Chocolate Night

On Friday night, 37 teens showed up for Chocolate Night.  It was crowded and crazy, but what else would you expect when I was offering free chocolate!?  We were busy all night, watching movie clips, playing games, and (of course) eating chocolate. 

We started by watching the classic "Job Switching" episode of I Love Lucy, in which Lucy and Ethel get jobs at a candy factory.  Even people who had never heard of Lucille Ball were laughing at her antics!  Everyone had a chance to guess how much chocolate was in the jar and complete their chocolate trivia while watching.  Then, we played chocolate bingo, with M&Ms for markers and white-fudge-covered Oreos as prizes.  After that, we watched the Monty Python sketch "Trade Decription Act," a.k.a. "Crunchy Frog," then played a guessing game with a box of chocolates.  We watched the opening of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory (new version) while decorating cupcakes, then rated four kinds of milk chocolate.  The Lindt milk chocolate was the favorite by far, which was no surprise.  That stuff is amazing! 

Arig and Christelle excelled at chocolate trivia, getting 12 of 15 correct.  Close behind them were Perry, Jared, and Nitha with 11 correct answers each.  They all got chocolate bars for their knowledge!  The chocolate guessing jar proved to be a bit more tricky.  Most of the answers were way too low or high.  The actual number was 618, and Maria was the only person who was even close.  Her guess was great, though:  575.

I hope everyone enjoyed Chocolate Night!  Thanks to the Delaware County Office of Behavioral Health for their assistance in supporting all of our recent First Friday programs!!

 Gourmet chocolate testing and cupcake decorating supplies ready to go!

 Ready for I Love Lucy and chocolate

The cupcake on the left is Sam, the wolf from Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater!

Ninja Night

Last Friday, 29 teens showed up for Ninja Night.  (I only saw two of them!)  It was a great night, mostly thanks to Dan G., our "ninja."  We've never done anything like this before, but we definitely couldn't have done it without him.

First, Dan showed us how to make origami shuriken (throwing stars), and we practiced our ninja skills by throwing them at the library's cardboard cutout of Robert Pattinson.  For every round, people had to aim at a certain part of his head (ear, neck, eyes, etc.) and they got candy if they hit him accurately.  It was hard, and only a few people were ninja enough to handle the pressure.

We watched some random ninja videos online, with the laptop hooked up to the projector.  Then, Dan did a martial arts demonstration.  He talked about his intererst in martial arts, his school, and demonstrated some kicks, delivering an amazing, Chuck-Norris-style roundhouse to the jaw of Robert Pattinson (followed by a huge cheer!).  After that, Dan brought out a whole duffel bag of different martial arts weapons, talking about the history of each one and doing a short demonstration.  (Don't worry, it was very safe--Dan is a trained instructor and no one else handled the items.)  Then, he taught everyone a few self-defense moves.  It was really cool, no one got injured, and Dan was an excellent teacher. 

We finished the night by watching some of the original 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and having snacks.  What do ninjas eat?  Dark chocolate, of course, and ninja brownies (cut in circles with little icing eyes).  I guess they probably also try to eat quiet food, but we broke the rules with some potato chips. 

At the end, we had our costume contest.  We had all kinds of entries, and our winner was a panda ninja!  She got the Ninja Wisdom Deck, and the runners up each got candy and a fake moustache (ninjas need disguises, you know).  Congrats to Christine, Abby, Kaitlyn, Laurel, and Owen for having the best costumes!

Huge thanks again to Dan, and to the Delaware County Office of Behavioral Health for funding this program.

Origami shuriken pieces 

 A view of the origami lesson

 Everyone attempting to look more ninja...

 The beginning of the self-defense lesson

 A test of friendship...practicing self-defense moves on each other!

Having fun with self-defense

 How ninjas get brownies...?

Costume contest entries

Fall Nintendo Night

Last Friday, 32 people attended our fall Nintendo Night!  We tried something new this time:  one-on-one battles with a two-tier tournament system.  Instead of having one big tournament with first- and second-place winners, everyone who lost in the first round automatically moved into the lower tournament bracket and kept competing.  Of course we had our usualy technical difficulties (no power cord arrived with the projector I borrowed...really!?!?) and the tournament ran long, but I generally liked how this idea played out. 

In the main tournament, David J. emerged victorious over all and won a $50 gift card to GameStop.  He and the other semi-finalists, Ranier, John E., and Andrew C., all got candy.  (All of these last initials are important because we had lots of multiple names at this event!)  In the second tournament, Morgan beat out Evan for the $25 GameStop gift card.  Semi-finalistst Evan, Joseph, and Edgar, along with Morgan, all got candy as well.  I also gave out one bonus box of candy to Roy, who, as a 6th grader, was the only middle-schooler to make it into the third round of the main tournament.  Even though he was beaten out, he was proud to represent!

Thanks to a grant from the Delaware County Office of Behavioral Health for helping to make this event possible.  See you at our next tournament this winter!!

Hip-Hop Essentials

On October 22, over 30 teens showed up for Hip-Hop Essentials  Featuring The One Sun Lion Ra and DJ Ambush!  We were in the middle of the adult library, so there were a lot of other people who stopped by the program or listened while they were on the computers.  The program was a positive, interactive discussion of hip-hop history and culture.  Ra also did some rapping and beat-boxing, and got a few kids up on the mic at the end! 

This program was funded by a grant from the Delaware County Office of Behavioral Health.  Thanks for your support!  And thanks to DJ Ambush for filling in when DJ Brother Jamar couldn't make it.  It was great to have you.

 Ra talking to the group

Beat-boxing

 Another shot of Ra talking  :)

A few guys were brave enough to freestyle on the mic.  They did an amazing job, rapping about everyday stuff like school, fast food, and their families.

Teens and Tans Discussion Questions

In addition to having great table discussions, our Teens and Tans participants covered our tables with Sharpie comments and drawings. Check out some of my favorite responses:

What new information did you learn today? How will it change what you do? What will you share with your friends?

What messages do you see in pop culture about tanning? How else does the media deal with issues of skin color? How does this make you feel?

What places do you go outdoors? How can you protect yourself? What if people make fun of you?

Why do some people like to tan? How can you talk about the dangers of tanning without making anyone feel bad about their skin color?

Teens and Tans!

Even though it was gorgeous outside today, 24 teens showed up for our Teens and Tans program. We started the event with a presentation by Janet DeSipio, a Physician Assistant at Bryn Mawr Skin and Cancer Institute. She brought a slide presentation and talked about the structure of skin, skin cancer, and skin care. It was interesting, educational, and a little bit scary! The group asked a lot of great questions and the presentation actually went on longer than I had expected. That's good, though, because it meant that everyone was paying attention and actually learning something!

After the presentation, we rotated through four tables to discuss issues of sun exposure, tanning, and skin color. Members of the Teen Advisory Board kept the discussion at each table on track, and everyone was able to write on the table covers while they talked. Everyone enjoyed covering the tables with graffiti, but they also showed a lot of interesting thoughts. I will share some of the ideas in a future post.

While we were eating healthy snacks (good for the skin!), we looked at the ingredients on a variety of daily-use facial sunscreen products. I purchased four at Target and two at the beauty counters at Macy's. Ms. DeSipio recommended looking for ingredients that block UVA rays, especially recommending at least 3% avobenzone. (Some brands of sunscreen use trademarked names for formulations of UVA-blockers, such as Helioplex, Parsol 1789, and Mexoryl.) We found that five of the six face sunscreens had these ingredients. The only one that didn't was the cheapest, a Target store brand, and we tossed it in the trash!

At the end of the program, Roslyn was the lucky winner of the Neutrogena gift basket, and five other people took home those bottles of daily-use sunscreen. Everyone at the event went home with a gift bag of sample products from Ms. DeSipio and book called The Science Inside Skin. If you missed the program, check out a copy of the book from the teen nonfiction section. There are also several other new books on skin care, health, and beauty, so look for those as well.

Funding for this program was from Neutrogena through a grant from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Thanks!!

Ms. DeSipio giving her presentation to the group.

A group talking and writing about one of our discussion questions.

The lesson of the day.

Skin & Beauty Books

When I was researching for our Teens and Tans program, I found that there are not a lot of great books for teens that are just about skin care. So, here are some teen health and beauty books, as well as some skin care books published for adults, that you might find helpful.

• Skin: The Science Inside by the American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual: For Everyone from Beginner to Pro by Bobbi Brown
• Bobbi Brown Teenage Beauty: Everything You Need to Look Pretty, Natural, Sexy, & Awesome by Bobbi Brown and Annemarie Iverson
• Ask CosmoGirl! about Beauty: All the Answers to Your Questions about Hair, Makeup, Skin, & More by CosmoGirl
• The African American Woman's Guide to Successful Make-Up and Skin Care by Alfred Fornay
• Teen Beauty Secrets: Fresh, Simple, & Sassy Tips for Your Perfect Look by Diane Irons
• Simple Skin Beauty: Every Woman's Guide to a Lifetime of Healthy, Gorgeous Skin by Ellen Marmur, M. D.
• Teen Makeup: Looks to Match Your Every Mood by Linda Mason
• Skin Health Information for Teens: Health Tips about Dermatological Concerns and Skin Cancer Risks edited by Robert Aquinas McNally
• Body Drama: Real Girls, Real Bodies, Real Issues, Real Answers by Nancy Amanda Redd
• You Being Beautiful: the Owner's Manual to Inner and Outer Beauty by Michael F. Roizen, M. D., and Mehmet C. Oz, M. D.
• Dr. Susan Taylor's RX for Brown Skin: Your Prescription for Flawless Skin, Hair, and Nails by Susan C. Taylor, M. D.
• The New Science of Perfect Skin: Understanding Skin-Care Myths and Miracles for Radiant Skin at Any Age by Daniel Yarosh, Ph.D.