BPL Featured in American Libraries Magazine Story on 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing

The Birmingham Public Library is featured in an American Libraries magazine story on this summer's 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

The article spotlights how libraries across the country are highlighting the historic space flight. Click here to read the full feature.

Thousands of libraries across the country are putting together programs to celebrate space exploration in their summer reading programs, with “A Universe of Stories” as the slogan. The initiative, Summer of Space, is a partnership among NASA, the Collaborative Summer Learning Program consortium, and the Space Science Institute (SSI), and was formed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20 as well as encourage science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education.

Below is the part that features BPL.

The Birmingham (Ala.) Public Library (BPL) has 400 programs planned this summer across its 19 branches. Bessie Miller, head of the learning center at BPL, says the library is hosting four to five programs a day, including one called Critters and Constellations.

“Constellations resemble creatures,” she says, “so we’re teaching kids how to compare them by bringing actual animals into the library.” Interest in STEM learning at the library is sky-high year-round, Miller says, thanks to the nearby McWane Science Center (MSC) and the U.S. Space & Rocket Center (in Huntsville).

As a result, BPL hosts STEM exposure throughout the school year, shifting to weeklong programs once summer break starts. “Our STEM programs are all booked out,” Miller says. “We’ve even had a program booked with 22 girls.”

The weeklong programs include science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) camp where some participants practice coding, soldering, and robotics; and a robotics camp to allow kids to build robots and battle them in competition. BPL will also partner with McWane to help highlight the 50th anniversary of the Apollo landing.