Portable Interactive Exhibits at Your Library
More exhibits! State Library Services has partnered with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to create several traveling tabletop exhibits that are loaned for free and distributed via the interlibrary loan service. In our last newsletter, we highlighted three exhibits; here are highlights of three more!
Fix a Leak emphasizes the importance of fixing drippy faucets and toilets to save water. Toilets are the number one source of home water loss; their leaks are often easy to repair. Fixing them means not only conserving water, but also saving money.
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NEW! Save Your Food! The production of food takes a lot of water, energy, and human effort. Better storage and planning can help you waste less. A variety of food replicas, stored in a cute mini-fridge, demonstrates the best ways to store foods. When you scan the barcodes on foods, the computer monitor displays the best ways to store that item.
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Pollinators, “Bee Aware” emphasizes the importance of pollinators in our daily lives, their challenges to survival, and ways we can help them. Several interactive components provide fun opportunities to explore pollinators.
To reserve an exhibit, send an email to Portable.Exhibit.Loans.MPCA@state.mn.us. In your email, please specify which exhibit you would like to borrow and any date preferences. Each exhibit is loaned for four weeks followed by a week for transport to another library.
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 New Website Helps Young Families Connect to Local Services
Pregnant and parenting families with children from birth to age 8 now have a new tool to connect to services in their local communities that support healthy child development and family well-being.
Help Me Connect is a website designed to help Minnesota’s families navigate local community, county, and state resources. Families and those who support families, such as preschool teachers, child care providers, and pediatricians, can use Help Me Connect to find services such as:
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Healthy development and screening
Developmental and behavior concerns
Disability services and resources
Early learning and child care
Family well-being and mental health
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Tribal and American Indian resources
Dental care
Basic needs
Legal services
Peacetime emergency resources
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Care providers and families can access Help Me Connect by visiting HelpMeConnectMN.org.
Help Me Connect was created in partnership with the Minnesota Departments of Education, Health, and Human Services, along with the Governor’s Children’s Cabinet, with extensive feedback from parents and community providers.
Recruiting for Preschool Development Grant Focus Groups
Do you use, provide or coordinate services for Minnesotan children and families? If so, you may be eligible to take part in a virtual focus group and receive a $40 gift card.
The State of Minnesota is partnering with The Improve Group and Child Trends to evaluate the implementation of the state’s Preschool Development Grant. As part of this study, the project team will conduct short, one-hour virtual focus groups with individuals who have experience using or providing services for Minnesotan children and families.
We would like your help recruiting people for these focus groups. The Minnesota Preschool Development Grant Evaluation webpage has more information about the study, including recruitment language you can copy and share with your networks. The webpage is also available in Spanish, Somali, Hmong, and Amharic.
If you are part of a family with young children or identify as a community leader, provider or administrator in a family-serving system or program (e.g., childcare, health care, home visiting), you may also be eligible to participate in a focus group. Please visit the webpage linked above to read more about the study and sign up for a focus group. All participants will receive a $40 gift card.
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Alert! Media Specialists and Teachers
This month's Media Landscapes webinar series is resuming with two webinars that may be of particular interest to media specialists and teachers! Registration is now open and sessions will be recorded. If you have any questions, please contact Linda Mork. |
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Upholding Journalism Standards and Ethics
Thursday, September 9, 2021, 3–4 p.m.
This session, led by journalists Dave Hage and Kelly Smith from the Star Tribune, will explore how to look for signs that your news sources are practicing journalism standards, and how that impacts the information they share.
Register for Upholding Journalism Standards and Ethics
Civically Engaging Young Adults Through Media Literacy Education
Tuesday, September 14, 2021, 1–2 p.m.
In this session, attendees will learn the importance of using media literacy to engage in public discourse with young adults about public issues. Attendees will gain strategies for engaging students with cyber citizenship skills, social media ethics, and civic engagement through participatory media. Presented by Jimmeka Anderson.
Register for Civically Engaging Young Adult Through Media Literacy Education
Reach for the Stars
Looking to ignite your students’ passion for learning? Explore the 2021–2022 Reach for the Stars catalogue with more than 120 high-quality academic enrichment programs, competitions, events and activities for Minnesota K–12 students! It is available as a FREE download either as a full-color or text-only PDF at www.synergyexchange.org/reach-for-the-stars.
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