Library Patrons Receive 8,500 Take & Make Bags to Conduct GLOBE Citizen Science Activities

Based on results of a survey to NASA@ My Library Partner Sites, Take & Make Bags were distributed to 49 Partner Libraries in support of summer learning during COVID-19. Libraries elected to receive between 25 and 600 bags, and distributed these bags through food banks, curbside pickup, and school partnerships.

The activity chosen for these kits was “GLOBE Observer Mosquito Habitat Mapper” from the NASA Earth Science Education Collaborative (NESEC) project. Each bag contained a clip-on cellphone microscope, activity instructions, pipette for gathering mosquito larvae, and GLOBE Observer sticker badges. NESEC created a special “NASA@ My Library” GLOBE Team for participating patrons. Many libraries have reported plans to solicit donations to create more of these kits to distribute to their patrons. One librarian said,

In the project close-out survey conducted by EDC, Partner Sites will be asked to share information about how they distributed these bags, how they enhanced virtual programs, and if additional programs were created due to this opportunity. The project team is especially interested in learning if these bags helped to bridge the digital divide providing opportunities to patrons who were unable to participate in virtual programs online.