Expand Your Thinking with Exploration Guides

It’s incredible how quickly you can get pulled into the flurry of online research once an idea, topic or celebrity captures your interest. You start with one tab open on your browser, then suddenly you have fourteen open, and you can’t remember how that Wikipedia article on watering hydrangeas led you to an interpretative dance video about Ada Lovelace. Okay, okay, I made that trail up, but I bet you could find the overlap if you put your mind to it!

Happily, you need not venture into these rabbit holes of curiosity all alone anymore! Your friendly and inquisitive Seattle Public Library staff have thoughtfully curated resources from the library and around the web, weaving together art, poetry, science, activism, history and more in unique explorations of some pretty cool subjects!

Exploration Guides are for students of all ages (adults, too!), but were specifically designed for youth in elementary, middle and high school to complement the learning happening at home. Most of the resources, which include articles, videos, podcasts, activities, and library materials, are available at any time without a wait. Explore these virtual guides by yourself or with a group of your family and friends. We’ve sprinkled thought-provoking questions throughout each guide to keep the conversation going (remotely or six-feet-apart with masks, of course)! What will you explore today?

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  Energize your participation in democracy and social justice by engaging with Who’s Vote Counts? Voter Suppression in the US, We’re Counting on You: The 2020 Census, Yellow Peril Supports Black Power*: A Reflection on Asian-Black Solidarity, Artists as Activists, or Athletes as Activists.

• Step back in time through Seattle neighborhoods like the Central District, International District/Chinatown, Lake City, and others.
• Take flight with Seattle’s Birds and SpaceX Launches or dive deep into Mysteries of the Ocean, Marine Animals of Puget Sound and Sharks.
• Travel across the world without leaving home with Take a Trip to Turkey or Take a Trip to Cambodia!
• Stretch your hands-on skills in Urban Gardening, Baking & Cake Decorating, or Dumplings Around the World.

We are creating new Exploration Guides each week on engaging, current, and local topics, so let your curiosity take charge and jump in!

~ posted by Ashley B.