The Indiana Wildlife Federation has an online contest going on during the month of April called “What’s in your Wild Backyard? Take the online quiz for your age group (1st – 8th grade) and be entered to win one of three great prizes. Deadline to enter the contest is April 22, 2012.

We’ve had great Indiana weather this Spring! Here are some ideas to get you started exploring and having fun in your own wild backyard:

• Family Fun: Gardening and Nature Crafts
• Make a Terrarium
• PBS: Backyard Naturalist
• Backyard Birds of Indiana
• Northern Indiana: Backyard Gardening

If you want to explore a little further than your own backyard here are some great places right here in Indianapolis to go find some outdoor adventure:

• Indianapolis: Eagle Creek Park Ornithology Center (ornithology is the study of birds.)
• Indianapolis: Holliday Park & Nature Center
• The Indianapolis Musuem of Art: 100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park
• Indianapolis: White River State Park
• Indianapolis: Fort Harrison State Park
• Indianapolis: White River Gardens
• Indianapolis: Garfield Park Conservatory & Sunken Garden

Some books you might like about animals, science and nature crafts right in your own backyard:

Find more books with these Catalog Searches:

• Catalog Search: Birdhouses
• Catalog Search: Bird feeders
• Catalog Search: Nature Crafts
• Catalog Search: Urban Animals

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Charge up your mp3 players, Nooks, Kindles, iPads and all that – as of today, Tuesday, March 27, all seven Harry Potter books are available as eBooks and digital audio books from the Pottermore Shop. Love that Jim Dale on the audio books!

The site says about eBooks: “Harry Potter eBooks are compatible with all leading eReaders, tablets and smartphones.”

The site says about audio books: “Harry Potter digital audio books are compatible with MP3 players, including iPods and hundreds of other audio devices.”

I read this in Publisher’s Weekly, “The full Pottermore site has ended beta testing and is expected to launch in early April. The site will showcase new writing by J.K. Rowling and include extensive interactive content.” Sign me up for the “new writing”!

Annnnnd, you can borrow them with your Indianapolis library card already! Just put “harry potter” in the search box.

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Lemonade Day is Saturday, May 19, 2012, a day when kids all over Indianapolis will sell lemonade.

Get a leg-up on Lemonade Day competition at the Kidz Biz Workshop in the Learning Curve on Saturday, April 14, 2012 from 1-4 pm! Young entrepreneurs can learn skills to run their own lemonade stand.

You don’t have to wait for the workshop day to get started!

In March and April kids all over Indianapolis will learn  how to start, own and operate their own business – a lemonade stand. Each kid who registers will receive a bright yellow backpack - inside is everything you need to prepare for Lemonade Day. Get a backpack, make a plan and get started making some money! Here’s how:

1. Pair Up: You must have a “caring adult” with you when you register and get a backpack at the Library – that could be a parent, grandparent, older sibling or other responsible adult. You must have an adult say that it is OK for you to do Lemonade Day and operate a lemonade stand.

2. Register

• Sign Up Online (After completing the online registration, you will receive an email instructing you to print out the reply and bring it with you to any Library Location to verify registration. Don’t forget this part!)
• Pick up a Paper form at any Library Location, fill it out and turn it in.

3. Pick Up Your Backpack Backpack Pick-Up Locations (Indianapolis-Marion County Library Branches are on the list!)

4. Prepare for Lemonade Day

• When you get your backpack, you’ll find two workbooks: one for you and one for the adult working with you. Spend the next few weeks – at your own pace – working through these lessons about starting, owning and operating a business.

5. Set Up Your Stand on May 19th: Check the Lemonade Day Indianapolis Official Website. That site will be posting information about other places (in addition to your neighborhood) where you can set up your stand, so be sure to re-visit their web site in the coming days…..On May 19th, you’ll be one of thousands of kids across the Greater Indianapolis Area selling lemonade – think about how to stand out from your competitors and have a blast…and make some summer spending money!

Here are some books that have great tips for starting a business and some stories about other kids who gave it a try:

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Learn about Black Hoosiers in the Civil War

2012 Indiana Black History Challenge!

Visit the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center online and read a black Hoosiers in the Civil War Study Guide. Answer ten questions online or print the questions out and answer them.

If you play online, you will already be entered, but if you print off the game card you need to return it to the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center or mail it  to the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center, Attn: Indiana Black History Challenge, 450 West Ohio Street, Indianapolis, IN  46202-3269 by Wednesday, Feb. 29.

A Donatos pizza coupon will be awarded to the first 5,000 entrants.

Get all 10 questions right on the game card, and you could win the Family Fun Pack grand prize – an overnight stay at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown

• four tickets to The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
• a $25 gift certificate to the Indianapolis Colts Grille
• a family membership to the Indiana Historical Society, which includes free admission to the Indiana Experience for a year.

Thirty runners-up will receive a family four-pack of tickets to an Indianapolis Indians game.

Remember: The last day to enter is Feb. 29, 2012. Open to all ages; one entry per person.

• The African American Civil War Memorial and Museum
• The African American Civil War Memorial “The Spirit of Freedom“
• The USCT Chronicle

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