Little Red Riding Hood CSI
45 - 90 Mins, Chapter 1 Bookish Beasts, Children, Game/Activity
August 25, 2020 0.00 KB 1914 downloads
Children explore their powers of observation and deductive reasoning to expose the truth about Granny! To her horror, Little Red Riding Hood walks into a crime scene in progress. She dons her investigative skills and scientific
knowledge to uncover the truth. A similar idea could also be adapted for “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” Suggested runtime: 60 minutes
The Animal Sketchbook Project
60 Mins+, Adults, Chapter 6 Amazing Creatures, Game/Activity, Passive/Display, Teens
August 24, 2020 0.00 KB 2210 downloads
Calling all artists and doodlers to a summer-long sketchbook swap! Here is how it works: Participants check out a sketchbook for two–three weeks and fill it with animals (however many pages they want and in any style). At the end of the loan period, they return it for another sketchbook (if desired) and continue. The only rule is that the sketches must be of animals (or animal- like—insects, monsters, and magical creatures are great!). The end result is a playful cross-section of art and animal observations from your community. At the end of the summer, you might create a slideshow of some favorite drawings and host a meet-and-greet for participants. If you have space, consider shelving the series. Inspired by the Sketchbook Project of the Brooklyn Art Library.
Interactive Movie - Finding Nemo
60 Mins+, Adults, Chapter 6 Amazing Creatures, Children, Game/Activity, Multigenerational, Outdoors, Teens
August 24, 2020 0.00 KB 3537 downloads
Most older children and teens are familiar with Finding Nemo, but playing along with the movie is a new twist! Everyone gets an interactive script and a bag filled with props and snacks. Before you start the movie, practice the bonus actions as a group warm-up. This is a fun multigenerational program. Be sure to ask for help with cleanup after the screening.
Terrific Tardigrades
Adults, Chapter 6 Amazing Creatures, Children, Craft, 60 Mins+, Game/Activity, Multigenerational, Teens
August 24, 2020 0.00 KB 3747 downloads
What are tardigrades? They are microscopic water bears! This program requires some prep but is a fun multigenerational event. Read a book about tardigrades, such as My Tiny Pet by Jessie Hartland, share photos and facts, or show brief YouTube videos. Then let participants cycle though the stations you have set up
Animal Heroes Scavenger Hunt
15-30 Mins, Chapter 6 Amazing Creatures, Children, Game/Activity, Low Cost, Passive/Display
August 24, 2020 0.00 KB 2132 downloads
Animal heroes everywhere you turn! Every week or two, hide a new animal hero somewhere in the library. When children find that animal, they take one of its trading cards (see Printables for template). They must come to the library throughout the summer to collect the whole set. You can also have them vote for their favorite animal hero, which you can display at the end of the summer. This is a great program to adapt to whichever animal heroes you have in your collection.
Animal Zines
Chapter 6 Amazing Creatures, Craft, Game/Activity, Low Cost, Teens
August 24, 2020 0.00 KB 2227 downloads
Zines are back! Many teens will already be familiar with the eight-page mini zines made out of a single sheet of printer paper, but anyone from children to adults can have fun making larger zines too. Let teens peruse some age-appropriate zine samples, then give them some topic ideas. Zines can be as simple or complex as participants want to make them. If your library (or another local library) has a zine collection, be sure to tell teens about it.
Axolotl And Other Weirdos
Chapter 6 Amazing Creatures, Children, Game/Activity, Low Cost, Passive/Display
August 24, 2020 0.00 KB 2513 downloads
Passive games about weird animals! Children can either hunt for axolotl or answer T/F facts about weird animals to decode a secret word. For the axolotl-only version, hide four axolotl pictures throughout the library, one fact associated with each picture. After children fill in their answer keys with all four facts, they bring their finished sheets to a librarian for a small prize. For a more challenging, multiple-animal version, children decide whether a series of animal facts are true or false; the right answers decode a special word. Once they complete the word, they get a small prize.
Animal Heroes Movie Fundraiser
60 Mins+, Adults, Chapter 6 Amazing Creatures, Children, Game/Activity, Multigenerational, Low Cost, Outdoors, Outreach, Teens
August 24, 2020 0.00 KB 3146 downloads
Help your local animal shelter or Humane Society and entertain families at the same time! Contact the shelter to see what types of items they need. Then screen a fun movie that features pets or animal heroes; encourage patrons to donate one item from the shelter’s list of needs. Remember the book display related to the movie, animal heroes, and/or shelter pets.
No Animals Here - Vegan Cookbook Club
60 Mins+, Chapter 5 Read, Connect, Protect, Game/Activity, Passive/Display, Teens
August 24, 2020 0.00 KB 2028 downloads
When teens decide to stop eating animal products and go vegan, they usually have to learn to cook for themselves. Start up a vegan cookbook club to help them along! This can be run in several different ways. Teens can gather to discuss and swap their favorite recipes or, if your library has a kitchen, get basic cooking lessons. You could also make this into a passive program: Record yourself making simple recipes and promote the videos/recipes as part of your teen programming. Alternatively, teens might want to create and share videos of themselves making their favorite vegan foods.
Recycling Olympics
60 Mins+, Chapter 5 Read, Connect, Protect, Children, Game/Activity, Outdoors, Outreach
August 24, 2020 0.00 KB 2196 downloads
Run a weekly program in a local park or forest! Families meet to hear stories about animals and ecosystems, to engage in fun recycling games, or to clean up the trail or area. If you can partner with a park, have a park ranger or volunteer give talks about local wildlife and environmental concerns. The program can also be adapted to a cleanup walk near the library if a local park is not an option.
Scrub A Dub Dub
45 - 90 Mins, Chapter 5 Read, Connect, Protect, Children, Game/Activity, Low Cost, Outdoors, STEAM
August 24, 2020 0.00 KB 2165 downloads
Oil spill sensory play! Discuss pollution and demonstrate an “oil spill,” followed by a cleanup effort to clear the polluted water. This is a great way to show how our actions affect the environment, including animal habitats. Another activity demonstrates how polar bears stay warm in water. Children stick their bare fingers in ice water, then dip their fingers again after coating them in Crisco. Discuss how blubber keeps polar bears warm.
Wild Jeopardy
60 Mins+, Chapter 5 Read, Connect, Protect, Children, Low Cost, Game/Activity, Teens
August 24, 2020 0.00 KB 2538 downloads
Run a game of Jeopardy using a free online template! You can adapt the questions for any age group or animal theme. The rules follow the traditional TV game show, and contestants get points for every correctly answered question. Remember prizes for the winning teams.
Endangered Species Stop Motion Animation
60 Mins+, Children, Chapter 5 Read, Connect, Protect, Game/Activity, STEAM, Teens
August 24, 2020 0.00 KB 2195 downloads
In this two-part program, teens create simple stop motion videos about endangered animals. Ask them to advocate for their animals through their videos, such as by showing habitat destruction and how to help; alternatively, adapt this program for any animal theme. In the first part, show stop motion animation clips and discuss basic storyboarding. Teens choose and/or create their animals and backgrounds, and plan their shot lists (see Printables). In the second part of the program, teens learn how to use Stop Motion Studio (a free app) and begin production. Screen everyone’s videos at the end of the program.
Create A Creature
60 Mins+, Craft, Adults, Chapter 4 No Place Like Home, Children, Game/Activity, Multigenerational, Low Cost, Teens
August 24, 2020 0.00 KB 3141 downloads
There is no place like home! And that home. And that home. In this program, children learn about habitats and how animals adapt to them. Read Listen to our World (2016) and/or show a brief video, such as “Animal Habitats” by Learning Junction. Show habitat cards and discuss which animals live in each habitat and why, then let participants get creative! Their task is to create a brand new animal that would thrive in a particular habitat. You can have them draw habitat cards, let them choose whichever habitat they like, or base the whole program around a specific habitat. Ask everyone to present their new animal—and describe what makes it perfectly suited to its habitat—at the end of the program.
Land Of Ladybugs
60 Mins+, Children, Chapter 4 No Place Like Home, Game/Activity, Outdoors, Outreach
August 24, 2020 0.00 KB 2256 downloads
A fun, hands-on ladybug program! In a local park, read ladybug books and talk about where ladybugs live, what they eat, and their role in the ecosystem. Make simple ladybug masks if you have access to outdoor tables. Then each child releases their ladybugs. The best time for a ladybug release is in the early evening of May or June.
We Rate Pets
60 Mins+, Adults, Chapter 4 No Place Like Home, Children, Low Cost, Game/Activity, Passive/Display, Multigenerational, Teens
August 24, 2020 0.00 KB 2775 downloads
Participants share their funniest pet stories! They bring in pictures of their pets (or draw the pets they wish they had) and write funny captions. You can run this as a show-and-tell, or create a display and leave out templates and instructions for a passive program. Patrons vote on the funniest (or fluffiest/grumpiest/etc.) pets; the winners get pet-themed prize at the end of the summer.
Eons Making Prehistory
60 Mins+, Chapter 2 The Wild Side, Low Cost, Game/Activity, Outside Presenter, STEAM, Teens
August 24, 2020 0.00 KB 2449 downloads
See prehistoric life in virtual reality! Or choose short videos about the earliest life on earth from the PBS Eons YouTube channel. Optionally, let teens destress with prehistoric coloring sheets while watching the videos.
Owl Pellet Dissection
60 Mins+, Chapter 2 The Wild Side, Children, Game/Activity, STEAM
August 24, 2020 0.00 KB 1623 downloads
Find bones in owl puke! But first read some owl books and give some fun owl facts. Ask children to guess how many bones they think they will find, and give a prize to whoever is the closest to their guess. Teen volunteers or caregivers could assist in the dissection, working slowly to remove and identify bones as they go.
Storytime Safari
60 Mins+, Chapter 2 The Wild Side, Children, Craft, Low Cost, Game/Activity
August 24, 2020 0.00 KB 2212 downloads
After a wild animal storytime, children roam around a room that has been set up as a safari! Craft options include simple binoculars and paper plate masks. For the safari, you will need to print and display photos of the featured animals; puppets or stuffed animals could also be used instead of photos. Depending on time and resources, consider adding habitats for each animal.
Hungry Hungry Hippos
60 Mins+, Chapter 2 The Wild Side, Children, Craft, Game/Activity, Outdoors
August 24, 2020 0.00 KB 2263 downloads
The hippos are hungry, hungry! Read a book about hippos, such as Hilda Must be Dancing, Big Little Hippo, or The Hiccupotamus. Saving Fiona is also a great nonfiction choice because you can also show children footage of Fiona from the Cincinnati Zoo website. Augment the program with a hippo sing-along or felt board. After storytime, children make a hippo puppet craft and/or play a fun twist on the classic Hungry, Hungry Hippo board game.
Adult Storytime The Genius Of Birds
60 Mins+, Chapter 2 The Wild Side, Adults, Game/Activity, Low Cost, Passive/Display
August 24, 2020 0.00 KB 1832 downloads
Storytime is for everyone! Invite adults to the library for a bird-themed readaloud. While you read excerpts from popular bird nonfiction (see Resources for suggestions), participants have the option to color bird coloring sheets. For bonus birding atmosphere, livestream a bird video. Pass out the Bird-Watching 101 handout and create a birding book display to inspire adults to keep learning. Program can be adapted to any age group by varying resource choices.
Animal Character Design
60 Mins+, Chapter 1 Bookish Beasts, Game/Activity, Teens
August 24, 2020 0.00 KB 1669 downloads
Host a writing workshop in which teens create unique animal characters! Begin with a group discussion of teens’ favorite characters and their traits. Printable worksheets guide teens on both written and visual character design. Optionally, have teens do a bit of research into real animals on which to base their characters (i.e., behavior, habitat, physiology).
Stuffed Animal Sleepover
45 - 90 Mins, Chapter 1 Bookish Beasts, Children, Game/Activity, Low Cost, Teens
August 24, 2020 0.00 KB 2235 downloads
A fun, low-cost event that is easy to modify to suit your library. Children come for a sleepover-themed storytime, bringing their favorite stuffed animal friends with them. They sign permission slips and name tags, and leave their stuffed animals overnight. After storytime, you might hold a stuffed animal show-and-tell, or have children draw portraits of their stuffed animals. When the children come back the next morning to pick them up, they see pictures of what their animal friends were up while they were gone.
A Tale With Tails
Chapter 1 Bookish Beasts, Children, 15-30 Mins, Game/Activity, Low Cost, Passive/Display
August 24, 2020 0.00 KB 1913 downloads
Have children supply the missing nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. from the stories provided: “A Trip to the Zoo,” “A Backyard Adventure,” and “A Kooky Animal Tale.” Then read the tale(s) out loud. This could be a fun icebreaker before another program, or copies could simply be placed with other library flyers. See Resources for a list of fiction with animal protagonists.
Creating And Coding An Animation
60 Mins+, Chapter 1 Bookish Beasts, Children, Game/Activity, Low Cost, STEAM, Teens
August 24, 2020 0.00 KB 2237 downloads
Using the free online coding program Scratch, teens create an animated cartoon featuring an animal sprite (computer graphic). Teens code instructions to populate their cartoon with words and characters. Scratch is
easy to teach, even for non-coders.
Animal Anime And Manga
60 Mins+, Chapter 1 Bookish Beasts, Craft, Game/Activity, Teens
August 24, 2020 0.00 KB 1859 downloads
It is no secret that teens love anime and manga. Does your library have an anime program or club? If not, consider adding one! You could focus on anime and hold regular screenings of TV series or movies, or you could add an instructional component on how to draw anime characters and manga. For the latter, allow plenty of time to draw and socialize.