What's New!

Materials for this Take and Make will be available at area PPLD libraries, beginning Feb. 10, 2023.

Supplies and Directions:

For additional pictures of this project, click on the pdf file link below.)

Jumbo craft sticks (2)

A wide rubberband

Two smaller rubber bands

A straw

You provide the scissors.

1. Cut two pieces of straw that are 1 – 1 .5 inches long.

2. Stretch the thick rubber band around one of the craft sticks.  Place one of the straws under the rubber band.
3. Put the other craft stick on top and attach them with one of the small rubberband on the same end as the straw.

4. Stick the other piece of straw at the other end of the harmonica, but this time place it on top of the wide rubber band.  Secure the end with the second small rubber band.

5. To play the harmonica, all you have to do is blow.  Our younger kids were wanting to hum into it at first, but then they got the hang of it.

It makes a really cool noise!  When you blow, the wide rubber band vibrates and makes a sound.
To change the pitch, slide the straws closer together or farther apart.  When you slide them closer together, the section of rubber band that is vibrating is shorter, so it makes a higher sound. Slide the straws all the way to the edges to get the lowest possible sound (which is still pretty high, but lower).

Make it an experiment!

Does the thickness or the tension of the wide rubber band affect the pitch?  Try different ones.

Can you change the pitch by blowing harder or softer?  Does the shape of your mouth affect the pitch? (Yes, it does! One of my boys figured out how to play a song by blowing different ways.)

 

 

 

We are excited to announce the relaunch of our Discovery Kits this month! These interactive kits allow you to explore new hobbies and interests from home. We have kits for all ages. Explore robotics and wiring, weaving on a loom, Lego Mindstorm builds, blanket forts, and more.   

Children will have a fun introduction to coding basics using the Code & Go Robot Mouse Activity Set, which comes with a programmable robot mouse. Using plastic track pieces, they can build a maze the mouse must travel through for a piece of cheese at the end. They can also lay out directional cards to help visualize what they need to program into the mouse so it can reach the goal.  

Get hands-on science learning with the Survive the Quake Engineering Kit. Use interlocking blocks resembling buildings to experiment with different architectural designs on a plate that simulates seismic activity. Turn it on to see how your facility would fair in an earthquake.  

Tinker with the Electronic Playground and have fun experimenting with circuitry and electronics. Find out what happens when you connect wires to transformers, resistors, switches, and other parts of the switchboard. 

Discovery Kits can be reserved for checkout for a maximum of seven days. Learn more about the kits we have available here.  

Our community made excellent use of their library cards in 2022. You spent the year getting creative in the makerspaces and studios, using computers, enjoying eLibrary resources, researching, crafting, and opening worlds of possibility. You also spent the year reading thousands of books from the Library’s physical collection. To celebrate your year of reading, we made lists of the top 20 juvenile, teen, and adult books borrowed from our physical collection across Pikes Peak Library District. (These numbers do not account for digital checkouts from our eLibrary resources.) 

Top 20 Juvenile Checkouts 

1. The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle by Leslie Connor (part of All Pikes Peak Reads in 2022, checked out 1,076 times) 

2. The Wild Robot by Peter Brown (checked out 965 times) 

3. The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (checked out 739 times) 

4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball by Jeff Kinney (checked out 683 times) 

5. A Long Walk to Water: A Novel by Linda Sue Park (checked out 650 times) 

6. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (checked out 597 times) 

7. Sunlight on the Snow Leopard by Mary Pope Osborne (checked out 595 times) 

8. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Big Shot by Jeff Kinney (checked out 593 times) 

9. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Deep End by Jeff Kinney (checked out 583 times) 

10. The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen (checked out 569 times) 

11. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (checked out 553 times) 

12. Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin (checked out 542 times) 

13. Camp Time in California by Mary Pope Osborne (checked out 533 times) 

14. Narwhal on a Sunny Night by Mary Pope Osborne (checked out 503 times) 

15. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Meltdown by Jeff Kinney (checked out 488 times) 

16. Rowley Jefferson's awesome friendly adventure by Jeff Kinney (checked out 478 times) 

17. Front Desk by Kelly Yang (checked out 469 times) 

18. Late lunch with llamas by Mary Pope Osborne (checked out 458 times) 

19. Rowley Jefferson's awesome friendly spooky stories by Jeff Kinney (checked out 429 times) 

20. Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage (checked out 413 times) 

Top 20 Teen Checkouts 

1. Scythe by Neal Shusterman (part of All Pikes Peak Reads in 2022, checked out 982 times) 

2. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins (checked out 490 times) 

3. Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan (checked out 318 times) 

4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling (checked out 305 times) 

5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling (checked out 234 times) 

6. Midnight Sun by Stephanie Meyer (checked out 233 times) 

7. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (checked out 197 times) 

8. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (checked out 183 times) 

9. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (checked out 177 times) 

10. All the Impossible Things by Lindsay Lackey (checked out 171 times) 

11. The Giver by Lois Lowry (checked out 170 times) 

12. Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley (checked out 166 times) 

13. On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson (checked out 156 times) 

14. Nowhere Boy by Katherine Marsh (checked out 152 times) 

15. Turtles All the Way Down by John Green (checked out 148 times) 

16. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer (checked out 145 times) 

17. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah Maas (checked out 145 times) 

18. Eldest by Christopher Paolini (checked out 143 times) 

19. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn (checked out 130 times) 

20. North! Or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson (checked out 128 times) 

Top 20 Adult Checkouts 

1. The Last Thing He Told Me: A Novel by Laura Dave (checked out 1,206 times) 

2. Shadows Reel by C. J. Box (checked out 1,070 times) 

3. Sparring Partners by John Grisham (checked out 1,007 times) 

4. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles (checked out 979 times) 

5. Run, Rose, Run by Dolly Parton (checked out 964 times) 

6. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (checked out 900 times) 

7. The Judge’s List by John Grisham (checked out 888 times) 

8. The 6:20 Man by David Baldacci (checked out 838 times) 

9. The Library Book by Susan Orlean (part of All Pikes Peak Reads in 2022, checked out 824 times) 

10. Steal by James Patterson (checked out 780 times) 

11. Wish You Were Here: A Novel by Jodi Picoult (checked out 775 times) 

12. Better Off Dead by Lee Child (checked out 731 times) 

13. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah (checked out 717 times) 

14. The Match by Harlan Coben (checked out 656 times) 

15. Dream Town by David Baldacci (checked out 656 times) 

16. Game On: Tempting Twenty-eight by Janet Evanovich (checked out 642 times) 

17. The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly (checked out 624 times) 

18. Escape by James Patterson (checked out 622 times) 

19. The Paris Apartment: A Novel by Lucy Foley (checked out 604 times) 

20. The It Girl by Ruth Ware (checked out 603 times)