This blog post is a few days late, but this time I have a really good excuse…
Last Friday was the Library’s Teen Lock-In! We had 14 teens ages ranging from 11-16 stay in the library all night for a variety of activities including games, crafts, a movie, and more. Here’s the play-by-play.
5:00 PM: I arrive and start setting up for the Scavenger Hunt and gathering other materials.
6:00 PM: Teens arrive in the Community Room!
6:15 PM: We play get-to-know-you games in front of the Circulation Desk. These included the Question Ball (a beach ball with questions written on it in Sharpie) and Magic Carpet Ride (in which a team has to flip over a blanket while standing on it and without losing anyone)
6:45 PM: Pizza from East of Chicago
7:15 PM: We start our Community Service Walk around the Library to pick up trash and pull weeds
7:45 PM: Drawing with Sidewalk Chalk!
8:30 PM: Scavenger Hunt around the library looking for “diamonds,” solving mysteries, and learning to use library resources.
9:30 – 10:30 PM: Games in the Community Room. I brought my Wii in and we played Just Dance 2 and 3. Even Jim participated! The teens had a blast!
11:30 PM – 12:30 AM: We made Paperback Hedgehogs out of discarded paperbacks and miscellaneous crafting supplies. They were super cute and easy, though a little time-consuming. 
12:30 – 1:30 AM: Sardines in the dark. If you’ve never played Sardines, here’s how: Pick a person to hide. The rest count to 50, then go look for that person. When they find him/her, each person hides beside them. So, you end up with lots of people hiding in the same place until everyone finds the hiding spot.
1:30 – 3:30 AM: Movie (Disney’s Into the Woods) and games on the computer for those who aren’t into musicals
3:30 – 4:30 AM: Hide and Seek in the dark out front
4:30 – 6:00 AM: Mug Cupcakes in the Microwave. Everyone got to come up with their own cupcake recipe, bake it in the microwave, and then decorate it with a variety of candy and sprinkles. While some of the combinations didn’t turn out that great, and one in particular looked a bit odd (green cake?!?!) everyone had a great time, and it was a perfect snack for the wee hours of the morning. When finished, the kids all washed their own mugs! Yes, I told them to, but they didn’t give me any trouble about it, so I still count it as a win.
6:00 AM: Wake up, everyone! We did have a few kids who were sleeping, so we woke everyone up and cleaned up the library. We sent a group to look for anything left over from the Scavenger Hunt and sent a group to help put away crafting supplies. While everyone was still a bit sleepy, they did a great job helping us put the library back together.
7:00 AM: Parents arrive to retrieve their teens.
7:30 AM: I go home, stopping by McDonald’s for a well-earned bacon, egg, and cheese bagel.
So, that’s how we stayed up all night with 14 kids and didn’t go crazy. I’m still recovering, but it was worth it. We had such a blast! And the group of kids we had this year was fantastic! I hope next year is just as fun.
Did you ever go to a lock-in? Tell me about it in a comment!
-Liz
Teen Librarian