Our Wibbly Wobbly Doctor Who Party

Just in case you couldn't tell from my Pinterest board, I love Doctor Who! All the whovians who attended our Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey Doctor Who Party apparently also share my affection for our favorite Time Lord =D
If you would like more information on any of these activities, you can check out the Program Outline I put together for our Youth Services Resource page.

Snacks
Adipose Marshmallows (I must admit, I had to look the Adipose up...)
Apples with Faces (we just used some plastic knives to carve the faces)
Fishsticks and Custard (pound cake rolled in butter, dipped in Vanilla pudding)
Arizona Iced Tea (or you could brew some actual tea to be more authentic)

Crafts/Activities 
Duct Tape Bow Tie (because bow ties are cool)
Sonic Screwdriver Pens (because your night wouldn't be complete with some whirring sound effects)
Tardis Cubee Folding Craft (printing these on cardstock would probably work best)
Gallifreyan Nametags (use the spiffy application to print customized nametags)

Games
Weeping Angel Tag (use a flashlight to stop those Weeping Angels in their tracks)
Weeping Angel Tag Alternate (point to make them stop, run when the gamemaster says "Blink")
Empty Child Tag (don't let those empty children touch you)
Doctor Who Matching Game (The Doctors, their catchphrases, popular companions, and baddies)

Gingerbread Houses: Creativity Fer Dayz!!

Over the month of December, I did quite a few Gingerbread Houses. I get the chance to do building/science programs at several libraries and outreach locations, and for the majority of December that meant Gingerbread, for Elementary, Middle School, and High School, fer dayz!!

I've found out quite a few things while doing these events: (1) graham crackers are a lot easier to work with than gingerbread, (2) royal icing works quite fabulously, but isn't necessary for a spectacular finished project, (3) using mini-milk cartons from a school cafeteria, or some small recycled boxes, gives these assemblies a simple, yet effective support system, (4) staple the top of the milk cartons back together so they are easier to adhere frosting to and finally, (5) whatever you put out during the program will be eaten or used, so pace yourself (or have way more supplies than you need).

Here are a few of specialty supplies (in addition to Chocolate Chips, M&Ms, Skittles, and the usual stuff) that went quite quickly during each program: Fruit by the Foot, Red Vines, Spice Drops, Pretzels, Marshmallows, Ice Cream Cones, and Gummy Bears. 

The last thing to share are some examples from our programs. Have fun!!

Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong: Teen Sitcom Motifs

Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong 
by Prudence Shen & Faith Erin Hicks

Why did I read it?

Because the synopsis was interesting, and graphic novels are quick reads when you need to read, but don't necessarily have a ton of time. 

What happened?

Charlie may be the captain of the basketball team, but he wasn't planning on running for class president or anything. But his ex-girlfriend has other plans. Charlie's best friend, Nathan, is running for class president to secure funds for his robotics team. But, Holly (Charlie's ex) would rather the money went to the cheerleader's new uniforms.

So, enter the cheerleaders running Charlie's presidential campaign (that he would rather not do), and enter Nathan starting a mud-slinging battle to end all mud-slinging battles. 

All things aside though, Charlie can't decide whether dealing with Nathan and Holly, or his workaholic father and absentee mother is worse. And things will probably get worse before they get better...

What did I like or not like?

This book has the run time and the plot line of an episode of your favorite teen sitcom. There isn't anything too intense going on, it doesn't take too long to read, and the characters don't go through any life-altering revelations or ah-ha moments. But, it was enjoyable to read, and the art was put together nicely and told the story well :)

You've got your classic jock versus geek, class president mud-slinging campaigns, and ditching the parents to boot. But who doesn't need a nice-looking graphic novel version of these motifs every once in a while?

3 Ways to Make Paracord Survival Bracelets

So over the last couple years of doing programs, I've done Paracord Survival Bracelets a few times. Interestingly, each time I've used a different set of instructions. Now each one has their pros and cons, but I'm a huge fan of the most recent one I used. Check em out!!

1. Slide Release Buckle 

This was the first style that I used, but as it turns out, those slide buckles can be somewhat expensive. Noticing that, I just created a loop for the female end of the bracelet, and a big knot for the male end of the bracelet. This worked pretty well, but if the paracord stretches, the knot doesn't hold the bracelet together anymore. (I think this Instrutable has the best instructions for how to actually tie the cobra knots that make up your bracelet). 

2. Stretchable

When another Paracord program came up, I got really excited about this stretchable bracelet version. The basic idea is that you stretch it to get it on your hand instead of having a buckle or a knot. But, therein is also where we found the problem. The overall process of making the bracelet is the same, but to complete the bracelet you have to burn two ends of paracord together, and it isn't the easiest thing to do without burning yourself!! But, if you could keep your fingers from getting singed, this design could be really cool.

3. Loop and Knot: MY FAVE!!

Finally, at my most recent program I found this version, and it is my favorite by far. You still secure the bracelet with a loop and knot, but you have a length of cord that folds over and tightens the bracelet around your wrist. This makes it fit just the way you want it, without needing to buy any kind of fastener.

National Poetry Month Games and Activities

It turns out that every April is National Poetry Month. Who knew right? (Except all of those librarians, educators, and poets who probably initiated the idea hehe). Well, we just did a Teen Poetry Fun Night on Saturday, and I wanted to share some of the ideas =D

Book Spine Poems
While this idea is super easy, it is also super cool! Find some interesting book titles, and line up the book spines on top of each other to make poems. The possibilities are endless ;)

Similes
Does anyone remember the Similes game that was played in Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol? Basically, the gamemaster begins a simile (As tough as...) and a participant has to finish the simile with the tried and true (...nails), or something completely original (...the Borg). I found a huge list of common similes on this website.

Redacted Poems

Instead of creating something brand new by writing a poem, how about recycling something by creating a redacted poem? Find an old book, magazine article, or print something off of the internet, and then erase all the words you don't want in your poem.

We were also thinking of playing a rhyme game where one person says a word and you go around the circle trying to rhyme with it. Another thing to try is giving everyone two minutes to write the funniest poem, or the most serious poem, or the most random poem. Have fun with it!

High School Literary Character Brawl pt. 3

Welcome to 2013 everyone =D How were your holidays?

As promised before the New Year, here is the postmortem for our High School Literary Character Brawl. Don't get me wrong. The program was awesome, and all the participants said it was a lot of fun...but that doesn't mean it can't be done better!

1. Snacks Appreciated
Apparently some food (pizza, maybe?), and some water pitchers would have been life safers.

2. Create Character-Specific events
Our participants suggested that we make the Literary Character Brawl even more of an integral part to the program. So instead of choosing random games, have participants choose their characters before the program, and then come up with games that would be appropriate for those characters. We could even offer special points if the character won their own event.

3. A Little Less Brawl
While the beat-each-other-with-pool-noodle brawls were fun, they got a little repetitive after the first time. It was also a little frustrating to do girls versus guys, so do gender specific rounds. Most of our events were physical the first time around, so one suggestion was to mix the skills needed so the most fit person wasn't winning everything.

4. More Mind Games
The riddles were enjoyed, but differentiating between trivia, riddles, and puns would have been helpful. It would also be cool to have riddles from specific places like fantasy books or Star Wars. Going back to less physical activities, games like poker, blackjack, or other card games could help also.

Got any other suggestions? Let me know =D

High School Literary Character Brawl pt. 2!

As promised in the first High School Literary Character Brawl post, I'm going to talk about the other challenges that we did throughout the night. But before I do, let me tell you a little bit more about how we set up the event.

When everyone walked in, we gave each of them a Brawl Card, and a Character Card. Their Character Card held their life points and defense points (each type of point was a paper clip), and the Brawl Cards were used to determine who would challenge who. Basically, the Brawlmaster (Yours Truly) would randomly shuffle the Brawl Cards, and lay them out in pairs. The pairs would then battle each other in the Brawl Round, or in the challenges in-between.

Each of our Brawl rounds had a slightly different stage. The first round, we gave the characters range of the whole room. Second round they were limited to half of the room, and the third round they were limited to a rectangle of tables that resembled a fencing match. After all of our participants had faced off in the appropriate round, we would move to our secondary challenges.

After our first Brawl round, we played some dodge ball. Brawl Cards were randomly assigned side 1 or side 2, and the side with the last players standing got coin. Those who got hit had to give up a life point. Secondly we tried a Book Cart Drag Race (some things are better shown than talked about). The losers in their heat had to give up a life point as well.

We then did a second round of Brawls with only half of the room available, and then moved onto Ninja (the link brings you to rules and an explanation). The short explanation of this game is taking turns trying to hit another player's hands. If you do, your opponent is out. After that, I had found some riddles (simply typed "riddles" into Google) that were ridiculous and fun. If you answered correctly, you got one coin.

Once our riddles were complete, the only thing left was Brawling in a rectangle of tables, and then counting up our spoils. The event was an absolute ton of fun as I said earlier, but there are always things that one learns while doing programs. So next installment, I'm going to give some participant suggestions that would make the event even more awesome!

P.S. As our next 2 weeks are filled with Holidays (YAY!) my next installment will be the week of January 7th. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

High School Literary Character Brawl!

So, ya, this program was a ton of fun!

While we've been discussing programs at Next-Gen Advisory Team (NGAT), we thought it would be a ton of fun to dress up as literary characters and then have some sort of contest. Originally, we were thinking of playing Mafia (or Murderer or Body/Body or some variation of the bunch) around the library, but with emergency lights, I didn't think it would be dark enough to be ridiculously awesome.

Then I started thinking about Live Action Role Play (LARP) and Cosplay. I figured that basic idea would give a purpose to dressing up, and would let us have a contest. So after discussing my brainstorming ideas with members of NGAT, I set about building a framework for our High School Literary Character Brawl!

The basic idea for the night would be 1-minute rounds where two participants would battle with pool noodles. After each brawl, the audience (the participants waiting their turn to fight) would decide who won and who had lost. The loser had to give 10 of their coin (we used LEGO pieces) to the winner. After all of our brawl rounds and challenges, the person with the most coins would win!

We gave each participant 30 coin at the beginning of the night. They also received 10 health points (they lost 1 point after each brawl lost, and in a couple of our other challenges), and 5 defense points (each 1 defense point meant 2 less coins you had to give your victorious opponent). If our participants had either or those left at the end, a health point was worth 5 coins, and the defense points were worth 1 coin. 

While this program was ultimately pretty simple, there were a few different pieces to it. So, I'm going to be talking about it for the next few weeks on the blog. Check back next week for the other challenges we did in-between the brawl rounds =D

Concerning TeenBookWorms

In my promotion, I mentioned that we would be doing Shrinky Dinks the last Monday in May. But, it turns out that we were very closed as it was Memorial Day. So, we ended programs that one week early, and my programs don't start until June 18th. So today, I'm going to tell you a little bit about our TeenBookWorms group.

Basically, this is a group for high school students who love to read. We choose one book a month, read it, and then I come up with some discussion questions (or borrow them from another reading club) and we chat about it. Some of the time, we might get a little side tracked with upcoming movies (especially with The Hunger Games and The Avengers), or crazy Youtube videos. But, we always have a great time, and we always chat about literary stuff.

Another cool part about the group is that you as the teens pick the book. We pick our titles a few months out so we aren't surprised, and I might have some suggestions if you get stuck. But ultimately, you get to decide what you would like to read.

So far we've read: The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt, Divergent by Veronica Roth, Germ by Robert Liparulo, and Stravaganza: City of Masks by Mary Hoffman.

At our last meeting, we lined up the books we're going to be reading through the summer as well.
June 26, 4-5pm Wonderstuck by Brian Selznick
July 24, 4-5pm The Maze Runner by James Dashner
August 28, 4-5pm Illusion by Frank Peretti

If any of our upcoming books sound awesome to you, read it, and come chat with us :) If they don't sound interesting at all, then pop by anyways and tell us what we should read next hehe.