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National Week of Making

Celebrate creativity with us for National Week of Making! From Mon., May 17 - Sun., May 23, we’ll be shining a light on ways to get involved with making in El Paso County. Share your creations with us with the hashtag #WeekofMaking2021. To read more about National Week of Making, visit Nation of Makers.

To kick off the week, we’ll be offering Watercolor Take and Makes at all Makerspace locations (Sand Creek Library, East Library, Library 21C, and Manitou Springs Library). Kits will include simple watercolor supplies and a written and video tutorial to get you started (available while supplies last).

While you’re there, check out our Makerspaces! We offer a wide range of tools and technology, from laser cutters to sewing machines to 3D printers to conversion machines. East Library and Sand Creek Library also offer a recording studio. You can take a tour, book time to use the space, and stop by our Creation Station to take a selfie!

Check out some of the resources below to learn more about what the library has to offer for makers!

STEM: A Really Long Straw

Take and Makes for this STEM project will be available at area PPLD libraries beginning Fri., May 14.

Supplies and Directions

Materials Provided: 12 drinking straws, duct tape


Materials You Provide: Scissors, ruler, drinking glass filled with water, level surface that can get wet (or if not, something to protect it), sturdy chair to stand on.


While sipping a drink through your straw seems fairly simple, it’s actually a complicated process. As you sip, you are lowering the air pressure inside your mouth and the liquid is pushed up into your mouth.
In this activity, you’ll experiment with the length of your straw. Are you able to create a long straw that actually works? What is the longest straw you can create and drink out of?


Let’s get started and find out.

  1. Cut 2 lengthwise slits in one end of each plastic straw. The slits should be about ½" long. An adult can help with this is necessary.
  2. Slip the cut straw end over the uncut end of another straw.
  3. Cut the strip of duct tape into short 3/4” strips.
  4. Wrap tape around your joint so there is an airtight seal. (Why do you think it’s necessary to have an airtight seal?)
  5. Test your straw by placing the end of the straw into your glass of water. The glass of water should be on a level surface that can get wet. Try taking a drink. It’s best to hold your straw vertically.
  6. If you’re able to drink, try adding more straws one at a time. Test after each addition.
  7. If you’re unable to drink, then check each connection to see if it’s airtight. All holes will need sealed with your tape.
  8. As your straw gets longer, you may need to stand on a chair to drink. You can also test your straw with different angles.
  9. What is the longest straw that you created that worked?

National Foster Care Month

May is National Foster Care Month. Learn more with PPLD!

All-Ages Booklist

About Foster Care

An average of 10 children and youth entered foster care each day in Colorado in 2020. In 2019, the Colorado Department of Human Services child abuse and neglect hotline received 219,478 calls. Foster care is always a last resort for kids and families. In El Paso County alone, the Department of Human Services receives approximately 16,000 Child Abuse Hotline calls per year. Of those calls, only about 400 results in the removal of the child.

This means, the children placed in foster care are the most severely abused and neglected and their removal was either an emergency or a last measure after their parents failed to remedy the problems in their home. – Hope & Home

ReMoved Video:

Hope & Home
Hope & Home is a local foster care agency. At Hope & Home, we believe that foster parenting is a calling. We believe that every single child who walks through our doors is precious and deserving of safety and love. We believe that reunification with a child’s biological parents when possible is best. We believe that adoption when necessary is beautiful.

Hope & Home is a licensed child placement agency, serving children and families across Colorado. We recruit, train, license, and support families to care for children in foster care.

Hope & Home is a community-based foster care agency on a mission to reinvent foster care across Colorado.

Abused and neglected children who have been removed from their birth homes get a stable and nurturing family to live with until it’s safe to go home again, or — when that safety isn’t possible — a family to give them a forever home through adoption.

Watch one family’s incredible foster care story.

Learn More About Foster Parenting:

References:

Kids Crossing

  • About Kids Crossing:
    Kids Crossing is an agency founded BY foster parents, FOR foster parents. Our mission is to strengthen families so they may provide the best care to those children entrusted to them.
  • Monthly Informational Meetings:
    Learn more about how you can become involved with Kids Crossing! Attend one of our informational meetings to meet staff and learn how Kids Crossing is different from other child placement agencies.
  • Support:
    As a Kids Crossing Foster Parent, YOU ARE NOT ALONE…Becoming a foster parent is a life changing decision, and being a foster parent is a tough job! Foster care is not for everyone, but if you are ready to commit to foster youth in need, Kids Crossing is here to support you every step of the way.

Special Kids Special Families

  • About Special Kids Special Families:
    SKSF’s Foster Care & Adoption program places children with special needs, including mental, emotional and physical disabilities into loving and caring homes. We serve children of all ethnicities, ages and situations. It is uniquely positioned as the “go-to” agency supporting foster children with disabilities due to its integration and access to the full range of SKSF programs and services.
  • Become a foster parent:
    Our foster care program encourages the achievement of every child’s full potential by providing a stable and nurturing alternative family environment. At the same time, we implement specific treatment plans for foster children and their families while working towards the best permanent outcome for everyone involved. To Become a Foster Parent with SKSF can be one of the most rewarding experiences.
  • Zoom Info Meetings:
    Special Kids Special Families is offering a FREE informational meeting about becoming a foster parent/family. This is the perfect opportunity to learn about the need for more foster families, what it takes to become a foster parent, and have all your questions answered. This meeting also serves as our orientation to those who have decided to begin the process of becoming foster parents. This meeting is offered remotely via Zoom.
  • Foster Family Stories

Bethany Christian Services

  • About Bethany Christian Services:
    Family Changes Everything: We believe every child deserves to be safe, loved, and connected through family. Bethany is a global nonprofit that supports children and families with world-class social services, all designed to help families thrive.
  • Of all the ways you can show love, foster care is one of the greatest. When you welcome a child or teen into your home, you show them bold love while their family works toward reunification. If you're interested in playing this important role, Bethany can help you be the answer for a child in need. You provide a loving home, and we'll provide the support you need.
  • Unaccompanied minors at the border:
    What’s happening and how you can help. Thousands of unaccompanied children crossing the border need safe and loving foster homes now.
  • Dismantling the Myths of Foster Care
  • Bobbi, a mom reunited with her kids after foster care.

Adoption & Genealogy Resources from Regional History & Genealogy

Laws governing access to birth records vary depending on the state where you were born. If you are adopted, you may or may not be able to request an original birth certificate, or certain information on your certificate may not be available. Use the resources below to learn more about the research process and record availability.

Online Resources
Child Welfare Information Gateway (A service of the Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)

FamilySearch (Nonprofit genealogy database)

Special Collections Reference Books: