Make and Takes and Grab and Go's

Type: Active
Age: Middle school
Optimal size: 11-20
Estimated cost: $100+
Planning time: 5+ hours
Frequency: Monthly

Learning outcomes

● Think flexibly ● Innovate  ● Experiment, prototype and test ideas ● Create original work or responsibly remix existing content to make something new ● Engage in personal expression ● Demonstrate technology use that is safe, ethical and responsible ● Express themselves on a variety of platforms

Instructions

Teen Take and Make Bee Gardens

DanielleValenzano, , Milford Public Library, Young Adult Librarian

These bee gardens were the perfect summer teen take and make kits! They were very affordable and easy to put together.

Registration

This was BYOS (bring your own soil)! Overall, this project cost about $50 and was very well received... all 50 bags were enjoyed by the teens & tweens! They were able to either pick them up during the limited hours we were open or they asked for them to be reserved on curbside pick-up. They were publicized on the Young Adult website, all social media accounts, in the Library’s newsletter, and on the summer reading tables in-house.

Instructions

• I started by ordering a box of small brown bags with handles. I used size 5.25x3.75 x 8 inches, but you could also use brown paper bags.
• I bought 3 inch biodegradable pots. Upon checking with a local gardener, I decided to use Zinnia and Marigold seeds. I bought one pack of 1,000 seeds of each, also from Amazon.
• I mixed the seeds together in a small cup and took a handful for each packet (probably about 10-15 seeds). I bought all these supplies from Amazon. To make the packets, I just used the side of a business sized envelope, which worked great with mailing labels, but you could use any size or even just a piece of paper stapled together or a snack sized baggy! It is simple, just a little tedious.
• I made all my images on Canva and then printed the seed packet labels on rectangular mailing labels and the bag labels on the larger size labels and stuck to the bag. These did not stick very well, so I’d advise using a swipe of a glue stick before sticking! But even the ones not sticking all the way just needed a little push back on the bag to stay put.
• In the bag, I put the pot, the seed packet, instructions and a little note about why bees are important, with information that I got from The Honeybee Conservatory. I’m not a gardener so I asked one for their advice on simple instructions before creating. 

• Here is the Google link for photos and also instructions I distributed to patrons:

  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1cS86meQNHrnxDZHloClSFkLXJxxEPJFT?usp=sharing

Art Club To Go

Dawn Abron, Zion-Benton Public Library, Teen Services and Makerspace Coordinator

Instructions

We have an ongoing art club that meets in the library monthly so we already had a lot of supplies on hand. To reduce cost, look in your craft closets and cabinets and choose projects that can be used with the inventory you have on hand.

To cut costs, we are limiting the program to ten teens and one kit/house.

Each Kit Includes:

• A pack of colored pencils
• A drawing pencil
• An eraser
• A pencil sharpener
• Clear ruler
• Two drawing pads- 8"x 11" and 4"x 6"
• Fun size candy

There will eight different projects over eight weeks. All teens are required to complete all eight projects. This is will be stressed upon registration. We created a Youtube channel for our teen department where we will post project instruction once a week. Participants have four weeks to complete the first four projects and another four weeks to complete the final four projects. The videos remain on our Youtube channel which gives them plenty of time to complete each project on their own time. 

My colleague and I will be filming ourselves doing each project and we will upload them to Youtube.  We felt it was important for teens to see their library worker do the projects rather than finding someone else on Youtube. Neither myself or my colleague are artists. We chose art projects that we were comfortable learning and doing or art we already know how to do. 

We included an insert that listed each project and the date it will be on Youtube. We also gave them an optional 30-day drawing challenge. This can be done in the small drawing pad.

Participants will be required to send pics of their completed projects thru email or DM on our Instagram.

We will be mailing our kits to homes but if you have curbside, teens/parents can pick them up from the library.  If you don't have the budget to give teens supplies, consider doing projects with supplies teens will have in their homes or can get on their own. We chose colored pencils because most teens have them or they can purchase them as they are inexpensive. We found the small drawing pad at the Dollar Tree as well as most of the supplies.  If you shop at your local dollar store, you could get your art club to go supplied for around $5/teen.

Watermelon Squishies

Brittany Tuttle, Assistant Librarian—Teen Services, from the Wilmington Memorial Library

Registration:

Brittany requires registration, so she knows how many kits to prepare.  Patrons can register two weeks before the program.  Patrons may pick up their kit during the library's curbside hours.

Instruction

Teens have three options to complete the craft-Zoom tutorial; paper instructions; or a video link.

Tips for Interested Library Workers:

• Try to make supplies needed in the home as simple as possible.
• Requiring registrations eliminates Zoombombers. Don't post Zoom link on social media; email them.
• Putting paint in a baggie and having teens cut the tip to use it is a cheap way to distribute paint.
• Using a 2" foam is ideal--it's harder to cut, but makes a more store-bought looking product. You can buy memory foam from Amazon.

• Adding scents (essential oils or soap scents) to the paint makes for a fun added layer, too. 

Pom Pom Cactus

Andrea Elson, Youth Services Librarian, Radnor Memorial Library

Teens must register to receive crafts and they meet over Zoom to do the craft together. Click the title to see the PDF.

Teen Tuesdays

Margaret Kingsport, Fayetteville Free Library, Teen Librarian

Teen Tuesdays is a weekly craft program hosted over Zoom.  The Zoom meetings are Tuesdays and teens must register and pick up their bags at the library a week before the program.  Teens who missed the registration can email the teen library worker to pick up their bag before the Tuesday Zoom.  A Youtube video is available for teens who missed the Zoom meeting.

Please visit Fayetteville's Instagram account to see their weekly crafts.

Grab & Go

Nancy McKay, Byron Public Library District, Head of Teen Services

Please take a look at Byron's Instagram Account and Youtube channel for more teen programming ideas.

Registration

Bryon has a Make and Take program with more challenging crafts with video tutorials but Nancy wanted to offer a simpler craft program and she created Grab and Go's. 

Grab and Go's are offered bi-monthly. They are announced on Bryon's social media and they are first come first serve. Only teens are able to pick them up and not parents or friends.  Byron offers curbside and limited in-library use. 

Instruction

Grab and Go's come with written instructions and teens are asked to take and send pics of completed projects. Nancy says that teens send lots of pics or hold up their projects during Zoom meetings.

Tinker Zone To Go

Council Bluffs Public Library-please visit Council Bluffs' Instagram Account for their crafts

Council Bluffs teen department offers Tinker Zone To Go. Tinker Zone is a first come first serve craft program. Instructions come inside the kit. 

Evaluation

Because this is new to the above libraries, there is no evaluation at this time.