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STEM Tuesday
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    STEM Tuesday — Robotics and Artificial Intelligence– Author Interview
    September 26, 2023 by
    STEM Tuesday– Robotics and Artificial Intelligence — Interview with Author Darcy Pattison Welcome to STEM Tuesday: Author Interview, a repeating feature for the last Tuesday of every month. Go Science-Tech-Engineering-Math! Today we’re interviewing Darcy Pattison, author of A.I.: How Patterns Helped Artificial Intelligence Defeat World Champion Lee Sedol.  It’s a fascinating look at the use of artificial intelligence and how a common board game was used to demonstrate that, in some cases, a computer might possess superior skill levels. Kirkus Reviews calls it, “An enthralling, contemporary tale of man versus machine.”           Christine Taylor-Butler: Darcy, you’ve been in the business for quite a while and you’ve written everything from science fiction and fantasy to contemporary stories and science. When did you know you wanted to become a writer? Were there detours along the way? Darcy Pattison: I have always been a reader! In sixth grade, I read THE LORD OF THE RINGS (the Harry Potter of...
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    STEM Tuesday — Robotics and Artificial Intelligence– Writing Tips & Resources
    September 19, 2023 by
    AI & Robots Activities When beginning to research this month’s topics (AI & Robots) I needed to look no further than my own writers’ group. Longtime member George Anthony Kulz is our resident technical guru with books out about both topics. And he is a prime example for the success strategies of STEAM. While he uses his technical skills and knowledge for his work, he has also been honing his creative writing skills. Combining the two has resulted in a complementary career as a children’s book author, showing how important it is to balance the sciences with the arts. I asked George several questions about his writing and how he got there. At the end of this article, there are some resources for kid activities that combine visual art, writing, and science. You have been asked to write a number of books about technology. How did you come by your...
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  • STEM Tuesday -- Robotics and Artificial Intelligence-- In the Classroom
    STEM Tuesday — Robotics and Artificial Intelligence– In the Classroom
    September 12, 2023 by
      Not long ago, robots and artificial intelligence were the imagination of science fiction books and movies. Yet every day, advances in technology, robotics, and engineering are making them a reality! The book suggestions this month put a spotlight on the history of robotics and artificial intelligence and are a great starting point for classroom discussions and activities.   Bots! Robotics Engineering: With Hands-One Makerspace Activities by Kathy Ceceri and Lena Chandhok This book explores how robots play a vital role in our world. It details the history and theory of programming and robotics, and includes many hands-on robotics projects that help children learn design, engineering, and coding. It is beautifully formatted and fun to read. Classroom Activity This book is full of activities that can be adapted for the classroom. One activity asks students to build a simple tilt sensor with LED lights. It can be made with household...
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    STEM Tuesday — Robotics and Artificial Intelligence– Book List
    September 5, 2023 by
              There’s no denying it, we can’t escape the growing fields of robotics and artificial intelligence. Below are book suggestions for readers who wish to learn more about the history of robotics and AI, as well as how to create their own inventions   National Geographic Kids Everything Robotics: All the Photos, Facts, and Fun to Make You Race for Robots by Jen Swanson Robots don’t simply occupy the space of fiction these days, as they have infiltrated every day life. Robots can fix aircrafts, dance, tell jokes, and even clean your carpet! Swanson gives a great history of robotics and also adds a section of the future of robotics. Fantastic writing along with eye catching visuals.     Spare Parts (Young Readers’ Edition): The True Story of Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and an Impossible Dream By Reyna Grande (Adapter), Joshua Davis (Author) Spare...
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Contributors

Photo of Christine Taylor Butler

Christine Taylor Butler

Christine Taylor-Butler has been a prolific consumer of public
libraries from an early age. A consummate tinkerer it was deemed
advisable she study engineering at MIT for job security. Years later she made a break for the corporate door and delved into children’s literature hoping to write stories about talking animals when a sneaky editor at Scholastic conned her into writing non-fiction for children.…

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Callie Dean

Callie Dean is a musician, writer, educator, and program evaluator. She teaches applied research at Eastern University and is passionate about the role of the arts in effecting community transformation. She lives in Shreveport, La., with her husband and two sons.  She is the director of CYBER.ORG, a STEM education organization with a national network of more than 25,000 K-12 teachers.…

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Andi Diehn

Andi Diehn grew up near the ocean chatting with horseshoe crabs and now lives in the mountains surrounded by dogs, cats, lizards, chickens, ducks, moose, deer, and bobcats, some of which help themselves to whatever she manages to grow in the garden. You are most likely to find her reading a book, talking about books, writing a book, or discussing politics with her sons.…

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Jenna Grodinski

Jenna Grodzicki is the author of more than twenty fiction and nonfiction children’s books. Her books include Wild Style: Amazing Animal Adornments (Millbrook Press 2020) and I See Sea Food: Sea Creatures That Look Like Food (Millbrook Press 2019), the winner of the 2020 Connecticut Book Award in the Young Readers Nonfiction Category.…

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Mike Hays

Mike Hays is from Kansas and is a tried and true flatlander by birth. He would most assuredly be obsessed with a statue of mysterious origins, especially if he could buy said statue on the cheap. He has worked as a molecular microbiologist for over 25 years, has coached high school sports, and writes middle-grade books.…

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Sue Heavenrich

Sue Heavenrich writes about science for children and their families, from space to backyard ecology. Bees, flies, squirrel behavior—things she observes in her backyard and around her neighborhood—inspire her writing. A long line of ants marching across the kitchen counter generated one of her first articles for kids. If you can’t find her at the keyboard, check the garden.Her most recent book is  Diet for a Changing Climate (2018).

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Karen Latchana Kenney

Karen Latchana Kenney loves to write books about animals, and looks for them wherever she goes—from leafcutter ants trailing through the Amazon rain forest in Guyana, where she was born, to puffins in cliff-side burrows on the Irish island of Skellig Michael. She especially enjoys creating books about nature, biodiversity, conservation, and groundbreaking scientific discoveries—but also writes about civil rights, astronomy, historical moments, and many other topics.…

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Kirsten W. Larson

Kirsten W. Larson used to work with rocket scientists at NASA. Now she writes about both science and history for kids. She is the author of 25 nonfiction books, including the Robotics in Our World series (Amicus). Calkins Creek will publish her debut picture book, WOOD, WIRE, WINGS: Emma Lilian Todd Invents an Airplane (illus.…

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Margo Lemieux

A recently retired professor of art, Margo is devoted to seeing that the A stays in STEAM. Science & technology need the heart that comes with art. It was lack of heart that led to the ecological crisis we have today. The process of creativity is closely related to that of scientific inquiry.

She is a  published picture book writer and illustrator, editor, poet, and amateur ukulele player.…

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Lydia Lukidis

Lydia Lukidis is the author of 48 trade and educational books, as well as 31 e-Books. Her latest STEM book, THE BROKEN BEES’ NEST (Kane Press, 2019), was nominated for a CYBILS Award, and her forthcoming STEM book, DEEP, DEEP, DOWN: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench will be published by Capstone in 2023.…

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Maria Marshall

Maria is a children’s author, blogger, and poet passionate about making nature and reading fun for children. She was a round 2 judge for the 2018 & 2017 Cybils Awards. And a judge for the #50PreciousWords competition since its inception. Two of her poems are published in The Best Of Today’s Little Ditty 2016 and 2014-2015 anthologies.…

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Heather L Montgomery

Heather L. Montgomery writes for kids who are wild about animals. The weirder, the wackier, the better. An award-winning educator, Heather uses yuck appeal to engage young minds. She has a B.S. in biology and an M.S. in environmental education and has written a dozen nonfiction books including How Rude! Real Bugs Who Won’t Mind Their Manners (Scholastic) and her upcoming Something Rotten: A Fresh Look at Roadkill(Bloomsbury).

Photo of Carla Mooney

Carla Mooney

Carla Mooney loves to explore the world around us and discover the details about how it works. An award-winning author of numerous nonfiction science books for kids and teens, she hopes to spark a healthy curiosity and love of science in today’s young people. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, three kids, and dog. When not writing, she can often be spotted at a hockey rink for one of her kids’ games.…

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Shruthi Rao

Shruthi was that kid who actually enjoyed writing essays in school! She wrote her first novel when she was eleven. It was an Enid Blyton rip-off. It was terrible (so she says). She didn’t write stories for a long time after that. Instead, Shruthi got a Master’s degree in Energy Engineering from one of the top schools of India, and worked in the IT industry for four years.…

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Janet Slingerland

Janet Slingerland grew up studying animals and conducting science experiments before pursuing a degree in electrical engineering. She spent 15 years writing code for things like submarines, phones, and airplanes before deciding to share her passion for knowledge and STEM with others. Janet now has more than 20 published books for readers in grades K through 12, including Explore Atoms and Molecules!…

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Susan Summers

Susan started her career as a zookeeper and enjoyed working with polar bears, wolves, and owls – to name just a few of her favorite animals. Interest in science and nature firmly took hold and she followed that career by becoming a wildlife biologist. In this engaging field, she was able to participate in research on a variety of wildlife, including bears, bats, and fabulous birds!…

Photo of Jennifer Swanson

Jennifer Swanson

Jennifer Swanson dreams of one day running away to the Museum of Science and Industry- then maybe she could look at all the exhibits and try out all the gadgets without competing for them with her kids. An author of thirty nonfiction science books for grades 3-6, Jennifer’s goal is to show kids that Science Rocks!…