The Stellar Science Spectacular

From left are: Education Commissioner Lucille Davy, State Librarian Norma Blake, NJ Center for the Book Chair and State Coordinator Renee Swartz, SCILS Dean Gus Friedrich, and Newark Public Library Director Wilma Grey See More Photos

More than 300 New Jersey educators, librarians and school administrators participated in the the Stellar Science Spectacular at Liberty Science Center September 25, 2007.

The science literacy event of the year was presented by the New Jersey Center for the Book in cooperation with the Liberty Science Center in the Jennifer A. Chalsty Learning of the Liberty Science Center.

Master of Ceremonies, Dr. Gustav Friedrich, Dean of the Rutgers School of Communication, Information and Library Studies welcomed Liberty Science Center Trustee Jennifer A. Chalsty and Renee Swartz, Chair of NJ Center for the Book.

Lucille Davy, New Jersey Commissioner of Education gave the keynote address.

A conference favorite was all-day access to the 40-foot bus run by Rutgers University’s Math & Science Learning Center, offering hand-on demonstrations of science experiments. Dr. Kathleen Scott, Director, welcomed participants on to the Rutgers Science Explorer Bus.  http://sciencebus.rutgers.edu

The workshops, with presenters and links to their institutions, included:

“Catching the Wind,” Carol Shields, Stevens Institute of Technology http://www.stevens.edu/ciese

“Using Liberty Science Center as a Teaching Tool and Resource,” Dan Smith, Director of the Abbott Partnership Program, Liberty Science Center, http://lsc.org      

“Bringing Science to Our Kids: the grant process, reasons why libraries should offer science activities and some of the resources used,” Jessica Trujillo, New Brunswick Free Public Library and recipient of the IDEAS grant through NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute  http://www.nbfpl.org/nasa

“Just the Facts: Science Books for the Curriculum,” Susan Fichtelberg, Bonnie Kunzel, and Sharon Rawlins. Their annotated booklist is available at http://encounteringenchantment.com/  or  http://www.bonniekunzel.com/

“Science Web Sites,” Pat Morris, Executive Director, NJ Connection. http://stellarscience.pbwiki.com  Password:  c7nt7r

“Secrets of a Civil War Submarine,” Sally M. Walker, winner of the 2006 Robert F. Sibert Medal, Informational Book Award for the most distinguished informational book for Children – a workshop on how she researches her material and a book talk on current science books.
“Experiment on This! – The Science Comedies,”  a collection of  five plays from the   appreciation of science through the use of comedy presented by Luigi Jannuzzi, playwright and director http://www.LuigiJannuzzi.com

The New Jersey State Legislature paid tribute to the New Jersey Center for the Book for “its outstanding service and acknowledges the New Jersey Center for the Book and praises the work of its’ leaders and members on the occasion of its’ sixth anniversary.”

The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders offered this proclamation:

“Now, therefore, the Board of Chosen freeholders join with the Monmouth County Library mission in commending the members of the New Jersey Center for the Book for their vital work in preserving the legacy of our print culture enriching the lives of all of our residents.”

Pictures from the conference

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