Last year I learned about a DC Comics event called “Batman Day.” Most likely it is portal a way for DC to push Batman themed merchandise but to me, someone who is always trying to create exciting programs for work, this was a great idea for a library event.
This week my library held it’s second Batman Day and over 45 people stopped by to check out the event!
While you may read this and think, “Why is she so hype for 45 people?) please know that for an inexpensive drop in program and a quieter than usual library, this was huge for us! In addition to my library regulars, some new faces stopped in and we got people signed up for library cards or they had their cards updated and then used them to check out books!
We advertised on Facebook,made flyers, through our calendar and word of mouth. I was very happy with the turnout, especially when one parent said she came because she saw the pictures we posted during the event on Facebook.
To create this program, we were lucky. A coworker has a Batman costume and agreed to wear it for the event. As Batman, he walked around and talked to the kids, took pictures with them and let us take silly pictures of him performing mundane library functions.
Using Pinterest (good ole Pinterest!) we created a bunch of activities because let’s face it, while Batman is awesome, his awesomeness can’t hold attentions for 90 minutes.
Activities included:
- Make your own comic book. (We used this template from the blog Growing By the Book)
- Superhero regisration and cuff making
- Coloring sheets.
- Superhero training which included
-an obstacle through the stacks (we used masking tape and jingle bells and the kids had to crawl through the “lasers” without touching a bell.
-crawling through an Ikea baby tunnel as fast as you can
-animal rescue (we set up puppets on cones and they were booby trapped with jingle bells)
-also included but not used, the Superhero challenge found here. - Tinkering (We have two Spheres that we borrowed from our county office that the kids could use since Batman creates gadgets)
- A villain scavenger hunt
- Batman (and other heroes!) books to check out
Will I do this again?
YES! Seriously, set-up for this program was easy!
What will I change?
Maybe make the obstacle courses a little more of a challenge. After a few times through a game of tag started and chaos erupted. I probably won’t make quite as many copies of things either. There were way too many left overs and while I can use them for other activities, it seemed like a waste.
I will probably change the date of the event. I swear I previously read that Batman Day was September 26th but I have since learned that Batman Day was moved to September 15th. There is an activity kit that I will be sure to use next time.
I may encourage kids to dress up for the event and parents too!
All in all this was a great afternoon and of course I started looking for other heroes.
Psst…Wonder Woman Day is June 3rd while Superman Day is June 12th. And although is Marvel and not D. C. Black Panther doesn’t have a day and debuted July 1966 but he’s so awesome that he can have a day when he fells like it.
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