HHMI Tangled Bank Studios and the Space Science Institute’s STAR Library Education Network Launch a Multi-Year Initiative to Bring High-Quality, Free, Life Science Resources, Activities and Films to Public Libraries
First outreach campaign, “Flight Path,” will engage library communities around the science of birds and migration.
Chevy Chase, Md., May 09, 2025 – Science-focused impact and production company HHMI Tangled Bank Studios and the Space Science Institute’s STAR Library Education Network (STAR Net) have joined forces to launch Spark of Science@ My Library, a multi-year initiative that encourages public libraries to use free, award-winning documentaries, curated activities, and educational resources to inspire an appreciation for how science can improve our world.
With the goal of sparking curiosity about science and creating a deeper understanding of how science improves our lives and the health of our planet, Spark of Science@ My Library will deliver high-quality, fun, and engaging resources through targeted outreach campaigns to public libraries. Campaign themes will showcase the process of science, and focus on life science topics, including health, biology, and ecology. Themed resources will be available to libraries for free, and give them the flexibility to customize programs and activities for their communities and patrons.
FLIGHT PATH, the first campaign in the initiative, launches this month and focuses on the science of birds and bird migration. Free films - including two episodes from HHMI Tangled Bank Studios’ award-winning Wild Hope series, activities and educational resources will raise awareness about bird migration and offer suggestions for how communities can observe and protect birds during peak migration periods by doing things likes turning off lights and marking windows to prevent bird strikes. Library activities are designed to invite communities to get to know their local and migratory birds; gain a deeper understanding of how and why birds migrate; explore the science of how birds see and why window collisions happen; and contribute to citizen and community-based science efforts that help bird conservation, research, and identification efforts. The application for U.S. libraries to participate in Flight Path opens on May 10 and can be found here:
https://community.starnetlibraries.org/flightpathapplication/
FLIGHT PATH is HHMI Tangled Bank Studios’ and STAR Net’s fourth joint library campaign. The first, in 2018, used the “Backyard Wilderness” giant screen film, and the iNaturalist and Seek citizen science apps to help audiences explore the ecosystems in their own backyards and communities.. In 2021, a second initiative centered around the PBS Nature documentary My Garden of a Thousand Bees and, in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund, helped raise awareness about the importance of native pollinators to local ecosystems. In 2024, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios and STAR Net joined with the California Science Center on a National Science Foundation-funded campaign that explored the biology of the blue whale, and helped library and science center visitors gain a deeper understanding of how field science works and how different species interact in healthy ecosystems.
Spark of Science@ My Library formalizes the relationship between STAR Net and HHMI Tangled Bank Studios and creates an umbrella for all of the free campaigns and high-quality resources around life science and public health topics the two organizations have and will create.
“There has never been a more critical time to help audiences connect with science and scientific research,” said Head of HHMI Tangled Bank Studios Jared Lipworth. “Together with STAR Net, we look forward to making science more relatable and fun.”
“Libraries are always telling us that while they love our space science content, but they also want to bring more life science programming into their libraries. The partnership with HHMI Tangled Bank Studios allows STAR Net to deliver on this request, combining our expertise in the library realm with Tangled Bank Studios’ deep content knowledge,” said STAR Net Director of Education and Learning Research Anne Holland, “We’re so happy to have found a partner that believes in libraries as much as we do, and is eager to develop these engaging programs with us.”
To learn more about The Spark of Science @ My Library programs and FLIGHT PATH campaign, please visit https://community.starnetlibraries.org/flightpathapplication/
ABOUT HHMI TANGLED BANK STUDIOS
HHMI Tangled Bank Studios is a mission-driven production company that seeks to shine a light on some of the most significant scientific challenges and breakthroughs of our time. Recent films include Blue Carbon, Every Little Thing, Wild Hope, Hunt for the Oldest DNA, Wilding, Blue Whales: Return of the Giants, and Oscar-nominated All That Breathes, the only film to win best documentary at both the Sundance and Cannes film festivals. Other notable films include Emmy Award-winners The Serengeti Rules and The Farthest – Voyager In Space; Emmy-nominated Hunt for the Oldest DNA, My Garden of a Thousand Bees, Battle to Beat Malaria, and Nature’s Fear Factor; and Peabody Award winner Inventing Tomorrow. To extend the reach and impact of each film, the studio undertakes educational and public outreach efforts in partnership with purpose-focused organizations. For more information, please visit WWW.TANGLEDBANKSTUDIOS.ORG.
ABOUT STAR LIBRARY NETWORK
The STAR Library Education Network (STAR Net) is a hands-on learning network for libraries and their communities across the country. STAR Net focuses on helping library professionals build their STEM skills by providing “science-technology activities and resources” (STAR) and training to use those resources. STAR Net is built upon a strong network of collaborators and partners, led by the Space Science Institute’s (SSI) Education and Learning Research Group. Over the past 15 years, it has been a leader in supporting libraries in developing effective STEAM programs, through both NSF, NASA and foundation funded projects such as NASA@ My Library, STEAM Equity, and SEAL (Solar Eclipse Activities for Libraries).