Star Certificate to print out for kids who have tuned in to one of the programs.

SO much to do there and now we have the time to do it! Enjoy!

Ray of Sunshine #3 FTDT...

Sometimes YouTube is like a wayback machine. This aired in 1978 but Steve Martin never gets old. Get the whole family to dance along! Enjoy!

Ray of Sunshine #2 for these Dark Times...

Need a little downtime? Something mindless yet colorful?
Try Drench! The world's simplest web game.

The object is to clear the board until just one color remains using the number of steps given. (Game play starts in the upper left hand corner.) You will advance to the next level when you have successfully completed the level you are on.

Give it a try!

Ray of Sunshine #1 for these Dark Times...

Bored at home? Here is something that you can get lost in for hours on end.

Open Culture is a website dedicated to "bringing together high-quality cultural & educational media for the worldwide lifelong learning community. Web 2.0 has given us great amounts of intelligent audio and video. It's all free. It's all enriching. But it's also scattered across the web, and not easy to find. Our whole mission is to centralize this content, curate it, and give you access to this high quality content whenever and wherever you want it."

Here you will find free classes, ebooks, audiobooks, movies, language lessons, resources for kids, lectures and more!

Sounds like fun to us! Enjoy!

A Lit(erature) Recommendation!

Today we're offering up a fun video series, that's both entertaining and informative, about the exciting world of literature!

YouTuber and film critic Lindsay Ellis has garnered critical acclaim for her thought-provoking & well-researched comedic critiques on Disney, Joel Schumacher's infamous adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera, the Lord of the Rings film series, and more. Last year Ellis partnered with PBS to develop and host a new YouTube series about literature entitled "It's Lit!" Each episode focuses on a fun subtopic in literature, and the series includes such videos as the classic "Book vs Film" argument, depictions of death in fiction, and ghostwriting!

The first video in the series is embedded below; have fun, be informed, and enjoy "It's Lit!" with Lindsay Ellis!

Hi there Peeps! Long time no blog!

But hey, no worries, I have an amazing website to share with you today. It's called Atlas Obscura and it is FULL of amazing, interesting things from around the globe.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/

       




This is from their About page:

We share
discoveries.

We are a global community of explorers, who have together created a comprehensive database of the world’s most wondrous places and foods —19,818 of them contributed by our community so far, and more every day, from a secret apartment atop the Eiffel Tower to bridges built out of living roots, from a temple shaped like a chicken to an island ruled by cats, from a fruit that tastes like chocolate pudding to a spicy chutney made out of red ants. 

I don't know about you, but they had me at the red ant chutney.....YUM!  Seriously, this is a site to go and explore when you have some time to spend. There are wonderful photos, maps, and videos to feast on. This rabbit hole is a deep one.

Atlas Obscura also hosts events all over the country every week: " In nine U.S. cities, Atlas Obscura Societies create intimate, wondrous experiences for our community. From back-room tours to workshops with the world’s most remarkable people, we give our community access to the rarest experiences."

Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. are two of the cities where events are hosted so, if you are interested, I recommend signing up to get newsletters and trip info.

And if that isn't enough they have just come out with the 2nd edition of their best selling book Atlas

Obscura: An Explorer's Guide to the World's Hidden Wonders. (Santa, take a hint!)

By the way, we have this title in our collection. At the moment it's sitting on the new non-fiction shelf waiting for you to come check it out. What are you waiting for?

Tooting our own horn

Now I'm sure that everyone has written down their New Years Resolution and is well on their way to slowly but surely dwindling on the enthusiasm.

But if learning a new language was part of that list - Annville Free Library has a fun way to keep on top of that!

We have recently gotten Pronunciator.  This will help you study from your phone and computer.  It also allows you to download and print items out.  And the complete bright side is - it's completely free for you!

Learn languages you never dreamed of knowing.
Simply follow the link and it'll ask you to enter your library card number and it would be who of you to enter your email address (for your sanity sake).

See or call a librarian if you have any questions and we'll be happy to walk you through it.


LET THE LEARNING BEGIN!