Welcome to the wonderful world of Water. This theme for SRC can be so much fun yet so overwhelming. As a youth librarian, I’m always thinking of fun things to do with the young patrons coming through the doors. Let’s face it, any librarian worth his/her salt is pondering ways of making their own splash this summer. Having said that, it’s kind of a weird habit but when planning for SRC I research little known facts about the topic. For example, did you know that more than 75% of the earth’s surface is covered by oceans? A Jellyfish is made up of 90% water yet it's sting can be deadly. Impressed yet? Read on to find out more interesting tidbits that you can share with your patrons, young and old alike.
Let’s begin with basic information about water that every high school graduate should know. Water is not an acid or a basic. It has a ph level of 7. Water can come in three forms, liquid, solid and gas. Water can be found in the air or in the ground. Water boils at 212 F or 100 C. It freezes at 32 F or 0 C
Water regulates the Earth’s temperature making it a very efficient insulator. The human body also uses water to regulate temperature. Water also carries nutrients and oxygen to cells, cushions joints, protects organs and tissues, and removes wastes. All very good reasons to have eight glasses of water a day!
Should you ever get stranded on an island, remember that a person can survive without food for approximately a month. However, make sure you have access to water because a person can live without water for approximately a week.
Wonder where the word Tsunami came from? It is Japanese in origin and it means “Sea Wave”. Whoever came up with that name should have been a little bit more specific like describing it as BIG or huge sea wave.
One of the largest waves ever was 112 feet high, which is as big as a ten story building.
Treasures can lure any man to go deep into the sea. It has been recorded that Ancient Greek divers were able to reach the depth of 75 to 100 feet to search for sunken treasures. How did they breathe, one might ask? When a diver was short of breath, he would poke his head into a weighted diving bell filled with air.
Seaweed is an interesting part of ocean life. It can be eaten as a vegetable and is also used to help make every day items such as ice cream, tooth paste, and paints. Kind of makes you look at that icky green thing in a different light.
Sound travels through water five times faster than air.
Everyone knows that salt is a substance found in the ocean. However, there are also traces of gold, silver, uranium and other valuable minerals are dissolved in the sea.
Can you name the Oceans and Seas:
The Oceans are the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian and Arctic
The largest seas are South China, Caribbean and Mediterranean Seas
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of the four oceans. Pacific means “peace” however, it can be very rough waters to sail across.
The Atlantic on the other hand is the busiest for business.
All this talk about water is making me thirsty. I think I’ll go grab a nice cold glass of water right now. I hope these little tidbits were interesting and helpful. Have you thought about doing fun water experiments with patrons? It can be a little teaching tool, but entertainment as well. You might want to call it: Water Magic. Stay tuned. There will be fun science magic suggestions coming soon.
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