‘Pushing the Limits’ will be held at the Hughes Springs Library

Hughes Springs Public Library one of 75 rural libraries nationwide to offer book/video discussion series. The library has received a $2,500 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to host “Pushing the Limits: Making Sense of Science,” a four-part reading, viewing, and discussion series for adults in communities served by rural libraries. Hughes Springs Public Library is one of 75 public libraries nationwide chosen as sites to host the series.
The four discussions will be held at 6 p.m. on third Tuesdays of the month, Feb. 18, March 18, April 22, and May 20, in the meeting room of the Hughes Springs Public Library, 215 East 1st St, in Hughes Springs.  Participants do not have to attend all four events in the series. Copies of the books for discussion will be available approximately one month prior to each event, and can be checked out by any patron with a library card.  A complimentary dinner will be provided for each event. Participants need to register to attend.
Since the beginning of time, humans have imagined and achieved ways to push the boundaries of the physical world.  We want to be stronger, smarter, and more aware, and we create stories to bring those dreams to life.  But many of those stories are no longer just stories; and with great new advances in science and technology, we are finding ways in which all of us are able to push the limits every day. “Pushing the Limits” will explore these ideas in discussions led by a STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) professional that will include video screenings and book discussions. The overarching theme is one of real people, real stories, and real science.
Each of the four discussions is focused on a particular theme. Participants are encouraged to read a selected book related to the theme prior to the discussion; at the event, they will watch a filmed interview with the author of the book and another video portraying how an everyday person is “pushing the limits” in his or her own life in a way related to the theme. The dates, themes, and books for the four discussions are:
Feb. 18: “Survival” (Arctic Drift by Clive Cussler)
Clive Cussler’s books often place his hero, Dirk Pitt, in extreme conditions – stranded on an arctic ice floe, adrift on a raft, or even trapped in a sunken wreck – where he must struggle to survive. This discussion’s film introduces us to Cory and Julie Shrum, a couple who work hard and play hard. In their “work” world of farming or their “play” world of agricultural combine demolition derbies, only the strong survive.
March 18: “Nature” (When the Killing’s Done by T. C. Boyle)
Boyle’s book fictionalizes a conflict between the National Park Service’s effort to destroy an invasive species and radical animal rights activists’ attempts to save the black rats that are threatening the native life of an island off the coast of California. The film for this session features Cameron Clapp, a triple amputee whose life and determination to run a triathlon show how new technologies are pushing the limits of what it means to be human – and how his risk- taking nature helps him to push his own limits.
 

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