Maker Projects for Every Budget? YES, PLEASE!

Looking for some inspiration on maker projects and supplies that fit into your library's budget?  Library Journal recently shared a download for their article Cheap Thrills (originally published in the November 2017 issue of School Library Journal, with oodles of fun ideas!)

Just can't get enough? 
Do you have a fever and the only prescription is more maker spaces?  

Then you'll definitely want to feast your peepers on this!

Make It @ Your Library is a rad website where you can search for maker ideas by price per person, age...even time needed to complete each project!

More Added to Great Websites for Kids

Great Web Sites for Kids (GWS) features links to high-quality websites of interest to children 14 years of age and younger, organized into diverse subject headings, from Art to Astronomy, Computers & Technology to Politics & Government; and more. Each site entry includes a brief annotation and the recommended grade-level(s). GWS users can rate sites, save their favorites for quick access, and share sites via social media and email. - From ALA

Added Sites
The Radio Adventures of Eleanor Amplified - www.eleanoramplified.org
Space Scoop - www.spacescoop.org
Babyradio (español) - http://babyradio.es/
LEGO Star Wars (español) - http://www.lego.com/es-es/starwars
Engineering, Go for It! (eGFI) - www.egfi-k12.org/
NRICH - http://nrich.maths.org/frontpage
Choose My Plate - https://www.choosemyplate.gov/
Scholastic Election News 2016 - http://election.scholastic.com/
Girls' Life - http://girlslife.com/
KinderArt - www.kinderart.com/

Recent Additions to the Great Websites for Kids List

Pixabay

The American Library Association (ALA) announced that the Association of Library Services to Children (ALSC) has added eleven new websites to its list of Great Websites for Kids. These sites join the many sites already categorized by subject that have been selected, vetted, and are checked by the Great Websites for Kids Committee twice a year for accessibility, relevance, and appropriateness.

 These are the eleven new sites:

Ben's Guide to the U.S. Government - http://bensguide.gpo.gov/
Biz Kids - http://bizkids.com/
canTEEN - http://canteengirl.org/
DK Find Out! - http://www.dkfindout.com/us/
Exploratorium - http://www.exploratorium.edu/explore
Girls Communicating Career Connections - http://gc3.edc.org/
KidLit TV - http://kidlit.tv/
Oh Noah! - http://pbskids.org/noah/
Origami Yoda - http://origamiyoda.com/
Plum Landing - http://pbskids.org/plumlanding/
Sparticl - http://www.sparticl.org/

ALSC has also done parents, teachers, caregivers and librarians a favor by providing a wide selection of sites geared for them which can be accessed HERE. 

Alternate Sources for Women's History Month

So did you know who actually discovered DNA? Not the 3 men who received credit but a woman named Rosalind Franklin who died 4 years before the prize was awarded and therefore could not fight for recognition. How about Margret Hamilton the woman who coined the term software engineering and was the lead software designer on the Apollo 11 missions. And last but not least Alice Ball (An African American Chemistry professor in Hawaii who pioneered early Leprosy treatments) and Annie Jean Easley (a Rocket Scientist who worked on the Centaur rocket program) - These women and many are featured on the site Rejected Princesses. As the tag line states it focuses on "women who are too awesome, awful or offbeat for kids movies" so not everybody here is a heroine or an intellectual. The site will, however, give you a fascinating, well-documented glimpse into international women's history.

More Great Web Sites for Kids from ALSC

http://www.americanlibrariesmagazine.org/news/ala/more-great-web-sites-kids-alsc

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association, has added more recommended websites to Great Web Sites for Kids (www.ala.org/greatsites), its online resource containing hundreds of links to exceptional websites for children.

The newly added sites are:

Education.com - www.education.com/
Fact Finder Kids Corner - http://factfinder.census.gov/home/en/kids/kids.html
Indy Kids! - http://indykids.net/main/
Inspire My Kids - http://inspiremykids.com/
Weather Channel Kids - www.theweatherchannelkids.com/
Kid Dinners Zis Boom Bah - www.zisboombah.com/
GoGo News - www.gogonews.com/
My Young Child - http://myyoungchild.org/
Neil Gaiman’s MouseCircus - www.mousecircus.com/
Peace Corps for Kids - www.peacecorps.gov/kids
Pigeon Presents! - www.pigeonpresents.com
Science of Baseball - www.exploratorium.edu/baseball/index.html
Teaching Books - www.teachingbooks.net/crc.cgi?id=5
Study Jams - http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/index.htm
Laura Jernigan: Girl on a Whaleship - www.girlonawhaleship.org/
Youngzine - www.youngzine.com/

“This list represents websites that present valuable educational material in a way that is fun and accessible for young learners and their caregivers!” said Beth Medley, co-chair of ALSC’s Great Web Sites for Kids Committee.

Great Web Sites for Kids (GWS) features links to websites of interest to children 14 years of age and younger, organized into diverse subject headings such as dinosaurs, authors and illustrators; games and entertainment; U.S. history; astronomy and space; and music. There is also a special section with sites of interest to parents, caregivers and teachers. Each site entry includes a brief annotation and a grade-level rating.

Members of the ALSC GWS Committee review potential sites for inclusion and vote on the sites to be included. They also regularly check the entire site to ensure currency and re-evaluate sites when necessary.

Members of the 2011 Great Web Sites for Kids Committee are: Rachel Fyrd, Free Library of Philadelphia, co-chair; Beth Medley, Scottsdale, Ariz., co-chair; Ryan Baker, Long Beach (Calif.) Public Library; Laurie Chudzinski, Houghton Lake (Mich.) Public Library; Susan Kusel, Arlington, Va.; Sharon Ledford, Harrison Elementary School, Lexington, Ky.; Christine Scheper, Howard Beach, NY; and Stephanie Simpson, Charlotte, NC.

The complete listing of great sites with annotations and selection criteria can be found at www.ala.org/greatsites.