Program: Sharpie Tie-Dye

This is going to be a very short recap because I'm pretty sure I might be the last youth librarian on the planet to run a Sharpie tie-dye program. I decided to do this as a tween program during spring break and it was quite a success. Over 30 kids came (and they all brought their own t-shirts!) and made some awesome Sharpie designs. For those who don't know, it's really simple: you take a plain white shirt, stretch part of it over a plastic cup or cardboard (depending on how much area you want to work with at one time, or what you have better access to), draw whatever design you want in Sharpie, and then drip rubbing alcohol over your design. The alcohol will cause the Sharpie ink to bleed and run, creating a tie-dye-like effect. It's simple and fun and low-cost, plus it's easy to accommodate a large number of kids at one time. I gave a quick demonstration at the start of the program and they all worked quietly and intently on their own for the next hour, only asking me for refills of the rubbing alcohol (we used dropper bottles for better control). They all had fun, and they came up with some great designs. Definitely a program I'd repeat in the future!