Arcadia Public Library

"In Ashtown, a rough-and-tumble desert community, the Emperor rules with poisoned claws and an iron fist. He can't show any sign of weakness, as the neighboring Wiley City has spent lifetimes beating down the people of Ashtown and would love nothing more than its downfall. There's only one person in the desert the Emperor can fully trust--and her name is Scales. Scales is the best at what she does: keeping everyone and everything in line. As a skilled...

As of today, we are still sending messages to the stars: messages that, so far, have not been answered. For more than 50 years, we've been unsuccessfully searching for any evidence of intelligent extraterrestrial life. But, the discovery of thousands of exoplanets has meant the hope of finding them is higher than ever. First contact with alien intelligence will become a reality in the future, so we must understand how to communicate. What kind of...

Yakka Dee! is a show that encourages children to talk. Each episode focuses on one word.

Two billion years in the future, humanity finds itself on the verge of extinction. Almost all that is left in the world are lone and surreal monuments, beaming their message into the wilderness.

The advent of electronic music in the 20th century was a radical break from all musical traditions that came before it. Narrated by legendary multimedia artist Laurie Anderson, Lisa Rovner’s superb SISTERS WITH TRANSISTORS showcases the music of and rare interviews with female electronic pioneers Clara Rockmore, Delia Derbyshire, Daphne Oram, Éliane Radigue, Maryanne Amacher, Bebe Barron, Suzanne Ciani, Pauline Oliveros, Laurie Spiegel, and Wendy...

From Peru, where the mineral is extracted, all the way to France, where the metal is refined, lead pollutes the earth, the rivers, food supplies, and local people. Despite being banned in numerous products including fuel, paints and the manufacture of pipes, lead is still often used in buildings, weapon development, jewellery and even in batteries. At Évin-Malmaison, France, lead from refineries has contaminated the earth underneath various schools,...

Many factories around the world use perfluorinated chemicals to make everyday products. Due to their chemical stability, these compounds are “forever chemicals” They do not break down. Even worse, they can build up inside the human body and cause health problems, including cancer, and compromise the immune system. Companies have routinely dismissed campaigners who insist that cancer cases have risen close tofactories which use perfluorinated chemicals....

Mining is one of the oldest applications of practical geology. Find out how metals are classified and how most are associated with igneous and metamorphic deposits. Some metals, like gold, can be mined in a pure—"native"—state that requires little processing. Discover how and where to go prospecting for gold, using the panning process perfected by the Forty-Niners in California.

Fossils are one of the most exciting components of field geology. The term covers not only preserved ancient life-forms, but also evidence of their activity, such as footprints. Look at different ways nature has of preserving fossils—by encasing in amber, freezing, pickling, chemical alteration, and other natural processes. Ask what life-forms are likely to be fossilized and in what environments.

Norb is about to have a snack but a speedy critter swipes his grub! Iz thinks it was a Blub. What are Blubs?