Passive Programming for Teen Tech Week

by Donna Block

My library is in the midst of a renovation project that makes planning Teen Tech Week programs difficult — mainly because we’re never sure whether we’ll have access to a room where we can hold events. Our current office space is located in what used to be a prime study area.

As a substitute to our traditional tech programs, we devised a QR Code Scavenger Hunt that can take place anywhere in the library, anytime we are open.

Here’s the gist of it:’ During each week of March, five new QR codes (each accompanied by a bit.ly link for teens who don’t have access to smart devices) will be scattered throughout the library. Each one will contain a link to a post on facebook, twitter, flickr, youtube, our teen blog, or the library website. To participate, teens will get a question sheet from one of the public service desks, find the codes and answer the questions. For this they will earn a small prize and gain entry into a drawing at the end of the month for a larger prize.

To keep things simple, the questions will be rather general, so that the same question sheet can be used for the entire month. Members of the Teen Advisory Board and the Anime and Manga club were enlisted to help with ideas for the answers and hiding places. Here are the questions and answers from week one, in case you want to play from home:

1. Name one of the featured books.

2. What’s in the picture?

3. Name the upcoming event.

4. What video did you watch?

5. What is the secret phrase?

Members of the Teen Advisory Board participated in the scavenger hunt on March 2. Most reported that it was fun and not too difficult. One device did have trouble reading one of the codes, but it worked with all the others, so we decided it must have been a glitch. We’re bribing the teens with pens, pencils, and mini bookmarks. Anyone who plays will also be entered in a drawing for a gift card at the end of the month.