Physical Distancing STEM Break with Ms. Meghan: Gala in Gorongosa

Did you know that your Galesburg Public Library card allows you to check out e-books and audio books through the Libby app? All you need is your library card and your PIN (your birth date in MMDDYYYY format) and you'll be on your way to reading on your phone or tablet!

I'll be pairing up Libby books for GPL patrons with STEM activities, live webcams, educational programs, and citizen science projects.

So, let's go to a

Gala in Gorongosa!


Gorongosa National Park is in Mozambique, in southeast Africa. During the civil war, which lasted almost 20 years, the park lost almost 90% of the large, charismatic animals that are associated with Africa. Since then, conservationists have reintroduced some species, but scientists need you to help track animal populations and behaviors.

Read: 

There are a number of books about African animals that you can borrow from Libby, including Baby Animals by Seymour Simon and Wild Reptiles by Chris and Martin Kratt.


Be a citizen scientist: 

Help the researchers. Go check out WildCam Gorongosa and start identifying animals today! There are camera traps all around the park. These battery operated cameras take photos when they sense movement. There is a grid of 60 cameras in the park, and there are hundreds of thousands of images that have been taken over the years! You can tell scientists what animals are in the photos, and help them build a data set for studies in ecology, behavior, and more.