The Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library brings fun and educational programs to your classroom. Best of all, they are free! Programs support Kansas accreditation standards and run approximately 30 to 60 minutes. Scheduling is on a first-come, first-served basis. Call the Bookmobile staff at (785) 580-4591 to arrange a free program for your classroom. Programs are available through May 2010, but reserve your program today because availability goes fast.

Below is a list of programs offered for the 2009-2010 school year.

New Kansas Connections Programs:

Go Buggy (Grades K - 5)
What makes a creepy crawly a "True Bug?" What are insects and other "pests" good for? Do spiders really "Bug" people? Get answers to these and other pesky questions when you slink, scurry or fly into the big, little world of "Bugs."

Music I (Grades 1 - 3)
Enjoy a live performance which will teach your students how music relates to all aspects of who we are.

Predators of the Kansas Skies (Grades 3 - 5)
Imagine you're a mouse scurrying low to the ground. Imagine something watching you that can hear your heartbeat and see you even in the dark. Try not to imagine the talons as they sweep you from the ground. Wherever you are in Kansas, raptors are close by. Learn more about these amazing birds by booking this program.

Animals Endangered! (Grades 3 - 6)
Learn about Kansas animals that need help as well as those that have made an amazing comeback! A live animal will visit your classroom. Students will discover how easily an animal can become endangered.

Kansas Quest (Grades 4 and 5)
"There's no place like home." Learning is fun and challenging with Kansas Quest, a trivia game utilizing a multi-media format to reinforce fact retention. This tool can be used to introduce, review or assess knowledge of the state's history, geography, people, places and wildlife.

Music II (Grades 4 - 6)
A song-writing guitarist will escort your students on a musical trail of historical times in Kansas.

Your Favorites and Ours from Previous Years

Storybooks (Grades K - 2)
The Storybook Lady, Princess Pageturner, will share wonderful stories and classic picture books with your class. Various themes are available. Please ask. Two sessions per classroom may be scheduled.

They're Alive . . . Living Kansas Symbols (Grades 1 - 5)
Look, feel and smell live animals and plants. Your students will discover a unique way of looking at Kansas symbols.

Slithering Snakes (Grades 1 - 5)
Slimy, sneaky, evil and just lying in the grass waiting to bite your ankles? Or beautiful guardians in the delicate balance of nature? Find out how snakes benefit humankind. Hands on with Lucy, Oreo, Speckles or the "Snake With No Name."

Batty for Bats (Grades 2 and 3)
Explore the many ways our only flying mammal benefits the environment. We'll replace horror-movie stereotypes with just the facts. There'll be exciting photos of some of the 980+ bat species in action, from fruit bats to vampire bats. Your students will be convinced that it's great to be "Batty for Bats."

Dinosaurs (Grades 2 and 3)
Millions of years ago, Dinosaurs ruled the earth. Now they rule the classroom! With hands-on artifacts, students explore fascinating facts about these "thunder lizards."

Pioneers - Traveling West (Grades 2 - 3)
It's moving day! Are we ready to make the journey west? What will we need? How will we pull the wagon? Flour, sugar, coffee - Check! Blankets, clothes, tools - Check! Horses, oxen, mules - Check! We prepare the ultimate packing list for starting a new life while traveling in a covered wagon.

Bison (Grades 2 - 4)
Bison are once again roaming the Kansas Prairie. Request this hands-on program to learn the basic facts about this fascinating animal as well as the legend and lore that surrounds them.

Kansas Animals and Their Habitats (Grades 2 - 4)
Invertebrate or vertebrate. Which animal type are you? We will investigate 5 different vertebrate groups of animals, discuss what makes up a habitat and take a look at the 3 Kansas habitats and the animals that live in them.

Real Kansans (Grades 3 - 5)
Amelia Earhart to John Brown, Gordon Parks to Russell Stover. Kansans have left their mark on history. We'll visit statesmen, inventors and artists who have thrilled and inspired. And they're all from our home state.

Pioneers - "You Wouldn't Want to Be . . . !" (Grades 4 - 6)
Buffalo stampedes, wigglers in the water, leaky-roofed sod houses and quack "physicians." Based on the popular history series "You Wouldn't Want to Be. . .," this nitty-gritty program will shake up your students' ideas about travel and life on the Kansas Prairie.

Urban Legends (Grades 4 - 8)
Urban Legends are stories of our time. But are they true or false? Many are based on true events to begin with, but are often hard to believe. How much gets added each time the story is told? How much is really true? Many have mysterious endings. The real mystery, though, is figuring out which stories have been made up. But whether they are true or not, the stories are still worth telling.

Native Americans: From Nomads to City Dwellers (Grades 6 - 8)
Where did Native Americans come from? How did they get here? Where did they settle? How did they live? What role did the weather play? From the Bering Strait all the way down to Central America the world of pre-Columbus America was as diverse as it was fascinating. Learn how these people evolved from simple hunter-gatherers to accomplished astronomers and builders of great cities.

Whazzup in Space? (Grades 6 - 8)
Man can now see "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" and "go where no man has gone before." Topics presented via power point by the resident Solar System Ambassador representing NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory include Moon and Mars Mania, New Horizons, Goldilocks Goldmines and other space exploration missions.