STAR Library Network - STEM Learning in Libraries

Here’s How to Make Your Library a Community Hub for Citizen Science
September 15, 2026 | 2pm ET
Join Arizona State University and SciStarter to discover easy, practical ways to make your library a community hub for citizen science. Explore free, ready-to-use programs, activities, training, and resources that help patrons of all ages participate in meaningful real-world science. Plus, get a sneak peek at Citizen Science Month 2027 and start planning for April!
Register here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/DO1TemB3TbGCe6nWK5iw3Q #/registration

SciStarter's brand-new Citizen Science Champion Training is now available!
If you haven't completed the training yet, now is the perfect time. The self-paced course is designed to help you confidently introduce citizen science at your library and connect your community with meaningful research opportunities.

Learn more here:

Citizen Science Champion Training - SciStarter SciStarter connects people to citizen science projects, citizen scientists, and resources. Real science we can do together.

As you soak up the last summer nights before school starts, check out the August edition of "What's Up" to get details on this month's celestial happenings!

Get skywatching details here:

What's Up: August 2026 Skywatching Tips from NASA A solar eclipse, one of the year's best meteor showers, Venus at it...

NASA is accepting proposals for U.S.-based education organizations to host a downlink during International Space Station Expedition 76, which runs April to December 2027.

In-flight education downlinks are 20-minute live video Q&A opportunities for students and educators to interact with astronauts aboard the station.

Proposals are due by 1 p.m. EDT on Friday, Sept. 25.

Learn more here:

Apply for a Downlink - NASA The proposal period for In-Flight STEM Downlinks Expedition 76 is July 27, 2026 – September 25, 2026.

Upcoming Webinar August 11th!

We’ll be hosting Carlee Jackson, shark and turtle scientist, Nat Geo program science communicator, and author as she explores the wonderful world of sharks! Learn about these amazing creatures, their incredible adaptations, the threats they face and what we’re doing to help them in this interactive program August 11th @ 5 ET / 2 PT.

The show is 45 min top to bottom with about half of that dedicated to Q and A!

Learn more and register here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd8sHv22uL1QIq8XLV3ivc2eGvPZfoctZCCOBh7EgvHJJNByg/viewform

🌏 Help Map Earth’s Magnetic Field With Space Umbrella🌏

When charged particles in the solar wind reach our planet, Earth’s magnetic field acts as a giant umbrella to shield us. NASA’s Magnetosphere Multiscale mission has been collecting data in this dynamic region of space since 2015. And now, the Space Umbrella project lets you help scientists examine mission data to better understand solar storms.
Learn more here:

Map the Earth’s Magnetic Shield with the Space Umbrella Project - NASA Science Use data from NASA’s Magnetosphere Multiscale Mission to shed light on solar storms. For anyone with a laptop or cell.

"Journey Through the Heliosphere: The Sun-Earth System in Color" is a coloring book that blends art and science, making complex heliophysics concepts accessible to audiences of all ages.

Designed for both educators and learners, the coloring book aims to spark curiosity and creativity, as well as educate readers about the Sun and its influence on Earth and the solar system. A significant feature of the book is its inclusion of Alaska Native languages, providing words related to the Sun and sky from cultures such as Alutiiq/Sugpiaq, Central Yupik/Cup'ik, Iñupiaq, Lower Koyukon Athabascan, Ten Kenaga'/Lower Tanana Athabascan, Ts'msyen/Sm'algyax, and Xaad kil/Haida.

Download the book here:
https://science.nasa.gov/learn/heat/resource/journey-through-the-heliosphere-the-sun-earth-system-in-color/

Shock Detectives
The Sun throws off an extremely fast stream of charged particles called the solar wind. This solar wind collides with the Earth and its protective magnetic field, generating a shock wave called “the bow shock.” There, at the bow shock, the ever-changing magnetic fields can either make the solar wind messy and dynamic or leave it smooth and stable. That’s where the scientists behind Shock Detectives need your help. Join the Shock Detectives project and help interpret data collected by the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission, whose four spacecraft fly in formation through the bow shock zone. You can help classify patterns in the bow shock and help scientists figure out what governs its behavior.
Learn more here:

Shock Detectives - NASA Science Help scientists understand how the Earth’s magnetic field sculpts the solar wind. For anyone with a smartphone or laptop.

Galaxy Zoo: Clump Scout II
Galaxies often contain “clumps”, bright spots where stars are forming fastest. Today’s observatories, like the Euclid space telescope, an ESA (European Space Agency) mission with critical contributions from NASA, are capturing ever-more detailed images of galaxies, with more information about these clumps. Now scientists have built a machine learning model (a kind of artificial intelligence) to identify and mark clumps in images of galaxies like those seen by Euclid to help answer basic questions about them.
Check out more about the project here:

Galaxy Zoo: Clump Scout II - NASA Science Identify star-forming clumps in galaxy images, and help train machines to do the same. For anyone with a smartphone or laptop.