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I’ve had lots of people asking what I’m planning for my Hunger Games party, & as I think I’ve pretty much got it figured out, I feel that I can finally share! In the past, all my movie premiere parties have been more hangouts with games, crafts, & food, but this is something very different. I’m planning more of a competition-style program, in keeping with the theme of the Hunger Games, & I think that the kids are not only going to have a blast, but they’re going to learn quite a lot, too.
I’ll be splitting the teens into teams of no more than 3, but they’ll have to at least partner up. To start, there will be white drawstring backpacks in the center of the room, & a la the Cornucopia, they’ll have to grab a pack & begin the Hunger Games.
Tucked inside each pack they’ll find ten challenges, as well as their food for the night. As in the book, some packs will have things like apples or trail mix, while others will have crackers or something similar – I suppose what they consider “good” will probably vary from what I think is good, but that’s part of the fun! I’ll also include water bottles & juice boxes.
The challenges are going to vary among the packs, but everyone will have to complete ten of them. I’m hoping to have about 20 challenges to pick & choose from, but here’s what I’ve come up with so far.
- Get picture taken as team (we’ll print these out before the end of the night)
- Create team logo/symbol on backpack (which is why they’re white)
- Leaf rubbing/tree identification
- Plant identification*, ie: you come across these berries! Can you eat them?
- Animal track ID*
- Reference desk question
- Put books in order
- Toilet paper unwrap
- Dart gun target practice
- Archery practice
- Bean bag toss (a la corn hole)
- Lacing challenge
- Knot tying
- Ninja stars (Wii game)
- Decode message using Navajo
- Hunger Games trivia (ten questions)
- First Aid
There will be some sort of narrative to go along with the challenges, in the same vein as the plant identification challenge, but I’m still working on that. Some of these will be completed by everyone, but some will just be luck of the draw. Each challenge will be worth ten points, so there will be a total of 100 points possible with a time bonus for the first three to complete the entire game. For anything they choose incorrectly, they’ll lose points, just as they’d be in a rather bad place if they chose to eat poisonous berries.
While we tally up the points, I’ll have a Mockingjay pin craft for them to complete. Should be a fun night!
*There are some cool apps out there for those of you with iPads!
What do you have planned?
Zen & the Art of Teen Services 
We are going to do a cornucopia challenge, make bows & arrows (from notched popsicle sticks, dental floss and q-tips, make tribute tokens (basically put out all our craft supplies and let them be creative), make fire bombs (take yellow and red construction and create flames and then take packaging tape and wrap around blow pops or tootsie roll suckers), then we are going to practice by playing Wii sports and shooting our bows and arrows at a target, and refreshments. What would be a library program without food?! :) We are having different kinds of breads & cheeses, Mr. Mellark’s cookies, trackerjack cupcakes/ brownies, sleepy syrup, deadly berries (either jaw breakers or red hots) and hopefully movie theather popcorn. I am encouraging the participants to come in costumes and we are giving away movie tickets and the trilogy set.
Oh, heck, I just posted a question on one of your other pages about this exact same subject! Ignore that one. Love the ideas I am seeing here.
Paula: at my library we are doing a similar program (I think the mini bows and arrows will be popular). I love your ideas for snacks…we decided to have the teens decorate cupcakes like Peeta would.
Sarah: I just came across your site today…what a wealth of information about teen services! I try to post about teen programs on my blog, along with our other youth services activities. I would love to pick your brain sometime about how to make a teen program super-successful.
-Abby
@ thelupinelibrarian: aw, you’re so sweet! Feel free to pick my brain any time you want. :)
@thelupinelibrarian: love the idea of kids decorating the cupcakes!
Oooh, thanks for the idea. I’m a teen librarian in Northeast Louisiana and I want to have a huge week long Hunger Games “The Girl on Fire” program for this summer’s Spark a Reaction! And I’m going to steal your ideas–thanks. Also your fan girl profile picture is absolutely precious!