DIY Travel Games

Last Saturday, we hosted a DIY Travel Games program for 'tweens.  The event was an hour long, and we limited registration to 15 participants because we needed some special supplies (and because some of the projects involved detailed instructions/small pieces).  We ended up with 13 plus several adults who stayed to help their children. 

We created these projects:

Altoid Tin Tic-Tac-Toe

Velcro Shape Sticks  (We covered our sticks with patterned duct tape before adding the Velcro; each person made a set of seven sticks, and even though this craft is geared toward younger kids, the 'tweens loved them!)

Bubble Wrap BINGO


What worked well:
Having a few adults stay helped a lot!  Also, the one-hour time frame was perfect (a lot of our programs are 45 minutes, but that wouldn't have been enough time). 

Notes for next time:
In the middle of the Tic-Tac-Toe project, I realized that I could have made my life a lot easier by purchasing two different colors of glass marbles and self-adhesive magnets, like the ones at American Button Machines.  This would have eliminated the need to cut out all kinds of little circles of scrapbook paper and glue them onto magnets/marbles. 

I would be tempted to provide small stickers next time, too, for the Bubble Wrap BINGO.  This way, kids wouldn't need to draw pictures or write words or letters under each bubble.  Another option would be to use smaller paper (we used 8 1/2" x 11" cardstock), which would mean fewer bubbles. 

If we had had more time, it would have been fun to decorate bags or carrying cases for the travel games!

Star Wars Origami

Over the weekend (on May 4th, of course!), we offered Star Wars Origami for all ages.  This wasn't the first time we've offered this program, but it was the first time I've really felt like it went smoothly.  We had 64 people come through during the one-hour program (mostly school-age boys... a lot of grown-ups stayed, too, thankfully!); here's how we organized it:

• We advertised the program for all ages, and we included "drop in anytime" in the event listing so that patrons would know they didn't need to arrive at the very beginning or stay the entire time. 
• I set up a table with the following supplies, in this order, along with copies of Tom Angleberger's Origami Yoda books:
• Photocopies of the instructions for the Universal Puppet, C3-PO, R2-D2, and Yoda (all based on the Universal Puppet, all from Tom Angleberger's books)
• Photocopies of the instructions for the 5-fold Yoda and the Lightsaber, also from Tom Angleberger's books
• 8 1/2 x 11 paper in green (for Yoda), yellow (for C3-PO), and white.  The patterns we used all call for rectangular paper, which is really handy. 
• Crayons, colored pencils, and magic markers for adding details
• I set up an additional table with the following supplies:
• Star Wars stickers
• A very special R2-D2 stamp and an ink pad
• Drawing paper and colored pencils, crayons, and magic markers
• Copies of Star Wars Thumb Doodles, Star Wars Origami, Star Wars Folded Flyers, You Can Draw Star Wars, The Star Wars Craft Book, and Star Wars Mad Libs

Patrons came in and as I greeted them, I pointed out the items on tables and suggested that they start with the Universal Puppet.  The vast majority of participants stuck with the Universal Puppet and the creations that can be built off of that model, as well as the 5-fold Yoda and the Lightsaber.  A few ambitious souls tried some of the projects in the books on the second table.  Younger kids loved having the Thumb Doodles, and the Mad Libs were great for kids who needed something other than origami to keep them busy.  The stickers and R2-D2 stamp provided extra flair for anything and everything! 

The best part: all of our materials are safely packed away in one tub, ready to be pulled out for a future Star Wars Origami event!