The Korg Monotrons are great little synths featuring real analog sound which fit comfortably in your pocket, so you can take them anywhere. Think of them as 21st century Stylophones. The Monotron sports a low-pass filter taken directly from the classic MS10 and MS20 synths for warping and distorting your sound. The Monotron Duo features a second analog oscillator for twice the fun. And then there's the Monotron Delay whose "space delay" effect lets you create classic science-fictiony sounds. To hear them in action check out their catalog records. We've just added eight of each to the Music Tools collection, and there are currently a bunch of them on the Downtown Stuff Shelf, so get yours today. Music Tools circulate for one week and are currently not requestable and not renewable.

The Pocket Piano from Critter & Guitari is part piano, part synthesizer and all awesome with its green aluminum enclosure and little wooden buttons. Little. Wooden. Buttons. It operates on one 9V battery and includes its own speaker, so it's the perfect size to throw in your backpack for a day of startling woodland critters at the park. You get seven sound modes: vibrato synth, harmonic sweeper, two-octave arpeggiator, octave cascade, mono FM synth, FM arpeggiator and a space age mono glider. On top of that the first four modes let you choose between four different waveforms: sine, square, triangle and sawtooth. If you don't know what any of those are, don't worry, its easy to pick up and play, and figuring out how it works is half the fun. We've just placed five Pocket Pianos on the Stuff Shelf at the Downtown Library, near the circulation desk, so get yours today. They circulate for one week, and are not requestable and not renewable. If you would like special notice when new batches of instruments are dropped you can follow the Music Tools collection on Twitter @aadl_mtools.

The Cecropia Moth eggs have hatched, and we have a batch of fuzzy little 1st instar caterpillars happily munching away on Black Walnut leaves. The 1st instar will only last for about 1 week, so visit Malletts Creek soon if you want to see them before they molt and start developing some very colorful patterns. There's also a new game code worth 200 points to celebrate the arrival of the caterpillars.

A pair of the Malletts Creek Cecropia Moths have successfully bred, and just recently laid a significant batch of eggs in the exhibit. Visit them quickly before they hatch, which will occur sometime in the next five days to two weeks, and collect a new game code to earn 150 Summer Game points. This fresh batch of eggs herald the imminent return of the caterpillars, watch for them soon.

Cockroaches often get a bad rap, and there's a whole host of misconceptions surrounding them, starting with the belief that they're dirty. Not so, and thanks to a new exhibit from the Leslie Science & Nature Center you can see just how clean they are by visiting the Pittsfield Branch. Two distinct species of live roaches will be on display for the summer, one winged and one flightless. Come learn about these oft-despised and misunderstood creatures, and make sure to look for the Summer Game code to earn 100 points for visiting the cockroaches.

If you enjoyed visiting the Leslie Science Center's Cecropia caterpillars at the Traverwood Branch last summer, then you're in luck. You can now view the caterpillar exhibit at the Malletts Creek Branch, and you get a whole new exhibit at Traverwood: Aquatic Invertebrates! What exactly is an aquatic invertebrate you may ask? For the purposes of this exhibit, they're mostly going to take the form of small water bugs, such as Dragonfly larvae, but there will be lots of other little creatures living in the roiling, green pond water as well. The inhabitants of this tank are also going to fluctuate, as new critters will be added throughout the summer, and old friends will be eaten by new friends. Make sure and look for the summer game code to earn 100 points for visiting the Dragonfly larvae.

UPDATE: As some of you have noticed, we haven't yet added many Dragonfly larvae to the exhibit. We’re trying to make sure that all the critters who would love to eat the tasty, tasty dragonfly larvae (I’m looking in your general direction predaceous diving beetle larvae) are safely out of the tank, in an effort to avoid a larvae throwdown. In the meantime, please enjoy the toadpoles.

Come visit the spawn of Cecropia! The descendants of last year's Cecropia caterpillars have returned from the Leslie Science & Nature Center. Not only that, but they've migrated from Traverwood to the Malletts Creek Branch, and will be spending the Summer Game season with us. Currently two moths have emerged from their cocoons. However, since the moths only live about a week, you'll need to act fast if you want to be sure of seeing them. While there are no guarantees when dealing with live animals, we're hoping that the moths will lay eggs, which will then hatch into teeny tiny caterpillars in another couple of weeks. We'll update this post when interesting developments occur. Make sure and look for the Summer Game code to earn 100 points for visiting the Moths.

transit

Tuesday, June 5 | 4:30 - 9:00 | Traverwood Branch & Leslie Park

If you're old enough to read this, then June 5 is your last chance to see one of the most rare predictable celestial events - and the astronomical highlight of 2012 - the Transit of Venus. It's only happened four times in the past 234 years and the next Transit is 105 years from now in December 2117.

The Transit of Venus - when the planet is visible as a black dot crossing the disk of the sun - will last 6.5 hours in total, and we'll catch three of those in Michigan, from 6:04 p.m. until sunset at 9:08 p.m. And since you can't look at the sun directly (please don't!), the Library will be giving out FREE SOLAR SHADES for safe viewing at AADL's Traverwood branch following a brief talk by the University Lowbrow Astronomers at 4:30.

Since the diameter of Venus is near the limit of the eye's capability, we also recommend you follow us after the talk to one of several locations where local astronomy groups will be stationed with telescopes properly fitted with solar filters for magnified viewing:

The Lowbrows will have telescopes at Leslie Park (map), and the corner of Washington and Ashley streets (map). The UM Department of Astronomy will offer public viewing on top of Angell Hall and the Detroit Observatory will have telescopes out on their sidewalk (map). (Note: Viewings will be cancelled if the weather completely obscures the sun, in which case the Library will provide a live video feed of the Transit from sure-to-be cloudless Hawaii in the Traverwood program room.)

Thursday May 24, 2012 | 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm -- Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

Due to unforeseen circumstances, author Terence Dickinson will be unable to attend this May event. He regretfully apologizes. The event has been cancelled for May, but will be re-scheduled for Fall 2012. We apologize for any inconvenience.

If you're in line for a Library telescope but not all that familiar with the night sky, consider attending one of the public open houses scheduled twice a month at Peach Mountain. Hosted by the University Lowbrow Astronomers, these open houses are a great way to learn what there is to find in the night sky with experienced observers and powerful telescopes. In addition to looking through members' scopes, you can also look through the 24-inch McMath telescope located on site, or simply gaze in awe at the silhouette of the 26-meter radio dish.

Public open houses are scheduled twice a month at Peach Mountain, 16 miles northwest of Ann Arbor, off North Territorial Rd in Stinchfield Woods. Guidelines, parking information, and a map are here. Open houses will be cancelled if conditions are unusually cold or if it's cloudy. If in doubt, call (734) 975-3248 after 4 p.m. the day of the event to determine the status.

The remaining open house dates through this season are: May 19, June 16, June 23, July 14, July 21, August 11, August 18, and September 15.