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Public Event

Community Vinyasa Yoga

Saturday October 22, 2016: 10:00am to 11:00am
Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room
Grade 6-Adult

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Blog Post

Goodbye Mr. Spalding

by manz

The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. –Terrence Mann, Field of Dreams.

Baseball. No movies hit the nostalgia soft spot for me during summer like baseball movies do. I think I like baseball movies more than baseball, and I have no idea why. Some call it America's pastime. There’s just something about the drama unfolding on the diamond, the crack of the bat, the announcer’s voice, the essential sports suspense, and the team camaraderie .

There have been several movies over the years where baseball is a central figure in the action. A few classics that I’ve enjoyed time and again are Field of Dreams, Bull Durham, The Natural, A League of Their Own, Bang the Drum Slowly, and of course The Sandlot – because I also have a major league weakness for “little boy adventure films.”

What’s your favorite baseball film?

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Blog Post

The University of Michigan Zoo

by oldnews

Wolverine

If you were in Ann Arbor between 1929 and 1962, you had the opportunity to visit the University of Michigan Zoo. On October 11, 1929, an article in the Michigan Daily said the zoo would open “in about three weeks” and would boast a weather vane by famed UM sculptor Carleton Angell. A December 11, 1929 Michigan Daily article reports animals moved in "last week". The tiny zoo enclosure was constructed behind the Alexander G. Ruthven Museums Building, what most of us think of as U of M's Natural History Museum. (The giant pumas that guard the front doors of the Natural History Museum were sculpted by Carleton Angell too!)

Inside today's museum is a memorial to the zoo which explains "...In 1929, a University of Michigan alumnus anonymously offered a collection of live native Michigan animals. It was the donor's hope that the animals could be enjoyed by children staying in the hospital then located across the street. A circular animal house and pond known as the "Museum Zoological Park" were constructed behind the Museums Building." Old news articles and photos show zoo residents like badgers, a bobcat, red foxes, skunks, otters, raccoons, several pairs of black bears throughout the years, and a wolverine named Biff. At some point a "reptile pit" was added, which included snakes and turtles.

In 1938, elaborate plans surfaced for a forty acre zoological garden to be located near the University of Michigan hospital. A WPA grant was "expected to provide the finances" for a wildlife utopia, where animals of the tiny U of M Zoo would be turned loose to live with no cages. The location of this dream zoo, which never came to fruition, seems to be the edge of what is now Nichols Arboretum.

Despite the popularity of the U of M Zoo, it was torn down in 1962 to make room for an addition to the Ruthven Museums Building. A few Ann Arbor City Council members, as well as many Ann Arbor townspeople, appealed to the University Board of Regents to save and/or relocate the beloved 30something year old zoo, but eventually the animals were relocated and the zoo became a memory. By today's zoological standards, the animals of Ann Arbor lived in fairly terrible, tiny, cramped quarters. The "Animal House", as it came to be called, never grew to be a wildlife utopia, but certainly provided countless Ann Arbor children and their families the opportunity to appreciate Michigan wildlife up close.

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Blog Post

Nature Walk at Black Pond Woods Thursday evening, June 2

by eapearce

Join us tonight for an informative nature walk from 7:00-8:30pm as part of the partnership between AADL and Natural Area Preservation!

Black Pond Woods Nature Area is a 34-acre woodland located north of Leslie Science and Nature Center. It was named for a small, vernal pond that was carved by receding glaciers and was named for the dark color of the water caused by tannins and acids from leaf litter. The nature area features several distinctive habitats, including a wet meadow. The raptor cages at LSNC make visiting this park a special treat! Natural Area Preservation will be holding a Stewardship Workday at Black Pond Woods on Sunday, June 5.

The nature walks take place each month throughout the summer and fall. For this one, we'll meet in the LSNC parking lot. Wear comfortable shoes and bring water and bug spray if desired. AADL will have some of our science tools available to use on the walk, too!

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Crafts

Ann Arbor Mini Maker Faire

Saturday June 4, 2016: 10:00am to 4:00pm
Downtown Library: 1st Floor Lobby
All Ages.

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Public Event

Planet Rock Climbing 101 for Teens

Friday July 15, 2016: 1:00pm to 4:00pm
Planet Rock at 82 Aprill Drive off Jackson Road
Grades 6-12

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Public Event

Community Vinyasa Yoga

Sunday August 7, 2016: 4:00pm to 5:30pm
Traverwood Branch: Program Room
Grade 6-Adult

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Public Event

Community Vinyasa Yoga

Saturday July 16, 2016: 10:00am to 11:30am
Pittsfield Branch: Program Room
Grade 6-Adult

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Public Event

Community Vinyasa Yoga

Saturday June 11, 2016: 2:00pm to 3:30pm
Pittsfield Branch: Program Room
Grade 6-Adult

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Public Event

Chesstastic

Sunday December 18, 2016: 1:00pm to 4:00pm
Traverwood Branch: Program Room
Grade K - Adult