Fun

Category: Fun

Happy Pi Day!

pi!

It’s Pi Day! As everyone knows, the mathematical constant pi is (approximately) 3.14 — and today is 3/14.  A closer approximation of pi is 3.1415, but we’ll have to wait three years for 3/14/15. If you want an even closer approximation, visit PiDay.org and get a million digits of pi…  And who doesn’t want a million digits of pi?

To celebrate this auspicious (and delicious) day, you could look for some books and videos about the mathematical pi or you could read the award-winning novel, Life of Pi, or you could find a recipe for pie in one of the Mudd’s many cookbooks….

Or you could finish your finals, grade that last paper, and go outside to enjoy the 70-degree weather…

 

Verse-O-Matic Poetry Dispenser

The Mudd Library is hosting the Verse-O-Matic poetry dispenser!  Just turn the handle and receive a plastic egg filled with an inspiring poem and a piece of candy (no coins required). This fun machine is a project of the poetry magazine, Verse Wisconsin, and Poetry Jumps off the Shelf, a group dedicated to “bringing… poetry into the general arena.”  Stop in the library and give it a try!  It is located on the first floor on the new book shelf, and will be here for about a month.

 

New DVDs!

We’ve received many new DVDs just in time for the weekend! Documentaries, dramas, action-adventure, comedy, animation, horror, and even the first seasons of Office Space and Glee. Check out the New Bookshelf. And a special thank you to our student workers who keep us up-to-date on what interests students.

Time Again for Things Worth Knowing!

Audience members enjoying a Things Worth Knowing presentation and cookies.

The beginning of the school year marked the start of a new series of Things Worth Knowing presentations in the library.  For those of you who do not know what these events are, I will explain.  Each week, we draw on the expertise of a member of the library staff, the greater Lawrence community, or someone not otherwise affiliated with Lawrence.  Last school year, we hosted presentations on the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, Buffy the Vampire Slayer,  superstitions, and more.  So far this school year, special guests have presented on the Gutenberg Bible, fall hijinks of Lawrence past, and the history of Stonewall.  Take a look at our guide for a complete list of topics, along with additional information.  Feeling sad about having missed these awesome events?  Don’t fret- we have many more interesting topics and special guests lined up!  All Things Worth Knowing presentations take place on Friday afternoon and last from 4:30 pm to 5 pm.  Oh- and we always have cookies for our guests to enjoy while listening to the presentations.  The remainder of the fall term presentations are scheduled as follows:

October 14—Cooperating for Change: The Co-op Movement: With special guest Cathy Statz, LU 1996, Education Director for the Wisconsin Farmers Union

October 28—Public Art & the Statue of Liberty: With special guest Professor Rob Neilson

November 4—King Tut: In honor of the anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922

November 11—The Armistice: Recalling World War I and the 85th anniversary of Armistice Day/Veterans Day

Do you have a hidden (or not so hidden) area of expertise you would like to share at a Things Worth Knowing event? If so, contact Gretchen Revie by email or at 920-832-6730 to inquire about arranging a presentation.

Historical Media

We’d like to share a couple of awesome ways to share, view, and experience historical media.

Fourth of July Celebration photo compared with Google Street View

SepiaTown is a user-driven database that matches historical photographs with locations on Google Maps.  Users upload photographs, add the location the photograph was taken, the date it was taken, and any additional information about the picture.  The “then/now” feature provides a side-by-side comparison of the historical photo to the Google Maps Street View.  Users can do a keyword search, or look at images associated with featured locations. Check out the SepiaTown Blog to learn more about features and collections.

The ARIS game platform uses historical images and videos to create mobile games that allow the player to relive past events in the locations that they took place.  An example is the game Dow Day, which displays videos and images from Dow Day in 1967 when a player visits certain locations around Madison.

Dow Day: A game designed using the ARIS game platform.

ARIS was created to allow educators to create mobile games that integrate learning and augmented reality (the concept of using technology to add additional information to an existing environment). Educators/developers have created more than historical games using ARIS.  Some examples include, campus tours, museum exhibits, foreign language instruction,  bird and plant species identification, and one from the Library of Congress on using primary sources.  Games created by ARIS are currently only available on the App Store.

Chill Out @ the Mudd!


Looking for a fun way to stay cool on Friday afternoons this summer?   Why not come to the library?  We will have a variety of board games, puzzles, coloring books, card games, and video games available to play in the library.  Check out a movie from our staff movie picks to watch over the weekend, or watch it in one of our temperature-controlled viewing rooms.   Games will be available every Friday from 1 to 4pm, all summer long.

Canine Therapy 2011

Canine Therapy 2011
We had our biggest crowds ever at Canine Therapy 2011! Ten dogs and dozens of their admirers swarmed the Library Plaza for an hour-long mutual-admiration stress-relief session.

Comments from the participants:

“This is the best student therapy EVER!”

“Thank you for putting it on! We all need fluffy doggy therapy at this time of the year!”

“This is the most smiles I’ve seen since that Tom Petty concert!”

“Woof!”

Photos of the event are available on the Library’s Flickr site.

Time for Canine Therapy at the Mudd!

Stressed out by finals?  Need a study break? Perhaps you could use some canine therapy from our friendly and cuddly puppy pals!  Join us on the library plaza on Tuesday, May 31st.  Dogs and their people will be standing by from 2:00 to 3:00 pm.

Take a look at the photos from last year’s event.  Look at all of those smiling faces…

Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th is just a few short days away! Did you know that the library has many horror films including the entire Friday the 13th series? Check them out in the Media Center under call numbers PN1997.F7533. We’ll also be discussing some of the history, superstitions and phobias that surround this dreaded day Friday at 4:30 pm on the first floor of the library in our weekly Things Worth Knowing series. Come join us…if you’re not scared, that is.