- Emily Stoll
- Friday, June 05, 2020
Create your own 2020 Summer Learning Challenge by finding opportunities in the community to learn, create and share.
With a goal of keeping minds active and engaged to combat the summer slide - so students don't fall behind and lose what they learned over the course of the academic year - staff from the Children's Room at Richland Library is offering some suggestions. Check out these different resources and activities, which were also featured in The State newspaper.
Learn about Dinosaurs
If you have an aspiring paleontologist at home, you’ll love these resources from Richland Library and beyond. Your youngest dinosaur fans will enjoy Kanopy where they can watch Jane Yolen's beloved series How Do Dinosaurs...? come to life, hop aboard PBS Kids' Dinosaur Train and watch paleontologists in action in Dinosaurs Alive! Kids of all ages can find dinosaur eBooks and eAudiobooks through hoopla, Overdrive and CloudLibrary – everything from nonfiction to comics.
Check out Britannica Library Children and Kids InfoBits for articles, news and images to answer all your dinosaur questions.
Dig deeper by visiting the American Museum of Natural History. Their Curriculum Collections have great lessons you can use at home, and their Ology site for kids has a paleontology section that includes interviews, videos, hands-on activities and games (including a printable card game).
If you're ready for some virtual field trips, head over to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County to tour their Dino Hall and learn how to dye dinosaur eggs.
Finally, discover the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and explore virtual tours (including past exhibits), paleontology resources and their learning lab.
~Recommended by Rebecca Kelley
Explore Your Community through Historical Photographs & More
If you like history, this collection was made for you. Walk through time and explore some of Columbia’s history through the eyes of the photographers, featured in the digital collections of Richland Library’s Walker Local and Family History Center. Collections include historical photographs from The State newspaper, local photography studios, Fort Jackson, Richland Library archives and more.
Do you like sports? Check out images of what football at Williams-Brice Stadium looked like in the past, horse racing in Camden, local auto races, golf tournaments and countless other sporting events.
Are you interested in politics? Other happenings from elections, parades, rallies and visiting dignitaries are here as well.
Do you just want to see what the area looked like long ago or even just a couple of decades ago? Scroll through the photographs to see if you recognize any local buildings or simply enjoy exploring and discovering some history about the area.
If this isn’t enough to whet your appetite for Midlands and South Carolina historical images, the digital collections also feature digitized items, such as menus for favorite area restaurants from the past, local cookbooks, yearbooks of Columbia area schools and postcards with local themes.
~Recommended by Jenny Dilworth
Discover an Animal Safari
Make every outdoor adventure a learning experience with Richland Library’s rich and extensive digital collections and databases. Whether exploring animals at the zoo or your own backyard, Flipster’s Zoobooks and Ranger Rick magazines have all of your animal facts covered.
Watch, learn and play on BrainPOP Jr. to discover information about animal habitats and life cycles. The Animal Kingdom database gives you kid-friendly text, photos and videos for an in-depth exploration of animal classifications.
Get outdoors and join South Carolina’s State Parks Junior Ranger Program to earn badges and learn more about animals in our State Parks.
Rainy days? No problem. Riverbank’s Zoo Z-learning and Monterey Bay Aquarium’s live stream videos and tours give you access to animals all day— every day.
Remember, great adventures should end with a story, and the library has plenty to share in our hoopla, Overdrive and CloudLibrary collections.
~Recommended by Emily Johansson
Don't forget to share your progress and celebrate your completion of the Summer Learning Challenge with us online, using #ilearnbecause.