I mentioned awhile ago now that Doctor Who was quite popular among the teens of our library, so when we set about creating our generic “ReImagine Your World @ your library” teen summer reading program, I *knew* I was going to host a Doctor Who event for the 50th.
I just never imagined it would be such a hit.
First & foremost, I am incredibly proud of myself for that flyer. Although I do think I have an eye for graphic design, I have no formal training, and am usually stuck with whatever images I can find through the various royalty-free databases. But that flyer up there, I created the entire thing using shapes in Publisher. Obviously, I printed it on blue paper, but it just worked so well. Everyone IMMEDIATELY knew what it was, & so the marketing worked perfectly.
I decided to host this for all ages – and they came. We had well over 100 people, which the most I’ve ever had at an event. The most amazing thing, though, was that the Facebook event was shared all over the place. I had calls from the next county over, asking about the program. And just… wow. It was so much fun!
So, what did we do? Well, to begin, I turned the entrance to our meeting room into the TARDIS. I painted a bunch of cardboard blue, hot glued it together to match the doorway (there were plenty of overlaps), use black duct tape for the lines, & then duct taped the whole thing to the door frame. It was a lot of trial & error, but definitely worth it. Everyone had a great time entering the doors only to discover that yes, it’s “bigger on the inside.” Plenty of photos were taken, too.
Food was simple – I made sugar cookie “fish fingers” and small cups of vanilla pudding “custard”!
As for activities…
– Van Gogh coloring sheets for the little ones
– Duct tape bowties, which I hear are cool.
– Vote for your favorite Doctor – very close between 10 & 11, with 4 right behind.
– Trivia through space & time
– “Don’t blink!” staring contest – we gave away a Weeping Angel Barbie, and everyone who participated received a “don’t blink” button
– Sonic screwdriver pens made with polymer clay
– Gallifreyan name translator using this nifty widget – we printed on blue paper!
– TARDIS and Dalek paper toys
– Doctor Who at the Proms from 2008 aired throughout the program
Will the Doctor be visiting your library in the future?
Zen & the Art of Teen Services 