Find your way to the Sciences Library to study for finals week! Fuel up with free refreshments: homemade brownie bites, cookies, coffee, and tea! Refresh with coloring, origami, and games. Give a friend a boost, or rejuvenate yourself with tear-off compliments! Choose from a variety of study spots: bean bag chairs, study carrels, computer stations, and large tables. Get last minute research help from your librarians. Good luck on your finals, Hawkeyes!
Science is for everyone! Citizen science projects give people from all walks of life the opportunity to participate in scientific research. According to CitizenScience.org, “Citizen Science Day is an annual event to celebrate and promote all things citizen science: amazing discoveries, incredible volunteers, hardworking practitioners, inspiring projects, and anything else citizen science-related!”
Celebrate Citizen Science Day 2019 at the Sciences Library! Join us Monday and Tuesday, April 8-9 from 12-2 PM on the 3rd floor of the Sciences Library. Enjoy free pizza and drinks while making a contribution to scientific knowledge! These events are free and open to all.
CITIZEN SCIENCE DAY: STALL CATCHERS MEGATHON
Play an online game called Stall Catchers to advance Alzheimer’s research! Join our team HawkeyesOnALZ!
Monday, April 8, 2019, 12-2 PM
Facebook event
CITIZEN SCIENCE DAY: [CITATION NEEDED]
Enhance Wikipedia articles about science!
Tuesday, April 9, 2019, 12-2 PM
Facebook event
Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa–sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Laurie Neuerburg in advance at 319-467-0216 or laurie-neuerburg@uiowa.edu.
Colored bismuth crystals, bright copper, silicon circuits, and more shine in our new exhibit celebrating 2019: The International Year of the Periodic Table! One hundred and fifty years ago, Dmitri Mendeleev published a draft of the first Periodic Table. Mendeleev also wrote “Knowing how contented, free and joyful is life in the realms of science, one fervently wishes that many would enter their portals” in his text Principles of Chemistry. Enter the portal to the Sciences Library to test your knowledge of the elements present in household items, to view our humorous periodic tables, and to see several elements in their pure form! Thank you to Dr. Lou Messerle for loaning us his collection of element samples!
The following workshops are open to all students, faculty, and staff. There is no need to register in advance.
EndNote Workshop – Thursday, March 7, 2-3 PM, BB B20
In this workshop you will learn how to use EndNote to:
EndNote Web is available for free to all members of the University of Iowa community. EndNote Desktop is available for free to all UI graduate students, faculty, and staff.
EndNote Workshop – Wednesday, April 10, 3:30-4:30 PM, CB W238
In this workshop you will learn how to use EndNote to:
EndNote Web is available for free to all members of the University of Iowa community. EndNote Desktop is available for free to all UI graduate students, faculty, and staff.
If you’re interested, but unable to attend these workshops, private appointments and webinars can be arranged. If you have any questions or if you’d like to request a workshop for your class or group, please contact Laurie Neuerburg (319-467-0216 or laurie-neuerburg@uiowa.edu) for more information.
In 1869, chemist Dmitri Mendeleev discovered patterns among elements that led him to arrange elements according to their properties into the very first periodic table.
Several years later in 1885, the Periodische Gesetzmässigkeit der Elemente nach Mendeleiff was created, which was recently found at the University of St Andrews. This is thought to be the oldest surviving periodic table in the world!
Now, 150 years later after Mendeleev’s discovery, the UN and UNESCO have declared 2019 to be The International Year of the Periodic Table. Learn about each of the elements through IUPAC’s interactive Periodic Table!
Would you like to read more about the Periodic Table? Check out some of our books:
The Periodic Table and a Missed Nobel Prize
Facilitating Conceptual Change in Students’ Understanding of the Periodic Table
Periodic Table: A Very Short Introduction
Here is a version of the Periodic Table showing endangered elements:
Elements marked with gray are from conflict minerals, all of which are used in smartphones. Elements in red are the most at risk of running out. Would you miss any of these elements if they were gone? Is there more that we can do to recycle and reuse these naturally-occurring elements?
Here is the most up-to-date version of the Periodic Table:
There are now 118 elements, and the newest elements are nihonium (Nh), moscovium (Mc), tennessine (Ts), and oganesson (Og). These four new elements were created synthetically.
Interested in a competing for a limited edition Periodic Table signed by a Chemistry Nobel Laureate? Take IUPAC’s Periodic Table Challenge and enter their Nobelium Contest for a chance to win!
Welcome to the Spring 2019 Semester, Hawkeyes! Here are three tips to help you start your semester:
It’s fun to catch snowflakes on your tongue, cut out paper snowflakes, and shovel snowflakes—oops, no. Starting again—it’s fun to catch snowflakes on your tongue, cut out paper snowflakes, and we’re featuring scientist snowflakes in our new exhibit!
Can you find the following scientists hidden in the snowflakes?
If you would like to cut out your own scientist snowflakes, you can find the patterns from the Franklin Institute!
We have supplies on hand at the Sciences Library so you can add your own snowflake design to our service desk.
Brush up on snow ecology, building snow shelters, and the science of snow with Snow, Ice and Other Wonders of Water: A Tribute to the Hydrogen Bond & other books in our Snowflakes & Snow exhibit!
During Finals Week, Chauncey reviews his notes, gets enough sleep, and studies with friends at the Sciences Library. He creates his own study guides and asks himself questions that might be on his exams. When he gets tired, he finds it helpful to take short breaks.
Luckily, Chauncey discovered that the Sciences Library provides cookies, coffee, tea, and fun for short breaks! While he likes the Legos, K’Nex, and games, Chauncey’s favorite activity has been cutting out paper snowflakes. He had a lot of fun creating an Erlenmeyer flask snowflake! Join Chauncey at the Sciences Library to study for finals. He’ll show you where to find the cookies, coffee, and snowflake patterns!
On this day in 1964, the Mariner 4 spacecraft launched and completed the first Mars flyby, marking today as Red Planet Day. Mariner 4 took snapshots of the surface of Mars and gave us our first up-close view of the planet. While Mariner 4 was meant to capture data only for a few months, it stayed in orbit collecting solar wind data for several years.
Just two days ago, NASA landed the InSight spacecraft on Mars. InSight will go under the surface of Mars to learn more about its interior structure by measuring its temperature and seismic activity. Knowing more about the Mar’s interior structure will help us learn about its geological formation. As the geology and climate of Mars match most closely to Earth’s of all the planets, Mars stands out as the most promising planet for possible human settlements and the most likely place to search for signs of alien life!
Celebrate Red Planet Day with some of our books about Mars!
We have fun films too!
Hope you have a Happy Red Planet Day!
The following workshops are open to all students, faculty, and staff. There is no need to register in 
advance.
Staying Current Workshop – Thursday, September 20, 3:30-4:20 PM, SL 102
In this workshop you will learn how to:
EndNote Workshop – Tuesday, September 25, 11-11:50 AM, SL 102
In this workshop you will learn how to use EndNote to:
EndNote Web is available for free to all members of the University of Iowa community. EndNote Desktop is available for free to all UI graduate students, faculty, and staff.
EndNote Workshop – Wednesday, October 10, 1-1:50 PM, SL 102
In this workshop you will learn how to use EndNote to:
EndNote Web is available for free to all members of the University of Iowa community. EndNote Desktop is available for free to all UI graduate students, faculty, and staff.
Scholarly Journals Workshop – Tuesday, October 23, 11-11:50 AM, SL 102
In this workshop you will learn how to:
Evaluating Science Workshop – Thursday, November 1, 3:30-4:20 PM, SL 102
In this workshop you will learn how to:
Search Strategies Workshop – Wednesday, November 14, 12-12:50 PM, SL 102
In this workshop you will learn how to:
If you’re interested, but unable to attend these workshops, private appointments and webinars can be arranged. If you have any questions or if you’d like to request a workshop for your class or group, please contact Laurie Neuerburg (319-467-0216 or laurie-neuerburg@uiowa.edu) for more information.