WonderLab Museum of Science, Health and Technology’s monthly free Teen Night this Friday will revolve around the Hunger Games. Last month, the theme was Dr. Who.
“Lots of teens come dressed up in costume,” said Staci Radford-Vincent , program and outreach manager at WonderLab. “So we try to come up with a theme (that caters to that).”
The program usually draws anywhere from 50 to 80 teenagers and pre-teens between the ages of 12 ?and 18 .
The participants’ showing up in costume sends a message to the WonderLab staff that the children are grateful for the staff’s effort, Radford-Vincent said.
The Hunger Games night, which will last from around 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., will consist of several interactive ?activities.
The main craft activity, Radford-Vincent explained, will be creating miniature crossbows that are able to shoot cotton swabs.
The only time teens will be able to handle a real bow will be with special guest and Olympic-trained archer Lindsay Nevalainen.
Nevalainen will be teaching the teens how to draw a bow (but not shoot it), show them some archery gear and share archery photos ?with them.
The Wild Nature Project is also contributing to the event, working with WonderLab on Friday to teach the teens important ?survival skills.
Among these will be building shelters from just tarp and teamwork survival, Radford-Vincent said.
The Wild Nature Project, a Bloomington-based organization, also runs a Teen Leadership Program that meets twice a month, according to its website. Teens ages 14-18 can participate in the program, which teaches “wilderness ninja skills,” leadership skills and ?self-reflection.
In between activities at the WonderLab event, teens will be able to enjoy a healthy spread of whole wheat bagels and toppings, Radford-?Vincent said.
Although teen night only happens once a month at WonderLab, there are always events taking place at ?the museum.
On Nov. 15 there will be a special one-day exhibit called “Meet the Instruments,” in which people of all ages can visit the museum and check out the on-display instruments of the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra.
Discovery Time is a weekly Wednesday event for preschool-aged children and their parents where they can enjoy books and activities, each with a different scientific topic weekly.
Teen Night, though, is special.
Above all, Radford-Vincent said, it is an opportunity for teens to spend time with their friends in a new and ?exciting place.
“This is an opportunity for teens to hang out with their friends in a fun environment and to do and learn something new,” she said. “It’s really fun and really ?different.”
