Happy Hogwarts, Harry! Check out the decorations downstairs

Here are a few photos to whet your appetite.  Please visit Cheryl and Kari Dawn downstairs to see their amazing decor in person.  Check out the Childrens page on the library's website for updates on programs and events.

December 11, Cheryl and Kari Dawn host a Magic Show with Jamie O'Hara at 1:30pm.

Who's there?  Is school out?

Is this the way to Platform 9 3/4?  My train leaves at 3:15!

 

Half that trolley has disappeared!

Why is the ticket window closed?  Have I missed my train?  

 

Professor Flitwick floats over a chessboard and a kettle bubbles up sparkling wisps.

Watch out for our Whomping Willow!

 

Has anyone seen Cheryl lately?  Is she hiding in one of these pictures?  Who do you see?

Welcome to the Apothecary (Ask Kari Dawn how to say, "Apothecary.")

Cheryl and Kari Dawn brought Hogsmeade's skyline!

It goes and goes and goes!

Are these two guarding the gates or on their way to school?

What's squeaking?  Mice? Keys? Fluffy?

Who goes there?  Nobody.

Is this a training for Quidditch or an invasion?!

All aboard the Hogwarts Express! 

Which house are you?

Welcome to the Great Hall.  Take your seats for Dumbledore's welcome.

The braziers in the Great Hall are floating!

Measure yourself to Hagrid's shadow in the front stair.

Thanks Ruidoso Valley Noons Lions Club for KidsSight

On Wednesday, November 6, the Ruidoso Valley Noon Lions Club brought KidsSight to the public library.
Curt Dimberg, Mike Schattner, Esther Franco, and Joan Kalkwarf dropped in to operate the Amblyopia detector.

The National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine has information on Amblyopia at Medline Plus.  Mayo Clinic also offers information as does the Lions International website.  Amblyopia is also called Lazy Eye.  Untreated, it may lead to loss of depth perception and other complications.

Check out Fixing My Gaze, a book by a once-stereoblind scientist who recovered as an adult.  On our shelf at 617.7 Bar.

Raptor Rescue Presentation, Wednesday, Oct 30, 3:30pm

Ruidoso Public Library hosts Hawks Aloft, Wednesday, October 30 at 3:30pm, for all ages.  Kids are out of school Wednesday afternoons; why not fill that time with this one-of-a-kind experience?  To help introduce your students (grades 3-8) to raptors before the talk, visit http://hawksaloft.org/education/for-educators/ for lessons and handouts on science, math, or geography topics related to the presentation.  Try a lesson before to build interest and another after Halloween to continue the connection.

Hawks Aloft is an Albuquerque non-profit focused on conservation, avian research, education, and mitigations.  What are mitigations?  When birds and businesses use the same space, the Endangered Species Act, among other laws, outlines how to protect the livelihoods of all parties.  Learn more about this, how to seek their assistance, and how to help Hawks Aloft during this presentation.  You may have seen Hawks Aloft at the Festival of the Cranes in Socorro in past years.  

Hawks Aloft recruits citizen scientists to help observe local raptor populations through HOOT (Hawks & Owls Observation Tracking Report) and raptor surveys.  Check with the experts after the presentation at Ruidoso Public Library.

The Lincoln County Bird Club generously sponsored this visit by Hawks Aloft.  HawksAloft.org lists their ambassadors online if you wish to preview them, though who will visit that day remains a surprise.  The avian ambassadors are rescued, non-releasable raptors, often rehabilitated here in New Mexico. 

Ask a librarian for assistance finding more information about raptors in the online Grzimek’s Animal Encyclopedia or bird identification books on the shelves.

Chautauqua visit: The Foot Runners of the Sierra Madre

Photo Credit: Diana Molina

Foot Runners of the Sierra Madre at Ruidoso Public Library

Thursday, October 10, at 4 pm, Ruidoso Public Library hosts Diana Molina presenting a Chautauqua of Raramuri culture.  Raramuri is their own name for themselves; you have have heard them called Tarahumara.  If long-distance running, barefoot, or minimalist running appeal to you, check out this program.  Ms Molina will explore several topics: ethnography, anthropology, scientific research, running, modernity impacting culture, and the specific Sierra Madre Occidental canyon environment of northern Mexico.  Molina will share her stunning photographs taken while living among the tribe for extended periods of time.

Diana Molina

These photographs were the focus of an exhibit in 2012 at the University of Texas-El Paso’s Centennial Museum, called Rarámuri, The Foot Runners of the Sierra Madre. The images range from Matachines and Semana Santa to agriculture and the racing tradition.  Molina hopes to raise awareness of balancing lifestyle and habitat as much as appreciate the “unique and exceptional Raramuri tribe.”

Diana Molina is a photographer and writer, and director of Juntos Art Association, which focuses on youth outreach and art collaboration.  Her photographs have graced the halls of The World Museum of Art in Rotterdam, The Art Museum of the Americas in Washington, DC, and the Houston Museum of Natural Science. 

If you are a marathoner, swap training plans with our library director, Corey Bard.  Ruidoso Public Library has several books on distance running, training, and Native American cultures.  Please ask a librarian for assistance finding these and other, newer, online materials.  

Big plans this fall in the Children's Library

Cheryl and Kari Dawn have big ideas for this fall's programs and events. For example, tune in next month for more information about a visit from Hawks Aloft, Oct 30.



Cheryl is looking for two 9-foot tall pine trees (hopefully the reusable kind that come in boxes).  If your tree set is missing a few branches, even better.  Please call before you dig it out of storage--we only have room for two.

This year marks the fifteenth anniversary of the first printing of Harry Potter.  Back-to-school, Halloween, Fall, and Winter themes around the Children's Library may appear familiar to readers of JK Rowling's series.  I don't have photos yet to share of this work in progress, so please check back.

Speaking of Harry Potter, my sister tells me that if I explore Pottermore.com, eventually I will find Professor McGonagall's story!  This is Ms Rowling's official website.  Aside from finding a House and a wand, it can also be a social network.  The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) posted a blog last month about talking with your kids (or nieces, nephews, cousins, friends) about how to be safe online.  Here is their recent post about things to think about in teaching online safety.