Join us online for an exhilarating journey through the history of US women astronauts with Valerie Neal, emerita curator from the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum and expert on human spaceflight.
Sally Ride became a household name as the first American woman in space, but scores of equally impressive women have also left their mark in space. On a Mission: The Smithsonian History of US Women Astronauts spans 45 years and 61 astronauts to share the epic journeys of women who made space for themselves in a male-dominated field.
Valerie Neal interviewed many of the US women astronauts to bring their experiences to life. She offers a culturally insightful history of their achievements, the challenges they’ve faced, and their distinctive stories. Collectively, they’ve completed more than 100 space shuttle missions, and more than 30 long-duration stays on the International Space Station and Russian Space Station Mir, and they continue to prove themselves in present-day space exploration efforts.
The book includes 50 black-and-white photographs to complement the historical account. With its sweeping look from the first women astronauts to Christina Hammock Koch, assigned to the first crewed Artemis mission around the Moon, there is no comparably thorough book on America’s women astronauts. On a Mission is an inspiring tribute to unsung women’s history.
Register now to take part in this inspirational discussion!
Come into UCPL’s new Makerspace to try out the cool equipment available for public use, including a laser cutter, 3D scanner, Cricut, and sewing, quilting, and embroidery machines! For more info, visit www.ucitylibrary.org/makerspace or email creative@ucitylibrary.org.
Join us for a lively discussion of The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey at 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 10 in the UCPL makerspace. Email Kara at kkrekeler@ucitylibrary.org for more info.
Join us for a lively discussion of Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch at 7 p.m. Monday, July 13 in the UCPL makerspace. Email Kara at kkrekeler@ucitylibrary.org for more info.
Join us for a lively discussion of The Last Hour Between Worlds by Melissa Caruso at 7 p.m. Monday, June 8 in the UCPL makerspace. Email Kara at kkrekeler@ucitylibrary.org for more info.
Join us for a lively discussion of Sunward by William Alexander at 7 p.m. Monday, May 11 in the UCPL makerspace. Email Kara at kkrekeler@ucitylibrary.org for more info.
Three Pigs of Piggyville: This interactive puppet show teaches the importance of learning to read.
Sponsored by The Puppet Guild of Greater St. Louis and The Regional Arts Commission of St Louis
March is National Reading Month and one of our favorite storybook characters is celebrating 100 years on the page! Join us for classic Winnie-the-Pooh tales on 314 Day! On, Saturday, March 14 at 2pm gather ’round Lil’s Treehouse to hear stories and color with your friends. Everyone in attendance will be entered to win a special prize: a four-pack of Clementine’s Ice Cream pints featuring their new Hundred Acre Wood collection.
All Ages
Join us as we present a class with MU Extension on cooking strategies and meal prep for one to two people. Presented by Emily Barbee, a Nutrition and Health Education Specialist with University of Missouri Extension covering the St. Louis metro region. MU Extension is the outreach and engagement arm of the University of Missouri system, with their mission being to improve lives, communities and economies by producing relevant, reliable and responsive educational strategies that enhance access to the resources and research of the University of Missouri. Auditorium. Adults. Please register for this program by emailing reference@ucitylibrary.org or calling 314-727-3150.
Join us online for a special conversation between award-winning journalist Shoshana Walter and bestselling and award-winning author Barbara Kingsolver as they chat about Walter’s book Rehab: An American Scandal. In this work, Walter, a Pulitzer finalist, exposes the country’s failed response to the opioid crisis, and the malfeasance, corruption, and snake oil which blight the drug rehabilitation industry.
Today, more people have access to treatment than ever before. So why isn’t it working? The answer is that in America—where anyone can get addicted—only certain people get a real chance to recover. Despite record numbers of overdose deaths, our default response is still to punish, while rehabs across the United States fail to incorporate scientifically proven strategies and exploit patients.
In this book, you’ll find the stories of four people who represent the failures of the rehab-industrial complex, and the ways our treatment system often prevents recovery. April is a black mom in Philadelphia, who witnessed firsthand how the government’s punitive response to the crack epidemic impeded her mother’s recovery—and then her own. Chris, a young middle-class white man from Louisiana, received more opportunities in his addiction than April, including the chance to go to treatment instead of prison. Yet the only program the judge permitted was one that forced him to perform unpaid back-breaking labor at for-profit companies. Wendy is a mother from a wealthy suburb of Los Angeles, whose son died in a sober living home. She began investigating for-profit treatment programs—yet law enforcement and regulators routinely ignored her warnings, allowing rehab patients to die, again and again. Larry is a surgeon who himself struggled with addiction, and would eventually become one of the first Suboxone prescribers in the nation, drawing the scrutiny of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Register now!
