Library offers youth a taste of ‘The Hunger Games’ through maps, archery, navigation
Teens and preteens who questioned how they’d survive in a “Hunger Games” setting found answers at a recent Olathe Public Library event. The program, which aimed to hone dystopian survival skills, returns later in the summer at Indian Creek Library.
The program, which was modeled in part on escape rooms, focuses on engaging youth.
“Young adult dystopia tends to have central characters who are young adults coming to terms with living in societies that are, in the fiction, corrupt,” said Tommy Govert, children program specialist at the library.
“The characters are coming to terms with that and understanding how they fit in the world.”
That can parallel with how teens are finding their own place in the real world, though maybe not with the high stakes involved in novels like “The Hunger Games” and “The Maze Runner.”
To start off the program, participants had to fill out a crossword using only the 16 letters shown on a Boggle board. Those letters led them to a scavenger hunt through the library’s stacks.
“Young adults, children and adults alike, can have a hard time finding themselves and finding their way around our libraries. I hope they take these skills to heart and share with their peers,” Govert said.
Armed with a map marked with a few clues, they had to find books on all the topics mentioned in the crossword. That included wilderness survival, archery and navigation.
“I like running around and trying to find stuff,” said Olathe resident Wynn Stawarz, 12.
Once they found those books, the kids then translated the catalog information on each book’s spine into Morse code and tried their hands at transmitting the messages to each other by tapping on the tables.
“I went to a railroad museum this one time with a Morse code telegraph, and this reminded me of that,” said Olathe resident Vivian Nelson, 14.
After the cryptic section was done, they moved on to more construction-based skills. If you’re going to survive in a dystopian wilderness, the first thing you need is to know where you’re going.
“Along with learning how to make a compass with found materials, teens learn how to use a map, which seems to be a lost skill,” Govert said.
To accomplish the compass part, they magnetized a needle, stuck it into a piece of cork and let it float in a bowl of water until it pointed north.
Next up was a station where kids could embrace their inner Katniss Everdeen and construct a bow and arrow with Q-tips and rubber bands.
“Making all this stuff — it’s been really fun,” said Olathe resident Henry Purin, 11.
Twelve-year-old Olathe resident Naomi Evans said she also liked building the Q-tip bows and arrows, but “it kind of breaks a lot.”
Finally, a mountain of Lego bricks awaited them on another table, ready for the kids to build their ideal shelters.
The program will run again at 1 p.m. Aug. 6, at the Indian Creek Library. To sign up, go to olathelibrary.librarycalendar.com.
