Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library (TAMIU)

Today I visited Sue and Radcliffe Killam library in Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) and was delighted to see how much Laredoean pride is visible in this library. The library is named after Sue and Radcliffe Killam were philanthropists whose family moved from Oregon to Laredo in 1920. They supported and sought a four year university for Laredo and in 1977 managed to open Laredo State Univeristy. They later donated 300 acres of land to build what is now known as TAMIU. Not only is the library named after Laredo heroes but within the library itself is an art gallery which holds the works of Helen Richter Watson. Watson was a sculptor from Laredo who used mud from the banks of the Rio Grande to create her sculptors.

The library consists of four floors. the first floor has the art gallery, computer lab and a Starbucks. The second floor has government documents and special collections. I will discuss special collections in a different post. The third floor has 16 study rooms and call number HQ-Z. The fourth floor is known as the "quiet area" with more "quiet" studey rooms and call number A-HN.

Overall, I liked the library but I was dissapointed with one aspect: the visitor parking. I only found four visitor parking spaces by the library area and four by the Student Center which is across the campus. Although the library is awesome, outdoor visitors may become discouraged by this.

Sea Turtle, Inc., South Padre Island, Texas

This is probably by far one of my favorite visits this summer. I cried and fell in love with sea turtles. Especially Fred. :) Sea Turtle Inc. was established in 1977 by Ila Fox Loetscher. In 1965, at the age of 61, Ila was asked to work in Rancho Nuevo, Mexico during sea turtle nesting season. After that saving sea turtles became her passion and she dedicated the rest of her life to them. Ila later became known as the "Turtle Lady of South Padre". I think the pictures speak for themselves. Ila's work became so important that she was invited to the David Letterman show in 1985. She took with her an Altlantic Green named Gerry. Gerry is still under the care of Sea Turtle Inc., weighs 150 lbs and is 26 years old.

Sea Turtle Inc. focuses on rehabilitation, education and conservation. They work in conjunction with Glady's Porter Zoo and Laguna Madre Conservation to ensure sea turtles are protected.

During our visit, an intern gave a 30 minute presentation on sea turtles. It was this presentation that helped me understand why Ila fell head over heals with sea turtles. Although the intern's presentation was only 30 minutes long, he delivered a vast amount of information. For example, I learned that when sea turtles hatch, they eat the yolk from the egg shell and that yolk contains a special protein that gives them enough energy to walk through the sand, fight the waves and make it into the sea. As they are walking in the sand, they pick up a mineral from the sand that creates a GPS in their brain. Yes, a GPS as in Global Positioning Map. 20-30 years later, when the turtles are ready to nest, they always return to their place of origin beacuse of that mental GPS! WOW!

This shell belonged to a sea turtle that was struck by the propeller on a boat. Sea Turtle Inc. attempted to restore the shell as you can see by the metal brackets but unfortunately the sea turtle did not make it.

Nesting season is from April-August and the South Padre Island usually sees about 700 nests! Although this number seems amazing, it is nothing compared to that of Rancho Viejo's in Mexico. They see about 7,000 nests each year! Unfortuantely, this number is nothing compared to the 1960s, when turtles would nest close to 30,000 nests! Fortunately, the number is once again rising.

During our visit, we also met Fred and Allison. Fred is a loggerhead that has been injured so many times he is no longer able to return to sea. Sea Turtle Inc., had to design a special tank for Fred because of his size. Fred is now about 54 years old and is missing one fin. An interesting  fun fact about loggerheads: they can hold their breaths for 8 hours! At first we though Fred was dead, but after the presentation, we understood why he was inmobile at the bottom of the tank.

This is some information on Fred. I took a picture of him but he was so far down the tank that he cannot be viewed on the pic. I did buy a postcard though and now it's on my refrigerator!

We also met Allison. Allison is the only sea turtle in the world that swims with a prosthetic! She was even featured in People Magazine and lives in the incubation section of Sea Turtle Inc.,. Allison belongs to the Atlantic Green Species and I learned their diet consists of only........

Sponges!

This is Allison.

This is the other side of the incubation area.

Another fun fact: The sea turtle in Finding Nemo, Crush, is a Green Sea Turtle and they actually do live up to be 150 years old!

Finally, we also learned that plastic is the main reason why sea turtles (an other sea life) dies. :( Please, pick up your trash!

Alamo Public Library

I grew up in Alamo, Texas therefore this is the first city that came to my mind when I thought of a small town public library. The library is named after Sergeant Fernando de la Rosa of Alamo, Texas. Seargeant de la Rosa lost his life in 2009 in combat while serving under the Armed Forces in Afghanistan. He was only 24 years old.

Because I grew up in Alamo, I remember the days when Alamo did not have a public library. We were very excited when the library finally opened. I must have been about 15 years old but I remember being dissapointed because there were no computers. Finally the library got a hold of some used computers but some losers broke in and stole them! Ugh! How frustrating! Well, I left Alamo at the age of 22 and never again had a need to visit the library, therefore I was very surprised to see how much it has evoloved! The collection is larger and better, and they just received brand new computers! There were actually people conducting reaserach and doing homework which made me feel good! They still do not have a speciall collections section but they are working on creating one! As an Alamo native, it felt good to visit Alamo Public Library!

Laredo Public Library

Exactcly one year ago my family and I moved to Laredo, Texas. Having grown up in the RGV, I thought living in Laredo was going to be very similiar to living in the Valley. I was wrong. Although the areas are only about 3 hours away, it is amazing how different they are. Laredo is known as one of the largest cities in the nation without a major book retailer. There is a large public library in the north and a branch in the south was just approved recently. Some of my coworkers were in the commitee who made this possible and it wasn't an easy task. Now, Laredo is a fairly large city and sometimes driving to these branches is imppossible for some people.

As an educator and future librarian, I feel sad that Laredo children do not have the same advantages as children in other cities.

Laredo Public Library has an extensive collection and reference area. There is a computer section with about 20 computers available to the public and a children's area. Unfortunately, I did not see study rooms or quiet areas and using the computers in the afternoon is virtually impossible as they are always taken. Overall, it is great Laredo has a main branch as big as this one but I hope more branches open up in the future. I also hope to join my coworkers in this amazing movement and make history in the city of Laredo.

Library of Congress

I visited the Library of Congress and of course, it is an everlasting fountain of information and resources but my favorite section was the "Teacher" section, of course. I had never visited this area of their website and fell in love with the resources they have to offer! There are online professional development modules teachers can view to train themselves, along with lesson plan ideas for all grade levels and subject areas. I know the internet is full of lesson plan ideas but I liked how these lessons involve critical thinking and higher learning. Plus they are thematic so a teacher can incorporate various subjects into one lesson, the way I believe a lesson should be taught. Now that I begin a new adventure in middle school, I plan to take advantage of these wonderful resources!

Quinta Mazatlan

Quinta Mazatlan is one of the largest adobe homes in the state of Texas. Once a unique home to two previous owners, La Quinta Mazatlan is now part of the World Birding Center Organization and is a proud staple of the RGV. The home was originally built in the 1930s and was bought by the City of McAllen in 1998 after business owners saw no use for the home and tried to bulldoze it to use the land. The Quinta Mazatlan is now known as a "Mansion with a Mission". It focuses on educating people about wildlife and birdlife while offering an amazing Spanish setting in which to enjoy nature walks. I visited Quinta Mazatlan with my husband, my 12 year old daughter and my 15 month son and we loved it! The best part if it is that we only paid $2.00 per adult and $1.00 per child! I originally grew up in the Valley and I remember growing up there was not much to do other than go to the pool or visit family. It is amazing for me as a Valley native to see how much the Valley has grown and evolved having family in mind as key. We toured the Quinta on a Friday as organizers were setting up chairs for an outdoor wedding! ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! On an educational note, I learned the Valley is one of the country's top birding destinations. I met several bird watchers who were prepared with binoculars and books in hand and I was amazed to learn how much people enjoy bird watching. One of the gentelmen we met was a regular at Quinta Mazatlan and had a journal with notes about birds he had spotted dating back ten years! He explained to us how some of these birds are Valley natives but others migrate depending on the season. My son loves birds and he enjoyed being pushed around in his stroller. Each time he would see a bird he would point at it and grasp our attention so we could see it as well. I wonder if bird watching will be one of his hobbies in the future.  http://www.quintamazatlan.com/birds/explore.aspx

Museum of South Texas History

The Museum of South Texas History is located in Edinburg, Texas. I was upset at myself after visiting the museum because I cannot believe that after living in the Valley almost my entire life I never visited this amazing museum. It is so rich in history even my twelve year old daughter who admits to dislike the subject had the time of her life. Her favorite part was the old jail, of course. The museum was built out of the old Edinburg jail where one prisoner was hanged! We walked into the execution room and my daughter began to "hear" voices. She must have read the plaque that said "Old Haunted Jail" by the entrance.

Execution Room

We learned about Valley natives who faught in WWI and WWII and who gave our lives for us and our freedom. We sent messages via an old Moorse Code machine and learned how railroads affected the RGV. I became a little nostalgic when visiting this section of the mueseum because my grandfather helped build many of the railroads here in the United States back in the 40s, 50s and 60s. He worked as north as Colorado and Utah and had amazing stories about his experiences.

We also visited the Casimiro Perez-Alvarez exhibit. He was a U.S. Marshall from Starr County who always strived to make the RGV a better place.

Overall, our visit was educational and very fun. I'm happy Valley natives have such amazing places to visit with their families. http://www.mosthistory.org/

International Museum of Arts and Sciences (IMAS), McAllen, Tx.

http://www.imasonline.org/

Today we visited the International Museum of Arts and Sciences or IMAS in McAllen, TX. It was a fun experience for my family and I because there was something for all of us. My children (12 yeards old and 15 months old) enjoyed the science lab located in the kids zone. They were able to learn compare different dinosaur jaws to moden day tools and learn how water gets purified by using balls. Then they played with a sound maker on the board that creates the sound by the heat emmited from their hands.

My 15 month old having a blast!

My daughter at the sound board.

We then walked into the exhibits. Our favorite was Ron English's You Are Not Here. It was hilarious! Ron English is an American contemporary artist who was born in 1959 and grew up in Decatur, Illinois. English coined the term POPaganda to describe his signature mash-up of high and low cultural touchstones, from superhero mythology to figures of art history, populated with his vast and constantly growing arsenal of his original characters. His inspiration comes from Pablo Picasso, andy Warhol, the band Kiss, and comic books.

My little boy with my favorite Ron English work or art: Bably Hulk.

I love the way IMAS encourages family time by organizing events that include the entire family. The day we were there, we learned that they serve free lunch Monday through Friday and after lunch, parents can work on a take home hands on project with their children.That day, the project was to construct a dinosaur out of recycable plastic water bottles. Unfortunately we were not able to stay because of time constraints but we did see many families participating.

Juarez Lincoln Elementary

After taking School Library Administration during the summer, my eyes look for certain criteria when I visit a library. No longer am I swept away by cute posters or pretty wall colors.. Don't take me wrong, these factors are important in a library but now, when I visit a library, the Texas standards take over my brain. Maybe this isn't a good thing but in a way, I believe it allows me to view a library as a place with potential. When I visit a library I look at the setup. I pay attention to the amount of computers available for the students and whether or not there is a quiet area. Juarez Lincoln Elementary meets many of the standards but unfortunately they do not have many of the reccomended areas such as a puppet theatre, a quiet area, or a media center. With that said, I must point out they have a great collection and an excellent librarian who attenpts to do the best with what is at hand.

Imaginarium

The Imaginarium is a children's Science museuem located in Mall del Norte in Laredo, Texas. I visited the Imaginarium in May on a field trip and was actually surprised at how much fun my students had. There were many science experiments for them to do and the kids really enjoyed this experience. It is geared mainly towards elementary students. Imaginarium is sponsored by local Laredo business and is mantained by TAMIU (Texas A&M International University).