How to Entice Teens with Fun Library Programs

How to Entice Teens With Fun Library Programs...And Get Them Off Myspace (At Least for an Hour)

How can librarians get teens to participate in library activities? Give them what they want! If you want to get those teenagers off myspace, you need to provide them with programs they will want to attend. Here are some ideas to get you started.

1. Have a Choco-Fest. Invite teens to come to the library to sample some yummy chocolate. Plan games and activities. One game you can play is Unwrap the Hershey Kiss Relay. Teens compete to see who can unwrap the most Hershey Kisses while wearing oven mitts. Trust me. It is far from easy! Have an Oreo-Stacking Contest. Compete to see who can make the tallest Oreo tower before it tumbles down. Play the Chocolate Trivia Contest. Teens answer questions concerning interesting facts about chocolate. If a teen answers correctly, he or she wins a mini chocolate bar. The possibilities are endless with this type of program. Let your imagination go wild.

2. Have a Goth Sock Puppet day. Provide teens with black socks and let them make their own emo puppets. They can decorate the puppets with crazy neon colored yarn hair, weird button eyes, and safety pins to give their puppet a punk look.

3. Invite teens to create a craft using duct tape! Teens can make cool things with various colored tape. From wallets to flip-flops, there are endless ways to turn duct tape into something cool. Visit ducktapeclub.com for ideas.

4. Present a Murder Mystery Night. Teens gather to solve a mystery in the library. They must gather clues and interview suspects in order to solve the crime. There are plenty of mystery scripts you can buy online, but you can even write your own. Better yet, organize a group of teens to write and star in the Mystery Night Program.

5. Devote a day to video games at the library. Teens compete against each other playing video games as they see who can get the highest score. Many libraries have invested in the game Dance Dance Revolution. In this game, players must follow the dance moves on the screen, moving as quickly and as accurately as possible. Teens will have fun and get a workout at the same time.

6. Get a web designer to donate some time and present a Design Your Own Website Workshop for Teens. Teens love to be on the Internet, so this would teach them a useful skill and give them something constructive to do.

7. Locate a local dance school and invite a dance teacher to teach a hip hop class for your teens.

8. Start an Anime/Manga club. Many teens love Japanese cartoons and comic books. Start a club for these kids. Watch anime movies, talk about manga (comic books), and eat yummy snacks. Everybody knows teens need free munchies.

9. Contact a local cosmetology school and get students to come give free hair cuts and manicures. Teens will need to bring in parents permission slips before they can get their makeover. Girls will go crazy for this type of program.

10. Turn the library into a poetry cafe and have an Open Mic Night. Teens can perform a poem a rap of their own creation.

11. Order pizza and have teens listen and eat as you give booktalks about new books in the library. If pizza won't get them off myspace, then nothing will!

12. Teens love body art. Find someone who knows how to design temporary tattoos or mehndi artwork. Invite them to paint their designs on the teens. Feature bhangra music to give it an indian flair! Aftewards, watch a Bollywood film.

If you are a librarian who wants to capture the interest of teens who hang out at the library, try some of these tips. Maybe you can get those kids off myspace and encourage them to participate in some cool teen programs!

Sources:

http://www.cplrmh.com/
http://midhudson.org/program/ideas/teen_programs.htm