Friends of the Durham Library Membership - Durham County Library

GlaxoSmithKline Funds Science Madness
Thanks to a $25,000 grant from the North Carolina
GlaxoSmithKline Foundation, Durham County Library
has launched free science programs for children ages 3 to
14. Science Madness is offered at North, Southwest and
East Regional Libraries, and at the Bragtown Library Family
Literacy Center. Library Youth Partners, high school students
trained to deliver storytimes and activities to pre‐K and
elementary school children, also take the program into the
schools and community centers of Durham.
Science Madness, hands‐on science activities at the library,
encourages children to have fun while exploring nature,
numbers, chemistry and physics, and boosting their reading and
writing skills. One highlight of the program is the Science of
Hovercraft series, where children build their own hovercraft with
CDs and balloons and ride in an individual‐sized hovercraft to
experience near frictionless motion.
Hands‐on science activities have been tailored to each age group.
For children ages 3-7, the library offers Pre-school Science
4 Best of Friends Summer 2012
Funded by a grant of
nearly $10,000 to
Durham Library Foundation,
Durham County Library
hosted Bull City Soul
Revival, an exploration
of the rich history of the
soul and R&B music
tradition in Durham.
This four-part series of
educational, interactive
events was held throughout
the month of April and
showcased Durham’s
African-American
musicians from the 1960s
and 1970s. The series
included lectures hosted by
Dwandalyn Reece, Curator
of Music and Performing
Arts, Smithsonian
Institution National
Museum of African
American History and
Culture; Mark Anthony Neal, Professor of Black Popular Culture in
the Department of African and African-American Studies at Duke
Top: Johnny White and the Elite Band perform
at the finale. Above: Visitors enjoy the Soul
Souvenirs exhibit at Hayti Heritage Center.
Explorers. Each science activity, such as the Wonders of
Water and Counting, is supported with a storytime related
to the topic. For older children, the library offers Science
Madness. Elementary school students (ages 8-11 years) and
middle school students (ages 12‐14 years) explore five science
concepts, (levers and pulleys, electricity, weather, hovercraft
and human biology) in two separate clubs, with instruction,
science activities and reading lists designed for each age group.
North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation Ribbon of Hope
grants support activities that advance education, science and
health in local communities across the state of North Carolina.
For more information about Science Madness, contact project
coordinator, North Regional Children’s Unit Manager, Casey
Nees at 919-560-0232.
University; local historian, Dr. Bruce Bridges; and Jason Perlmutter,
discographer, researcher and founder of Carolina Soul.
A highlight of the series was a finale concert featuring musicians
of today and yesterday, including Johnny White & the Elite
Band, Lady Jaisun of the Risse Band, The Beast, Apple Juice
Kid and The Black Experience. These musicians honored the
past, and represented the future of Durham’s soul renaissance.
Another highlight was the well received Bull City Soul Revival
exhibit, Soul Souvenirs, which will run through May 30, 2012
at Hayti Heritage Center. Viewed by hundreds of soul music
fans already, the exhibition includes posters, albums, ticket stubs
and other memorabilia from the golden age of soul, funk and
R&B in Durham.
Coordinated by Stanford L. Warren librarian, Carter Cue, the
project was made possible by funding from the North Carolina
Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the
National Endowment for the Humanities. This project is also made
possible by funding from Durham Library Foundation.
The Beast