Pokémon Go Library Party Ideas “We did a PokeWalk around our branch last summer. We gathered at the library then went for 45 min or so walk around the area hunting for Pokémon. We returned to the library for snacks and a few Pokémon themed prizes. It was really low-key, but we had a good turn out and everyone seemed to have a good time.” - Jenn McCarty – Reference Librarian – Ellis Library <https://ontarianlibrarian.com/2016/07/14/pokemon-scavenger-hunt-in-the-libr ary/> https://ontarianlibrarian.com/2016/07/14/pokemon-scavenger-hunt-in-the-libra ry/ “Last summer I and a coworker did 2 Pokémon Go parties, one in June and one in October. The one in June worked out really nicely; we had about 100 people attend. We had the event go for about 4 hours in a meeting room that was partitioned, one side of the room you could watch the very 1st Pokémon movie ever made (It’s called Pokémon: the Movie) and on the other we had crafts and coloring (I will attached one of the paper crafts for you). There were several different choices for paper crafts- one was having them create a badge for their team (Instinct, Mystic, or Valor) using cardstock and pin backings from Michaels. The other craft was to create 3D Pokémon. I also had lures going up in the game near the library during the event so we could gain more people. I created a map that showed all the Pokéstops in the library and the park behind the library as well. Finally we had a scavenger hunt going on in the Youth Room. I created a sheet (see attached) with Pokémon Shadows on it. To gain the prize they had to locate each Pokémon in the youth room that corresponded to each shadow and write down the Pokémon’s name that would be found underneath the Pokémon picture. We managed to get many people from all age group to participate in the June one. As for the October one, due to rain and school, we did not get nearly as many people. My suggestions after doing both programs would be to make sure there are activities that people who do not own a device (iPod, iPhone, tablet, etc.) can participate, limit it to about 2 hours max (we went for 3 hours the first time and after 1.5 hours we had less people showing up). Let me know if you have any questions. (Some of these activities may work for you some might not). Best of luck with your program!” - Shannon O'Leary – Novi Public Libraries “In the children's room we did not have a Pokémon go party, although it does sound like a good idea since we have two pokestops close by. We did however has this Pokémon search and find in the library. They would find images of Pokémon scattered around in the library with a number on it and would write down the name of that Pokémon on a special slip of paper. If they got it all correct they could have 2-3 small Pokémon figurines. They are small cheap little things you can get on eBay or amazon for about $10-$20 or so and have about several hundred. And the kids loved them. I don't know if it helps but hopefully it might just give a fun activity for them for the party.” - Kaisha Simpson – Albion Library “When Pokémon Go came out last summer we took advantage of the craze by hiding stuffed Pokémon in our youth department. We told parents that it was the low tech version of Pokémon Go. Kids actually really liked it, even the older kids (12 years and under). One boy even brought us another Pokémon so that we could hide more. Each week we changed their location. There were some kids who came in each week and the first thing they had to do was find the Pokémon. We have not tried any programs for the older kids.” - Brenda Dunseth – Highland Township Public Library “We did a Tween/Teen night last year. We made Pokémon balls using this tutorial. Had Pokémon cookies (similar to these copied from Pinterest), and I had a local map around the library that we went on a hunt. One of our kids put out a lure too. “ <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF-MDJ3TCVk> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF-MDJ3TCVk - Shanni Ker – Ionia Community Library “I helped plan an event, but it was carried out by colleagues at two other branches. The basic idea was to create a path through the surrounding area within walkable distance that has landmarks designated as pokestops. In one location there was a garden behind a church that was beautifully landscaped that had pokestops at three of the Stations of the Cross statues. There was also the historic train depot that is currently used as an administrative office. Basically, we had them lead the participants through the main areas of town where there was a lot of Pokémon spawns but also beautiful/historic/scenic places to which they might not normally have paid attention. Also the library bought lures which they places at the pokestop of the two libraries in question and the stops closest to each library for when the walk concluded. I hope that helps. If you have any other questions feel free to ask me. I am still an avid Pokémon Go'er.” - Alger C. Newberry – Grand Blanc-McFarlen “I ended up doing a Pokémon Go Party last September, and it was pretty successful. I ended up just creating crafts and games that were Pokémon-themed, but not specifically Pokémon Go. I did tie them into the app, though. An example was that I made a Pokémon Toss game, where I decorated shoeboxes to look like Pokémon, and painted Ping-Pong balls to look like Pokéballs. They then threw the Ping-Pong Pokéballs, trying to get them into the Pokémon shoeboxes. It was to "practice their Pokémon catching skills" that they use in the app. Otherwise, I went a little old-school, and used a button maker to create "Gym Badges". I don't believe these are in the app, but they are definitely prominent in the Pokémon world. Anyone who was able to battle a gym in the Pokémon Go app and prove to me that they were in the gym's rankings would earn a gym badge. This worked well, considering my library was a gym. I really wanted my party to appeal to everyone - even those that didn't have phones or the app. So my program focused more on the Pokémon aspect, with the Go app thrown in occasionally - like with the Gym Badges. This allowed everyone who came by to participate. Best of luck to you, and I hope this helped!” - Storm Boyer – Capital Area District Library – Haslett Branch “Hi! I'm the teen librarian at the Shelby Township Library. I host seasonal Pokémon programs where the kids and teens can play any version of the game, hang out, and play with one another. It lasts for an hour (although it could be longer), averages about 20-30 kids and some parents and the events averages around $65 for prizes and refreshments. We give away door prizes of trading card packs, which are popular for our community; a lot of younger kids have the card games, and teens tend to have cards and/or handheld games. Last summer we hosted a Pokémon GO park crawl with the parks and rec department, offered pizza, went to three parks on a bus, and went to the nature center for a shadow scavenger hunt. At my most recent event, I made a small sign with shadows of 6 different Pokémon, and the kids had to correctly guess 5 to get a button that we made with our button maker, or have their team controlling the library's Pokémon GO gym, show they had collected all the gym badges in their handheld game, or have a starter Pokémon on one of their cards. If you have enough staff, you could incorporate a walk in the neighborhood and have the kids playing the card game and handheld games hang behind. You can also have them vote for their favorite team with jars and marbles or another token type thing. The kids are happy enough to get a chance to hang out and play at my events, although another library nearby has tournaments with the card games. It depends on the atmosphere you want to have at your event, you can make it as big or casual as you want.” - Jennifer Sunderhaus – Shelby Township Library