May Purchases

    

And if you want to see what else we’ve added to the teen collection this month, check out our Goodreads list.

April Teen Purchases

    

We’ve added a lot more than what I’ve posted above. Check out our Goodreads to see the whole list.

Come on, get creative!

I don’t know about you, but once it starts to get nice out, I just can’t wait to get outside and start some new projects for my house or for my yard! I wanted to take a minute to share with you some cool resources to help you get those creative juices flowing. I am sure, by now, you have heard of this neat new phenomenon called “Makerspaces.” Oh you haven’t? Let me tell you more! Makerspaces encourage teens, adults, aliens, anyone really, to go with their gut and tinker with the things around us. Ever wonder how a hover board would work? This Maker tackles that in his blog. How about building your very own castle on a $25 budget? Seriously, all the projects people come up with are amazing, and not all of them are quirky. Many of them solve real life problems in a creative and thought provoking way.

In her short article in the April 2013 issue of Make: Magazine entitled “Why Make”, available for your perusal at Bedford Public Library right now, AnnMarie Thomas advocates for this Maker culture. Sure, projects about hover boards and making a robot whose only job is to crack walnuts might seem silly, but it is fun and positive and brings joy to the people involved.* It is the questioning and the tinkering that make this world such an awesome place!!

Do you have a Makers passion burning inside of you?! I just got a tip on a super cool contest TODAY. Instructables, a very awesome website dedicated to creative ideas and spreading the word on fun projects is hosting a contest. The Make to Learn contest ends on April 15, they have a bunch of prizes (including iPads! Gotta love an iPad). Click the link, read the instructions, and enter to win! Good luck!

-Ashley

*Not sure if the walnut cracking robot is a real thing, I kind of just made it up… But I don’t doubt its existence!

March Teen Purchases

The rest of this month’s new additions can be found here, on the Teen Blog’s goodreads page. 

Make Stuff: Sugru

Whoa, while surfing the web I came across this neat new mold-able putty called Sugru. This silicone putty has endless possibilities!!! In the opening up the package, you’ll be reminded of other air drying clays you may have come in contact with. How Sugru differs is that after 24 hours of dry time, the putty cures into a hard bond-able silicone.  Some of the cool projects people have come up with include, phone cases, shoe repairs, grips to add on to otherwise slippery materials, or super useful fixes like broken handles and cord covers.  One example that had me jumping in my seat is the use of the putty to repair broken iPhone cords. Mine is always breaking right there! Plus Sugru comes in fun colors!! I love colors!  check out this funny video they made to explain all the wondrous uses for this amazing clay!

 

What I really like about Sugru is its ease of use. If you played with Play-doh as a kid, you’ll find ease in working with Sugru. The cool part is that your work will last instead of smooshing it all into a ball and shoving it back in to the Play-doh container to dry out into a sad sad clump!! Check out this video that uses Sugru with Legos. Makes me want to go connect stuff to other stuff!!

 

 

 

Here are some awesome projects people have done with this limitless putty so far…

Tablet case from an old book

Angry Birds cable holder (I love these)

Textured stamps

 

Have fun!

-Ashley

 

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch — Launch Trailer

How many times have you guys been watching your favorite anime and found yourself thinking, “I wish I could BE in this anime,”? Depending on the anime, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea. You’d have to deal with monsters and sword-wielding martial-arts masters and lots of cheesy love-triangles.
Luckily, Ni No Kuni came out last week on the PS3, which is a much safer way to experience being in an anime. The game’s story and animation style are courtesy of Studio Ghibli, the same animation studio that made ‘Princess Mononke’ and ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’. I can’t wait to give it a try.

Did you know Bieber Speaks French?

So does Johnny Depp, Emma Watson, and Natalie Portman. Natalie can also speak Hebrew, German, Japanese, AND Spanish. She is such a smarty! Learning a new language can be fun. In college I took both German and French, eventually I found myself speaking a strange language similar to “Spanglish”. My small but capable knowledge of these languages has come in handy several times. Here are some ways it can help you!

• Buying strange, yet delicious foods from an international grocery store? Not so scary anymore! Try the frites, the schnitzel, the pancetta, or a steaming hot suppe! This list goes on and on!
• Studying for the SAT and really trying to pump up critical reading scores with an amazing understanding of the English language? Latin and German (Romance and Germanic languages) help you understand the root and meaning of SO MANY WORDS (it is truly amazing).
• This is is kind of a weird one, but if you are planning on going to college, you pretty much have to bet on taking a foreign language as a requirement to graduate. START NOW. If you take German in High School, by the time you have to take German in college you will be the smartest in the class! You will be guaranteed an A+: very good, sehr gut, très bien!!
• Party tricks. Teach your friends hilarious yet factual ways to say: “I seemed to have misplaced my wallet. Will you please look in your refrigerator?” Sure, it doesn’t seem that funny in English… But try German: “Ich schien mein Portemonnaie verlegt haben. Sehen Sie bitte in Ihrem Kühlschrank?” HOURS of fun.

The Library can help you figure out what language you would like to learn. (What can’t the library help with!? I love the Library) By using your library card number, you can log into Mango! This language learning site, offered to you for free, gives you the chance to try out more than 40 different languages! The site has classes, games, and section quizzes to challenge you on what you’ve learned! Try your hand at some conversational Spanish, or learn some Pirate for fun! ARRRGGHH!