Link Roundup--and the Montana Meme-ory Challenge

COVID-19 and the News  Neighbors Helping Neighbors I quoted Mr. Rogers in a post a few weeks ago, and I'll quote him again: "Look for the helpers." Here are some stories of Montanans helpers: "Simms Donates Gowns to Montana Rural Hospitals," Bozeman Chronicle, April 29, 2020 "Girl Scouts Donate Cookies to Healthcare Workers," Montana Right Now, April 15, 2020 "12,000 Gallons of Milk Donated to Help Struggling Montana Families," Montana Right Now, April 14, 2020 COVID-19 and the Environment The internet has seen its fair share of fake environmental stories in the time of COVID-19. Here are two real ones:   "With Coronavirus Lockdown, India's Cities See Clear Blue Skies As Air Pollution Drops," NPR Montana Public Radio, April 10, 2020 "As humans stay indoors, wild animals take back what was once theirs," Washington Post, April 15, 2020 Montanans Contribute to Search for Vaccine Of course I clicked through to read "In Race for a Coronavirus Vaccine, an Oxford Group Leaps Ahead," New York Times, April 27, 2020. And of course I was surprised by this paragraph: "Scientists at the National Institutes of Health’s Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Montana last month inoculated six rhesus macaque monkeys with single doses of the Oxford vaccine. The animals were then exposed to heavy quantities of the virus that is causing the pandemic — exposure that had consistently sickened other monkeys in the lab. But more than 28 days later all six were healthy, said Vincent Munster, the researcher who conducted the test."  I wonder what your students would think about this--both the fact that Montanans are central in an international search for a vaccine and the fact that there is animal testing of this sort going on in Hamilton. Montana Meme-ory Contest The Montana State Library is hosting a contest to create memes (learn what a meme is here) from its historical photo collections in the Montana Memory Project (MMP).  Only entries using images from the Montana Memory Project Meme-able image list (these images are free from copyright restrictions) will be considered. Want to play?  Please keep a few things in mind when creating your entries: No swearing, crude language, or mean-spirited entries will be accepted (we are a community, after all).  Do not personally attack the people in the historical images in Montana Memory Project. They could be someone’s grandparents! Be thoughtful about the entries you create—we want to share them with the world and think you can come up with some funny, smart entries using the images. Find Your Image Browse the images in MMP. Once you have identified an image, click the “download” button near the upper right corner of the page. Once you have found the image you would like to use, save the link to that image as you will need that link when submitting your entry. Create Your Meme Go to your preferred meme generator to upload your image from MMP. We recommend https://memebetter.com/generator or https://imgflip.com/memegenerator. Add your text to the image and save it to your device. Submit Your Entry Submit your entry by emailing it to mmp@mt.gov. Use “Historical Photo Meme Contest” as the subject line. For your entry to be considered, include the following in your email: Your name Your meme as an attachment A link to the original image in the MMP Your age group: 10-18 19-40 41-120 HOW TO WIN! DEADLINE: Submit your entry by Friday, May 15, 2020. FINALISTS SELECTION: Library staff members will review entries and select the finalists. On Wednesday, May 20, 2020 finalists will be notified via email that their entry has been selected for the final round. The finalists’ entries will be posted to an album on the MMP Facebook page and opened for voting. VOTING: The voting period will run from Wednesday, May 20– Thursday, May 28, 2020 at 9:00 p.m. (MST). The winning memes will be the top three entries with the most “likes” on Facebook at the time the voting period ends. Voting is open to all. Boost your submission by sharing to twitter and Instagram and invite your friends to vote on Facebook. Be sure to tag @montanamemoryproject.