52 Weeks: Week 39 Gingerbread Who?

Brought to you by the Wisconsin Library Association Youth Services Section, 52 Weeks of YA Programming is a collection of teen programs submitted by YSS members across the state.

Week 39: Gingerbread Who? Gingerbread Who? Submitted by YSS Member Amanda Hyland

ALA Collaborates with DEMCO for National Gaming Day

From American Libraries Direct, October 6, 2010

The American Library Association (ALA) announced that DEMCO is partnering with ALA to help one lucky library level up its gaming program with a $5000 shopping spree! Here's the deal.

Libraries who are registered with ALA for National Gaming Day 2010 (NGD10) are eligible to submit an application to win the prize. During the NGD10 activities, take pictures, maybe get some video, talk with patrons to get ideas, etc. in order to show DEMCO the library's vision for a next-level gaming program for the community. Planning ahead and thinking big will likely be one of the keys to victory, because librarians will want to show the great things that happened during their 2010 event in order to tell ALA how they'll build on it for next year. Make sure to register to participate in National Gaming Day to be eligible for the contest at http://bit.ly/ngd10reg.

Then sign up for the DEMCO contest. For more information and the application form go to www.demco.com/goto?gameshopspree.

A panel of judges will choose up to 15 finalists from all of the submissions, and then one winner will be randomly drawn from the finalists at ALA's Midwinter Meeting in January. The winning library gets the shopping spree, and the fun job of figuring out how to spend $5000 to make that vision happen. hen give a thumbs up for DEMCO on Face book or reach out to them in another way to thank them for supporting gaming libraries in general and National
Gaming Day in particular. ALA definitely appreciates their support.

PBS Invention Contest

Design Squad, the PBS engineering reality competition series, is offering kids a chance to get in on the action this summer. Complement your library's summer outreach efforts and increase the chances of someone from YOUR community appearing on the next season of Design Squad by encouraging kids to enter.

The 2010 Trash to Treasure Competition challenges kids, ages 5-19, to recycle, reuse, and re-engineer everyday materials into out-of-the-box inventions. Three winners will win a trip to Boston to see their designs built and appear on an episode of Design Squad. Twenty-five finalists will be featured on the series website and will receive a Design Squad t-shirt. Entries will be accepted through September 5, 2010 at pbs.org/designsquad.

To help share the excitement, we have the following resources:

1. Contest Flyer; Print, post, and distribute the promotional flyer. You can find a PDF on the Design Squad website.
   
   
2. Invent It, Build It Activity Guide; Explore the invention process with kids through fun, hands-on challenges from this award-winning activity guide.
   
   
3. Promotional Language; Include a message about the competition in your newsletters, announcements, and print pieces. We can provide you with a formal press release or customized blurbs.
   
   
4. Logo and Images; Include a web button on your website linking to our contest page. Or, spice up your newsletters with some fun signature images.
   

If you would like any of the resources listed above, please feel free to contact me at natalie_hebshie@wgbh.org or 617-300-3639.

Step Up to the Plate @ Your Library

Start throwing some heat this July with programming ideas and promotions for Step Up to the Plate @ Your Library. July is a big month for baseball with the Home Run Derby (July 12), All-Star Game (July 13) and Induction Day (July 25). Step Up to the Plate makes it easy for libraries to help plan around these events.

Host a “Step Up to the Plate Home Run Derby,” inviting library users of all ages to enter this year’s contest. The first player in each age group to hit a home run (four correct answers) receives a small prize. Ask baseball fans and library lovers to team up for an all ages Library All-Stars Game. Fans will work in two teams of “All Stars” to find the answers to a series of baseball questions. During the “inning” teams will be pitched a series of questions, with each correct answer counting as a hit and each wrong answer registering as an out. Questions can be pulled directly from this year’s Step Up to the Plate playbooks. After the game, encourage players to use their newfound knowledge to participate in the Step Up to the Plate program.

Step Up to the Plate @ your library teams up two American classics - baseball and libraries - to promote the importance of information literacy skills and increase awareness of the library as an essential information resource. Step Up to the Plate centers on a baseball trivia contest. People of all ages are encouraged to visit their library and answer a series of trivia questions inspired by our national pastime. The questions, developed by the library staff at the Hall of Fame, are based on exhibits at the museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.

One grand-prize winner will receive a trip to the Hall of Fame in October 2010. Librarians are encouraged to register for free tools to help promote the program locally on the program website http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/advocacy/publicawareness/campaign%40yourlibrary/sponsorship/stepup/stepup.cfm. Tools include program logos in both English and Spanish and a toolkit that includes sample press materials and programming ideas. Thousands of school and public librarians register for the program each year.

Cheerios New Author Contest

If you are an unpublished author, the Cheerios� New Author Contest is waiting to hear from you. Grand prize winners will receive $5000 and a chance for publication. Two First Runner-up prizes of $1000 each will also be awarded. Their stories will be published at www.SpoonfulsofStories.com.

You must be a legal United States resident, 18 years old and older and living in the United States to enter the contest.

Contest rules require that the story be no more than 500 words in length and geared to children ages 3-8 years. The story can be written in English or Spanish. Official contest rules can be found at http://www.spoonfulsofstoriescontest.com/rules/. All entries must be received by July 15, 2010. An entry form can be found at http://www.spoonfulsofstoriescontest.com/.

The 2008 contest winner was Lori Degman who wrote 1 Zany Zoo. Her book was published and is available in specially-marked boxes of Cheerios. Laurie Isop won the 2009 Grand Prize. Her book, How Do You Hug a Porcupine? is being published by Simon & Schuster and will be available in Cheerios boxes in 2011. It can be read at www.SpoonfulsofStories.com.

Winners of the 2010 contest will be notified in October. Contest results will be posted on the Internet at www.spoonfulsofstories.com in March, 2011.

PBS Kids Go! Writers Contest

From Wisconsin Public Television...

Children have a wonderful ability to use their imagination in play, in school, and with their peers. One of the ways we can nurture their unique talents is by encouraging them to write and illustrate their own stories.Wisconsin Public Television is pleased to announce the 2010 PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest. Through this program, WPT hopes to provide an opportunity for kids to share their stories with guidance and encouragement from their librarians and reading specialists.

The PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest is a national-local contest designed to promote the advancement of children’s reading skills through hands-on, active learning. The contest encourages children in grades K-3 in communities across the country to celebrate the power of creating stories and illustrations by submitting their own original pieces. It extends the powerful tradition and annual success of the 15-year national “Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest.” In the 2009 contest, a WPT participant was a national winner. Her story can be seen at www.wpt.org/kids.

The kickoff for the contest is Wednesday, January 27th and the final date for submissions is Friday, March 26th. We are asking for your help to get your library involved in the contest. You can help broaden our reach of the contest to your patrons by displaying and distributing posters and entry forms at your library. In addition, we invite you to consider organizing a writing event for interested children and their parents. WPT is happy to provide materials for your library to hold an event as well as promotions materials for the contest. Starting in January wpt.org/kids will have helpful story writing resources for facilitators and children. In addition, a new PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest web site at pbskids.org/read will launch in early 2010. WPT will be giving a $50 stipend towards the cost of running the contest in your library.

Please join us in the PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest and encourage your kids to write and illustrate their own stories. Thank you and we look forward to reading the work of your children! If you are interested in participating in this years contest, please send an email with your library name, address, and contact information to kids@wpt.org by January 30th. If you have any questions please feel free to contact Lynne Blinkenberg, Kristina Stadler or Jenna Schapiro at 608-265-5035 or email kids@wpt.org.

AskAway YouTube Contest

ONLY 3 weeks left in the "I love AskAway YouTube Video Contest"! Don't miss this chance to have your patron(s) win prizes and have their video displayed on the AskAway site and in AskAway promotions. All they need to do is go to: http://askaway.pbwiki.com/YouTube+Contest and follow the instructions.

We have a great flyer for you to use in promoting the contest go to: http://askaway.pbwiki.com/YouTube+Contest+Entry+Page.

You will find the poster at the top of the page. Don't forget the 2nd annual "AskAway awareness week" is coming up in September. Watch for details.