ASK!

Kids ASK! about Science & Technology

There are billions of galaxies in the universe! Each galaxy consists of stars, gas and dust held together by gravity. The galaxy that we are living in is called the Milky Way and it is just one of the billions of galaxies in the universe.

Scientists have predicted that our galaxy, the Milky Way, has about 400 billion stars. Therefore, our solar system is only a tiny part of the Milky Way.

Just imagine – if you are given a chance to travel beyond the Milky Way, how does our Milky Way look like? It will probably look like a gigantic pinwheel with a bright center and a thin disk of stars spiraling outward. Our solar system will only look like a tiny, almost invisible speck.

Source: Berry, R. (2008). Milky Way. The New Book of Knowledge®. Retrieved August 26, 2008, from Grolier Online http://nbk.grolier.com/cgi-bin/article?assetid=a2019280-h

Read more about galaxies and the Milky Way:

The Milky Way and other galaxies by Dana Meachen Rau
Call Number: J 523.1 RAU

Earth’s journey through space by Trudy E. Bell
Call Number: Y 525 BEL

Space by Alan Dyer
Call Number: J 520 DYE

Astronomy: every galaxy has a black hole by Bryson Gore
Call Number: J 520 GOR

Galaxies by Dan Elish
Call Number: J 523.1 ELI

For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue. 

All websites were last accessed on 26 August 2008. All images were extracted from www.bn.com.

Originally answered by Azizah Osman, Librarian, Children’s Services.

Posted by Adeline Tan, Librarian, Children’s Services.

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ASK! about Singapore

There is currently only one educational institute in Singapore providing a postgraduate education in library science, and that is Nanyang Technological University of Singapore (NTU).

Also known as ‘Masters in Information Studies’, this postgraduate course is run by the Division of Information Studies, which is in turn under the auspices of the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information.  One can find out more about the course details here.  

You might also wish to visit the Library Association of Singapore webpage for more information.

You might be interested in librarianship overseas:

American Library Association

Australian Library and Information Association

Canadian Library Association

All websites last accessed on 22 Aug 2008

Originally answered by Chan Wai Ling, Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services.

 Posted by Yen Yen Toh, Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services

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Kids ASK! about Science and Technology

The Internet has changed the way we do things—it has become so much a part of our lives that it is nearly impossible to imagine living without it. But tell me, have you ever wondered how the Internet came about? Sure, you have read about the invention of computers but how about the Internet specifically, what inspired it and when did it become reality?

I picked up this question from a fellow librarian (Chee Boon – you can read about him here) and remembered a dusty article I had from a long time ago (ok not that long – 4 years) about the history of the Internet. After some sneezes and digging through piles of information, I found what I was looking for… Here is the story of what we call the Internet.

The Internet is a product of war technology, more specifically, nuclear war. In the early 1960s, the U.S. authorities were worried that in the event of a nuclear war, the various command posts in the various cities will lose their ability to communicate as switches and wiring can and will likely be damaged by atomic bombs. They would need a command-and-control center that can withstand the atomic bomb and had no specific location so that it cannot be targeted. It was a strategic problem.

That was when RAND Corporation (America’s Cold War think-tank) came up with a proposal, the brainchild of one of its staff, Paul Baran. The year is 1964. The proposal is to have a network that is inherently unreliable. The network will have multiple nodes that have the exact same ability to be a beginning or an end point for the transmitting and receiving of messages. The messages themselves are made up of many packets and each packet will find its way through the network to the end point it is addressed to. The route taken by the packet is inconsequential. What matters is the final destination. Having such a system means that even if pieces of the network is destroyed by a bomb, the message packets in the air will still find its way to its destination with whatever nodes that are left.

In 1969, the first node was installed in UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) and by the end of the year there were 4 nodes in total. The first version of the Internet was formed and it was called ARPANET.

It was good. Scientists could share one another’s notes and soon enough, it became an electronic post office. So much for military technology… ARPANET was used for exchanging research, for chatting and even gossiping. The first mailing list had nothing to do with the military, it was, “SF-LOVERS”.

Through the 70s, the network grew and grew. The message packets switching system also became streamlined and more sophisticated. Eventually, for reasons of control and security, the military segment broke off and became MILNET. The technology was replicated and ARPANET became one network of many though they were all linked. As the 80s came, computers became more common and there was nothing to stop people from linking up to one another as the very nature of such a network system is anarchic and decentralised.

ARPANET died officially in 1989, consumed by its own success, taken over by what we now know as the Internet. The rest, they say, is history.

Reference:
Sterling, B. (Feb 1993). Short History of the Internet. The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

If you want to read more about the Internet, here are books you can check out at our libraries.

For Children:

Image retrieved from www.amazon.ca

Computers then and now by Rebecca Weber
Publisher: Minneapolis, Minn. : Compass Point Books, c2005
Call Number: J English 004 WEB

The incredible story of computers and the Internet by Greg Roza
Publisher: New York : Rosen Pub. Group’s PowerKids Press, 2004
Call Number: J English 004.67 ROZ

The computer : passport to the digital age by Joanne Mattern
Publisher: New York : PowerKids Press, c2003
Call Number: J English 004 MAT

All websites are last accessed on 22 August 2008. Please refer to the terms and conditions on the homepages for use.
For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

Answered by Felicia Chan,

Librarian, Children’s Services

ASK! about Anything & Everything

Do you face difficulties in creating small talk during a party? Or the conversation falls flat halfway? You might wish to check out some of the recommended books below:

1) The art of mingling: proven techniques for mastering any room by Jeanne Martinet

Call no.: 158.27 MAR

2) The fine art of small talk: how to start a conversation, keep it going, build networking skills and leave a positive impression! by Debra Fine

Call no.: 177.2 FIN

 3) The fine art of small talk: how to start a conversation in any situation? by Debra Fine

Call no.: 177.2 FIN

4) The art of talking to anyone: essential skills for success in any situation! by Rosalie Maggio

Call no.: AV 808.56 MAG

5) How to start a conversation by Don Gabor

Call no.: AV 153.6 GAB

For availability and locations of the above titles, please use our online catalog.

Originally answered by Ms Grace Leong, Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services

 Posted by Yen Yen Toh, Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services

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Kids ASK! about Anything & Everything

I must confess that part of my motivation for this post is an undying fascination with the exotic and mysterious. I first heard of El Dorado as a teenager, when I watched the cartoon movie, The Road to El Dorado, and for a time, I wondered very much if such a city really existed. It was a city believed to be made completely of gold. A few times every year, there would be a ceremony where the natives would coat their chief with gold dust and he would make offerings on their behalf to the gods by throwing gold and jewels into a lake.

Fascinating is it not? To have so much gold to throw into the lake and so much wealth… the idea of boundless gold captured the imagination of the public and the western explorers of the 1500s. In the hope of striking rich, many people have risked their lives to find this legendary city of gold.

Historically, the term El Dorado, refers to a person—el hombre dorado—not a city. It means the Golden Man. The tale of the golden man and the ceremony of throwing gold into the lake was first recorded by a Spanish Monk by the name of Pedro Simón. However, this was fairly late as by the early 1500s, the Spanish were already robbing the Indians in the New World. Large amounts of gold were stolen from the Incas of Peru and the Aztecs in Mexico.

Imagine when word of a city of gold got out, teams of explorers were just racing to get to all that gold first. There were three initial teams of explorers and they all endured terrible hardships that included falling ill to diseases from mosquito bites, snake bites, dangerous animals and Indians with arrows coated with poison. The rain, which never seemed to end, also caused their clothes to rot away. The first team took 10 months to reach Lake Guatavitá, the lake the chief of El Dorado was believed have held his gold-throwing ceremony, and only 166 people were left alive out of 700 who set out on the journey.

There was no city of gold. There was some gold dust and emeralds in the Lake Guatavitá, but not enough to justify all the hard work getting to the place and the lost of lives. When they discovered there was no city of gold at Lake Guatavitá, the teams tried to look elsewhere. Some thought the city was in Venezuela but that too turned out to be false. More and more teams tried to look for the city in the 50 years that followed but none came back with gold and most were fortunate if they even got back alive.

Not too long ago in 1965, after a few attempts of trying to drain the Lake Guatavitá to retrieve any gold that may be at the bottom of it (one company did manage to drain the lake and find a few golden ornaments), Colombia turned the lake into a historical site and henceforth, all efforts to find the treasure of the Golden Man became banned.

Does the city exist? To read the full version of this story, you can check out this book from the library,

Image retrieved from www.amazon.ca

Legends or Lies by Gary L. Blackwood
Publisher: New York : Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, c2005
Call Number: J English 398.2 BLA -[FOL]

Reference:
Blackwood, G. L. (2005). The City of Gold. Legends or Lies. New York : Marshall Cavendish Benchmark

If you want to read more about El Dorado and Lost Cities, here are books you can check out at our libraries.

For Teens & Children:

Image retrieved from www.amazon.co.uk

Lost cities by Sue Hamilton
Publisher: Edina, Minn. : ABDO Pub. Co., c2008
Call Number: Y English 398.234 HAM

Image retrieved from www.amazon.ca

Cities of the dead: finding lost civilizations by Denise Rinaldo
Publisher: New York : Franklin Watts, c2008
Call Number: Y English 930.1 RIN

Image retrieved from www.amazon.ca

Lost cities by Neil Morris
Publisher: London : Franklin Watts, 2007
Call Number: J English 930.1 MOR

All websites are last accessed on 18 August 2008. Please refer to the terms and conditions on the homepages for use.
For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

Answered by Felicia Chan,

Librarian, Children’s Services

Kids ASK! about Anything & Everything

Besides New Year’s Eve, August is the eagerly anticipated month when we get the opportunity to crane our necks, looking up in the night sky as a myriad of patterns and colours explode before our eyes. With the National Day Parade and the Singapore Fireworks Celebration, we have more than enough opportunity to feast our senses on this age-old practise that still gives people goose bumps.

Before they go up in smoke, pyrotechnicians prepare the fireworks which consist of different parts. Simply put, one of the parts is a tube containing gunpowder, a fuse and the firework. The other part is the firework which consists of chemicals, more gunpowder and another fuse. When the first fuse is lit, it ignites the gunpowder, which blasts the firework up into the sky. This explosion lights the second fuse which burns slowly as the firework flies up, which then sets off the gunpowder, causing the firework to explode. When this happens, it mixes the chemicals and depending on which chemicals are used, different colours and effects are produced. If the fireworks display is complicated, the firework might contain different elements like star pellets or smaller shells which make smaller bursts, to add more variety (such as spark or light patterns) to the display.

References:
- Thomas, Isabel. (2007). Fireworks!. Oxford : Raintree.
- Brain, Marshall. How Fireworks Work. Retrieved August 13, 2008, from HowStuffWorks Web site: http://people.howstuffworks.com/fireworks2.htm

Want to read more about fireworks? Here are some recommended books:

Fireworks! by Isabel Thomas
Publisher : Oxford : Raintree, 2007.
Call No. : J 662 THO

Pyrotechnician, by Mary Firestone
Publisher : Philadelphia, Pa. : Chelsea House Publishers, c2006.
Call No. : J 662 FIR

Gunpowder, by Trudi Strain Trueit
Publisher : New York, N.Y. : Franklin Watts, c2005.
Call No. : J 662 TRU

Fireworks, by Vicki Cobb
Publisher : Minneapolis, Minn. : Millbrook Press, c2006.
Call No. : J 662 COB

From rock to fireworks : a photo essay, by Gary W. Davis
Publisher : New York : Children’s Press, c1997.
Call No. : JP 662 DAV

For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

All websites were last accessed on 12 August 2008. Please check the websites’ homepages for the terms and conditions of use. Book covers were extracted from www.amazon.com and www.bn.com.

Posted by Galvin Soh
Librarian
Children’s Services

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If you have a different question, please email it to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.

ASK! about Events and Outreach

On 2 August 2008, NLB once again supported people who are disabled by participating in the SDSC’s Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games Roadshow, held at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza.

Roy, our librarian, was there to promote books to the public and athletes with disabilities.

“Serving people with disabilities is very meaningful, as we have a chance to bring the joy of reading to them. In doing so, I hope that we can make a positive difference in their lives.” – Roy Won

FAQ: What started the Paralympic Games?
The idea began when Sir Ludwig Guttmann organised games involving British WWII veterans who sustained spinal injuries, in England in 1948. As other countries joined in, an international initiative was born. More athletes of different disabilities also joined in. The first Olympic-style Games for disabled athletes were held in Rome in 1960.

In 1976, the Winter Games started in Sweden. The International Paralympics Committee was formed in 1989. Today, Paralympic Games are held at the same venue and same year as the Olympics, part of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Paralympics Committee‘s (IPC) “one bid, one city” initiative.

FAQ: What is NLB doing at the Paralympic Games Roadshow?
Or rather, what business has the library got at any roadshow for that matter. The answer is: education. We are knowledge providers. We cover the whole range of DDC, 000s to 999s, and fiction stories too. Thus, we have practically every topic that’s written in the world. Beyond books, we even have the Digital Library, where you can retrieve current information like research and news. Clearly, information is important, and the library is a rich source of it. What’s more, the library’s free too!

At the SDSC Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games Roadshow, a selection of books on athletes with disabilities and the Paralympics were showcased. These books can be generally found at the DDC number 796.08 and 796.01, in the recreation, or Young People general collection of libraries.

Reference:
- “Paralympic Games”, International Paralympic Committee, 2008, 11 Aug. 2008, www.paralympic.org/release/
Main_Sections_Menu/Paralympic_Games/
- “Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: Mount Olympus Meets the Middle Kingdom.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Library Edition. 11 Aug. 2008 library.ebonline.com/eb/article-277422

Posted by Ang Mei Jun,

Librarian, Adult & Young People’s Services

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If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.

Kids ASK! about Health & Fitness

The 2008 Olympics is in full swing! Want to know which countries won the most medals for the past 10 Games? Read on…

Beijing is the host nation for the Games of the 29th Olympiad, and this coupled with their sporting prowess make them the favorite to top the medal standing this year. This table shows the top three countries with the highest medal tally for the past 10 Olympic Games held:

(Source : http://www.olympic.org)

Past Olympics games are full of interesting trivia and make fascinating history, such as the suspension of the Munich Games of 1972 due to a terrorist attack which killed two members of the Israeli team, and the drug disqualification of American sprinter Ben Johnson in the 1988 Seoul Games.

To read more on the Olympics, you may be interested in these books:

Flaming Olympics, by Michael Coleman
Publisher : London : Scholastic, 2008
Call No. : J 796.48 COL

Modern Olympic games, by Hadyn Middleton
Publisher : Oxford : Heinemann Library, 2008
Call No. : J 796.48 MID

Great Olympic moments, by Haydn Middleton
Publisher : Oxford : Heinemann Library, 2008
Call No. : J 796.48 MID

Amazing pace : the story of Olympic champion Michael Phelps from Sydney to Athens to Beijing, by Paul McMullen
Publisher : Emmaus, Pa. : Rodale, c2006
Call No. : 797.21092 MAC -[REC]

Crises at the Olympics, by Haydn Middleton
Publisher : Oxford : Heinemann Library, 2008.
Call No. : J 796.48 MID

Outstanding Olympics, by Clive Gifford
Publisher : Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2007.
Call No. : J 796.48 GIF

Gold medal for weird, by Kevin Sylvester
Publisher : Toronto. Ont. : Kids Can Press, c2007.
Call No. : J 796.48 SYL

All websites were last accessed on 9 August 2008. Please check the websites’ homepages for the terms and conditions of use.
All images were extracted from www.amazon.com and www.bn.com.

For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

Posted by Galvin Soh
Librarian
Children’s Services

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If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.

ASK! about Health & Fitness

Tomatoes are rich in vitamin C. They also contain vitamin A and B, potassium, iron and phosphorus, as well as antioxidants. A medium-sized tomato also contains the same amount of fibre as a slice of wholemeal bread, with less the calories!

To enjoy their antioxidant value, cooked tomatoes are actually better, as cooking breaks down the tough cellular walls, releasing the lycopene (antioxidant in tomato) for the body’s use.

Reference:
- Herbst, Sharon Tyler, The new food lover`s companion: more than 6,700 A-to-Z entries describe foods, cooking techniques, herbs, spices, desserts, wines, and the ingredients for pleasurable dining, Hauppage, N.Y.: Barron’s Educational Series, Inc., c2007.
- Graimes, Nicola, Brain foods for kids : over 100 recipes to boost your child`s intelligence, New York : Delta Trade Paperbacks, 2005.
- “Serve those greens right”, Straits Times: Mind You Body supplement, 6 Aug 08, Factiva.com, 08 Aug 08, www.factiva.com
- Encyclopedia of foods : a guide to healthy nutrition / prepared by medical and nutrition experts from Mayo Clinic, University of California Los Angeles, and Dole Food Company, San Diego, Calif. ; $aLondon : Academic, c2002.
- McGee, Harold, On food and cooking : the science and lore of the kitchen, New York : Scribner, 2004.

Posted by Ang Mei Jun,

Librarian, Adult & Young People’s Services

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Kids ASK! about Pets & Animals

[Editor speaks: We know zebras have special markings called stripes on their bodies. But what exact function do they serve, those stripes? Are they a special calling to zebras from other herds? Or are they for aesthetics' purposes? Hmmm, something for your mind to chew upon...]

“Because zebras spend so much time eating, they are an easy target for predators, and some zoologists have suggested that zebra stripes act as a protective camouflage. According to this theory, their bold markings break up their body outline, making them difficult to see from far away. Another explanation for zebra markings is that in a herd, zebra stripes confuse would-be attackers by making it hard for them to single out an individual animal from a backdrop of constantly shifting stripes.

To many experts, a more convincing explanation for zebra stripes lies in their social life. Like most members of the horse family, zebras are highly gregarious, and they constantly seek out each other’s company. Their stripes may act like an identity badge, helping individual animals stay in contact with one another. Very occasionally, unstriped zebras do occur, and these animals tend to stay isolated from their own kind—suggesting to some scientists that zebra stripes act more as a way to develop social relationships than as a form of camouflage.”

Source: Burnie, D Zebra. In Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia [Web]. Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved July 29, 2008, from http://encarta.msn.com/
encyclopedia_761575094/Zebra.html

So, there are 3 possible reasons for zebras having stripes:
1) The stripes act as protective camouflage from predators.
2) The stripes would confuse predators during their attacks as they make it difficult to single out one animal from a background of changing stripes.
3) The stripes are an identity badge for zebras and help them stay in contact with each other.

For more information, here are some recommended library books on zebras:

Zebras by Catherine Ipcizade
Publisher: Mankato, Minn. : Capstone Press, c2008
Summary: Discusses the characteristics and habits of zebras.
Call No.: J P 599.665 IPC

Endangered zebras by Kelley MacAulay
Publisher: New York, NY : Crabtree Pub. Co., c2007
Call No.: J 599.665 MAC

Zebras by Amelie von Zumbusch
Publisher: New York, N.Y. : PowerKids Press, 2007
Call No.: J P 599.665 ZUM

Zebras by Sandra Markle
Publisher: Minneapolis, Minn. : Lerner Publications Company, 2007
Call No.: J 599.665 MAR

If you would like to visit websites on zebras, here are some good sites to check out as well:

1) National Geographic’s profile of zebras – http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/
mammals/zebra.html
2) Zebra at Animal Corner – http://www.animalcorner.co.uk/wildlife/
zebra/zebra_about.html
3) Animal Diversity Web’s (University of Michigan) profile on Equus grevyi – http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/
accounts/information/Equus_grevyi.html
4) Oakland Zoo’s profile on zebras – http://www.oaklandzoo.org/meet_the_animals/zebra,-grant’s-(common)

All websites were last accessed on 5 August 2008. Please check the websites’ homepages for the terms and conditions of use. All book summaries were taken from the book descriptions. All images were extracted from www.amazon.com and www.bn.com.

For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

Answered and posted by Ms Elizabeth Lee
Children’s Librarian
Children’s Services

Found this post interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.