MPL & COVID-19
STAYING HOME
FUN, LEARNING, MORE
FOR FAMILIES
ASSISTANCE
MPL OFFERINGS
Be sure you follow MPL on Facebook and Instagram to get daily story times, fitness routines, and more. Sign up for Storytimes with Mrs. Tylanna on our Facebook page.
We have opened our doors for picking up and dropping off items, and you may use computers. You can reserve tables for 30 minutes to read books or magazines (we won't use your name; we just need to tally numbers) and we have study spaces available for 2 hours - sign up in person, on the phone, or through the pop-up on the lower right. You may use WiFi inside the library if you reserve a space, and our WiFi extends to the parking lot. (Here are other sources for public Wi-Fi statewide.)
No concerns about catching germs (or losing items or getting fines) with digital checkouts. You can sit on your comfortable couch to use Overdrive, Libby, Tumblebooks, or Hoopla, and we've increased the number of monthly Hoopla checkouts to 7 each month. Hoopla has added extra titles that do not count toward that total, including Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Sign in, then put Bonus Borrows into the search field. Tumblebooks has added access to ebooks and audiobooks for kids, teens, and adults.
BOOKS, STORIES, & MORE
Librarian and homeschool teacher Ami shares an ongoing list of picture book storytimes and more.
Read along at PBS Kids with authors, PBS show characters, and even Michelle Obama.
Need to pull a rabbit out of your hat? Magician Daniel Lusk shares his magic show via his Facebook page.
Coloring sheets from museums? Yes, please. From the collections of 100 museums.
Art and activity guide from ArtBar to keep creativity on tap.
To be or not to be ... catch Shakespeare plays from the Globe Theatre.
Teach the kids to cook - even toddlers - with a Montessori Food Preparation curriculum.
Make sourdough starter and have homemade breads, waffles, and more. You'll use this for years. (Optimism, folks!)
Is this feeding your family or a science experiment? Both! Start growing food in water.
Everybody wash your hands - watch a video demonstration of how detergent works. It's applied chemistry. Or learn Alton Brown's 30-second technique that takes 45 seconds because ... it's Alton Brown.
More digital escape rooms - Dog Man, Harry Potter,
Escape from Wonderland, A Special Series of Unfortunate Events.
Author and illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka teaches how to draw in this video series.
Resources for reading, genealogy, Indiana history for all ages. Indy 500 history, too. American Ancestors shares tips and resources to get the kids interested in their family history.
Archive.org - home of the Wayback Machine - offers 7 tips to help if you're stuck at home ... which we are.
Fandom sites to explore, by series: Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling: Wizarding World, Leaky Caldron, Harry Potter Wiki; Warriors by Erin Hunter: Warrior Cats, Warriors Wiki; Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: Hunger Games Wiki, Jabberjays, Hunger Games UK; I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore: I Am Number Four Wiki; Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan: Proof You're An Original Percy Jackson Fan, Percy Jackson Wiki; Eragon/Inheritance by Christopher Paolini: Paolini page, Eragon Inheritance Wiki; The Selection by Kiera Cass: Kiera Cass page, The Selection Wiki; Shadowhunters by Cassandra Clare: Shadowhunters, TMI Source, Shadowhunters Wiki; Legend by Marie Lu: One True Portal, Legend Wiki
The Missing by Margaret Haddix: Margaret Haddix page, The Missing Wiki.
FITNESS
Gotta support Marion's own Caleb Marshall & Haley Jordan at Fitness Marshall. They've even set aside specific kid-friendly dance & exercise videos. (Ah, and we clapped for both of you were on stage at Marion High School and CSA.)
51 ways to be active indoors from Active Cities will keep you hopping.
Try dance combinations - tap, jazz, lyrical - from NYCDA's Virtual Dance Experience.
The Body Coach shares workout videos for kids and for families with P.E. with Joe
VIRTUAL TOURIST
Tour the James Dean Gallery in Fairmount. See what attracts visitors from around the world, some who come back every year.
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is considered one of the best children's museums in the world (really!) and it has special at-home videos and more.
Science Central in Fort Wayne offers its 360 Virtual Tour and videos.
Visit 19 museums without worrying that somebody is going to destroy that $1.3 million Ming Dynasty vase. And here are a dozen museums that are offering virtual visits. Don't skip the Guggenheim, the Lourve, or the Van Gogh Museum.
Talk to the animals - just imagine it - via zoos. Meet the animals at the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo. The Indianapolis Zoo shares updates including animal babies. The Cincinnati Zoo offers Home Safaris. Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago has news stories (even its take on Tiger King), animals, and things you can do at home. Louisville Zoo shares resources, from crafts to cams. Explore.org shares curated nature cams, from gorillas to oceans to cats to aurora borealis. See the Houston Zoo webcams. San Diego Zoo has webcams, live and archived.
Go for a virtual ride at amusement parks within a reasonable day trip: Kings Island, Cedar Point, and Holiday World. And here's a bonus from The CoasterViews. Fasten your restraint, put your hands in the air, and scream - you're not at the library. (MPL is not responsible if you get motion sickness.)
NEED HELP
State of Indiana COVID-19 Testing Site in Marion: Eligibility requires doctor's note, exposure, symptoms, or employment as a health-care worker. Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Call for an appointment: 765-660-6999
2-1-1 offers links to help in communities - assistance, health resources, and more.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention offers help online, through a hotline (800-273-8255) and by text (text TALK to 741741).
New resources for mental health are available through Be Well Indiana.
Those in addiction recovery can find meetings, treatment, support, and more at intherooms.org Find dozens of mental-health resources - depression, suicide-prevention, drug counseling, eating-disorder counseling, and more.
Find out about food resources at the Indiana food assistance map.
Indiana WIC continues to offer food for children under 5, as well as pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. It also has resources to help breastfeeding mothers when they can't get to a lactation consultant.
Purdue Cooperative Extension is offering At Home Heroes courses to teach basic home skills to children and their parents or guardians. Topics: Safety (July 21), Cooking (July 28), Time Management (Aug. 4), Conflict Resolution (Aug. 11). You may take as many courses as you wish. Time: 1-2 p.m. Questions? Email dvorhees@purdue.edu
Your pantry and fridge have oddball things. What are you going to make? Escoffier rates the top pantry apps. (Don't let the big culinary name intimidate - these sites have great practical advice.)
Grant County Extension Services is offering a virtual program: Food Budgeting and Meal Planning. Sign up to join this Zoom session.
Purdue Extension offers COVID-19 specific resources, along with its ample resources on foods, cleaning, gardening, health, and more. Bookmark this - you'll use it all the time.
Looking for help for your small business or to find a job? Check under Business & Jobs on the Response & News page.
OFFER HELP
American Red Cross will have a blood drive noon-5:30 p.m. June 16 in Meeting Room B.
South Bend Medical will bring its mobile blood unit to the parking lot on July 31. Blood drive hours: 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
United Way of Grant County's COVID Assistance Fund helps local agencies that are serving new needs in our community.
Family and Social Services Administration is seeking to pair caregivers with those who need help, especially health-care providers, first responders, and other essential workers. Programs are looking for those who can provide care for children, the elderly, and those with developmental disabilities.
You can support local first-responders and health-care workers by donating to Grant County EMA's pass-through fund through Grant County Community Foundation. The money will fund protective gear.
LEARNING
Marion Community Schools will have a virtual kindergarten roundup starting at 2 p.m. May 14 and on-demand after that. Fill out this form to get more information.
FAFSA and state college aid filing dates have passed. There is no deadline for the Next Jobs Workforce Ready Grant. The contact phone number for assistance for Grant County residents: 317-617-0237 or INvestEd at 317-715-9007
Purdue University is offering Fast Start to high-school students who complete 5 classes and pass the related CLEP exams, giving students a headstart on college-level work and credit for those classes. Students who successfully complete Fast Start and meet admission requirements will be accepted for admission at Purdue with those 5 college credits.
Do you want to learn useful skills? Head over to MPL's Education page, where you can get certifications at Universal Class. Know any future drivers? Check out Driving Tests.org, on the website and with the app they can put on their phones.
Newsbank is a resource long available to MPL. Now it offers resources for students, teachers, and parents - including videos telling how to access research tools and even lesson plans.
Marion Community Schools will be continuing classes online through May 1. State testing - IREAD-3, ILEARN, ISTEP - will not be conducted this year. Students in Advanced Placement classes have received notice of changes in those tests.
Need reading & writing resources? Check out our page with everything from Online Bookclubs to National Novel Writing Month and its Young Writers Program, which has writing worksheets and writing curriculum.
KitLit TV is a multimedia site celebrating all things children’s literature.
Ask Rose is still open, with math and science tutorials from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
Free Ivy League Courses, 450 of them. And this link shares tips on how to study online.
Learn to keyboard (typing for the over 50 crowd) at Typing Club.
Hour of Code invites you to free tutorials.
Amazon Future Engineer also offers free online computer-science classes.
Terre Haute's Children's Museum offers Science at Home to keep your budding mad scientists busy.