April is Citizen Science Month, and the Library invites the community to take part in hands-on projects that contribute to 2.5 Million Acts of Science, a national America250 initiative celebrating civic participation and discovery. Citizen science empowers everyday people to support real scientific research by observing and sharing information about the world around them.

Featured projects include Stream Selfie, which helps document the health of local streams through shared photos; Globe at Night, an international effort to measure and raise awareness of light pollution; and iNaturalist, a global platform for recording plants and wildlife to help scientists monitor biodiversity. Information on how to participate in all three citizen-science projects is available at the Library. All projects are free and open to the public and are suitable for adults and families alike.

Lowden Gallery Artist: Ellen "Ellie" R. Bartels
March 1 - April 30

​Ellie has a BA degree in Education and a BFA in Studio Art , both from the University of Washington. She taught art, K – 12, in Orangeville, Il for 12 years. She currently lives in Freeport, Il.

Ellie states, “ The process of transforming paint and canvas into an appealing and effective image scares, frustrates, excites and inspires me.

My work starts out with a subject or theme in mind, usually based on my personal response to nature or a past experience, and a general plan on how to accomplish my goal. As it progresses spontaneity and intuition take over and my unconscious becomes the director.
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I have found that both oils and acrylics work well as vehicles for translating my inner vision to outer reality. Both comply with my enjoyment of layering paint and working the canvas by scraping, rubbing, scratching through, dry brushing, etc., to create depth and texture and to bring the surface to life.

It is my wish that the viewer will want to spend time with my work, to contemplate its meaning, discover its complexities, or to just enjoy the colors and shapes.

The Black & White PLUS Photography Show is a juried exhibition celebrating the strength and versatility of monochrome photography. This show invites photographers to explore imagery created without full color (including traditional black-and-white, sepia-toned and cyanotype), focusing instead on composition, contrast, light, shadow, texture, and visual storytelling.

The gallery is open Wednesday-Saturday 10-4 or by appointment.

Wolf started photographing using an old Agfa in his early teens. He acquired one of the iconic range finder cameras, a Canon 7s, in the late 1960s, moved on to SLRs and twin-lens reflex cameras, established a dark room and processed his own color slides.

Along with his wife, Linnea, an artist who has worked in the visual arts for over 40 years, he has participated in many week-long photo shoots throughout the United States.

During 2018, 2019 and 2020, Wolf & Linnea spent a January week each year at Bosque del Apache in New Mexico photographing sandhill cranes, snow geese and other migrating birds. In 2019 they spent two weeks photographing birds and wildlife in Costa Rica and made trips to northeast Florida in 2019 and 2021 to shoot wading birds during their roosting period.

The History of the Book is an interdisciplinary realm of study that includes printing and publishing, materials and technologies of the book, the book trade, reading and readers, and collectors and collections, as well as library and information history.

Our first presenter, Dr. Patrick Roberts, will explore shifting US views of the nature of childhood amidst continuous social and culture changes. Our second presenter, Dr. Melanie Koss, will discuss book awards such as the Newbery and Caldecott, and how they reflect whose stories a nation values.

What’s really happening in the Martian sky? Scientists are eager to find out, and the public can help. Cloudspotting on Mars invites participants to examine NASA images for signs of clouds above the Red Planet, contributing to real scientific research on daily and seasonal weather patterns.

Using data from the Mars Climate Sounder aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, participants will help identify high-altitude water-ice and carbon-dioxide clouds. These observations support ongoing research into Mars’s climate and offer clues about the planet’s past, including conditions that may once have supported liquid water. Participants will learn how to recognize and label cloud features so scientists can study how Martian clouds form and evolve over time.

This program will be in-person, livestreamed by SciStarter, at the Granville Branch, allowing participants to contribute data and chat with scientists in real time. Attendees should bring their own devices, laptops are recommended, followed by tablets, and charging cords for the two-hour program.

The event is part of Acts of Science: Connected, a Citizen Science Month collaboration with SciStarter and NASA Citizen Science. No science background is required, just curiosity and an interest in exploring Mars. The program is free and open to the public.