We currently plan the following activities and crafts for kids with
children's admissions or full attending memberships. Please make sure to check
back with us and at-con to find out about any schedule changes or additional
activities. Kids-in-tow are not eligible to participate in these activities.
Each item lists a recommended age-range for participation, but you
have the best knowledge of which activities will most interest your child. The
recommendations are intended to be guidelines, not to specify exclusions.
If you've got specific questions about any activities, or would like
to volunteer to help for an hour or two, please write to children@noreascon.org.
| Title |
Recommended Ages |
Program Participants |
Description |
| Alien Catcher
|
3–8 |
|
Using a toilet paper tube, fun foam and your
imagination make a fun game to capture a created alien. |
| Alien
Rubbings |
7–12 |
Jael |
With some inspiration from a master and using
crayons, paper, found objects and a little imagination, make creatures from
other worlds. |
| Alien World
Building |
7–12 |
Walter Hunt & Amy Thomson |
First, a discussion of alien environments and bodies.
Then everybody makes their own and describes it for the group. |
| AV Astronomy
Show |
7–12 |
Larry Lebosky |
Practice seeing the night sky and learn about the
wonders of the stars. |
| Bead a Necklace
|
3–6 |
|
We'll use elastic string and large beads to string a
fun necklace. |
| Beady Familiars |
7–12 |
Persis Thorndike |
Owls, cats, rats, toads; come bead a familiar key
chain for your backpack. |
| Belly
Dancing |
3–6 |
Karen Purcell |
Learn the basic moves appropriate for little bodies
to start belly dancing. |
| 7–12 |
An introduction to belly dancing. |
| Best Filk Songs
For Kids |
7–12 |
Denise Gendron, Bill Sutton & Mark
Mandel |
Hear them from some of the best filkers at WorldCon;
learn the choruses and sing along! |
| Bingo Make and Play
|
3–6 |
|
Everyone gets a blank bingo card and 25 stickers to
put on their grid. We'll play as many games of Bingo as interest holds and then
have fun with the leftover stickers. |
| Blowing Bubbles |
7–12 |
Bob Kanefsky |
|
| Bug-Eyed Monsters
from Outer Space |
7–12 |
Susan de Guardiola |
Make your own little fuzzy Bug-Eyed Monster to take
home! Pick your colors, add your eyes, and give it a name with Noreascon's own
Fuzzy BEM specialist. |
| Capes |
3–6 |
|
Fabric and imagination to create your own cape with
no sewing required. |
| Care &
Feeding of Mythical Creatures |
7–12 |
Karen Purcell, DVM |
Talk with a fannish vet about the various creatures
in your care, or those you would like to have. |
| Cartoon Drawing:
Slide Show and Demo |
|
Joe Bergeron |
Learn about cartooning from one of the best fannish
cartoonists. |
| CD Ring Planet
|
4–8 |
|
Create a planet to hang at home with Styrofoam
balls, a CD and your creative imagination with other miscellaneous supplies.
|
| Challenges |
7–12 |
Persis Thorndike |
|
| Children's
Dance |
2–12 |
|
with DJ Sue Schroeder. |
| Daggers and
Shields and Swords, Oh My! |
7–12 |
Higgins Armory Sword Guild |
Have at you! Witness the subtle skills of attack,
parry, and grapple, as the combat arts of the sword and buckler, dagger,
longsword, and smallsword are brought to life from forgotten manuals in this
presentation. |
| Discworld from a
Child's Eye View |
7–12 |
Terry Pratchett & Dave Weingart |
Examine childhood life in Ankh-Mohrpork or another
fantasy world...how would it differ from what you know now? What do you think
would be the same?
Adults MUST be accompanied by a child to attend this
program item. |
| Draw a Story
|
4–12 |
|
Tell a story, simple or complex, using only pictures
that you have created. |
| Drawing and Painting |
3–6 |
Don Maitz |
Talk about making a cover picture for your favorite
story. Then color it to take home. |
| 7–12 |
Hands On: Try your hand at creating
an original cover for your favorite book. |
| Dungeons
& Dragons |
12 and under |
Arthur Shattan |
Session 1: Rolling your character |
| Session 2: Beginning the Adventure |
| Edible
Necklace |
1–5 |
|
Need a snack between activities? We'll make one
using low-sugar snacks and plastic lacing. |
| First
Contact |
7–12 |
Matthew Jarpe |
|
| Games and
Crafts during the Hugos |
7–12 |
Randy Hoffman & Persis
Thorndike |
This session will end immediately following the Hugo
Ceremony 's end |
| Games and Crafts during the
Masquerade |
7–12 |
Randy Hoffman, Ailsa Ek & Steven
Chalker |
This session will end immediately following the end
of the Masquerade |
| Geometric
Aliens |
2–6 |
|
Fun foam, wiggle eyes, glue and you. What will be
created? Come and see! |
| Geometric Origami |
7–12 |
Jenny Mosely & Elsa
Chen |
Learn origami with a master origamist.
Jenny specializes in geometric shapes rather than animals and has been a GOH at
a Japanese origami convention. |
| Harry Potter LARP
|
7–12 |
|
Limit 20
Live action role play with your favorite
Harry Potter characters. Snape will test your potions knowledge, the Sorting
Hat will sort the players, and who will face the beasts in Defense Against the
Dark Arts? |
| Have Wand, Will
Travel |
7–12 |
Bill Brang |
Magic Show, especially for kids… |
| Hogwarts
Graduation Day |
7–12 |
|
Scavenger Hunt Judging.
Feedback time: How'd We
Do? Any suggestions for next time? |
| Hover
Disk Games |
(x-y) |
Steve Chalker |
Don't know what a Hover Disc is? Come and
find out; you'll be hooked |
| 7–12 |
| How to Defend
Yourself Against Alien Invaders (2 hours) |
7–12 |
Keith Kato |
Self defense techniques. Wear comfortable clothing
|
| How to Draw
Beasties |
7–12 |
Omar Raayan |
|
| How to Look at
the Sky |
7–12 |
Carolyn Collins Petersen |
Astronomy tips from one of the writers for Sky
& Telescope. |
| Humorous
Stories |
7–12 |
Don Sakers |
|
| Improv Workshop |
7–12 |
Michael McAfee |
Acting out, with other future actors. |
| Instant
Costuming |
7–12 |
Thomas Atkinson & Ming Diaz |
Create your own costume with the help of expert
costumers! Then wear it to the Time Travel Dance right after this panel. |
| Joke Workshop |
7–12 |
John Zakour |
|
| Junk Yard
Aliens |
7–12 |
Persis Thorndike |
Take the craft materials left from five days of
activities, and see what you come up with. |
| Kid Filk |
1–6 |
|
Songs for the young to tickle their silly bones.
We'll try to focus on echo songs and songs with fun actions. |
| Kids Next
Door: In Space |
7–12 |
Bill Higgins & Jordin Kare |
Let's build a space station and decide what the
different parts will be. What will the crew do? What science makes it run? From
those decisions, what stories might take place on it? Science leads directly to
storytelling: if you have solar sails, how do you repair them if they are torn?
If you lose gravity, what would happen to the crew? |
| Kinderfilk |
1–6 |
Kate Gladstone |
Songs for the young to tickle their silly
bones. Come learn some new echo songs |
| Mark Mandel |
| Mary Miller |
| Kitchen
Science |
2–7 |
|
Fun with things from the kitchen and some
explanations on how they work. |
| Leaf
Creatures |
3–6 |
|
Leaf rubbings and some creativity will turn some
ordinary silk leaves into works of art. |
| Liquid Nitrogen
Ice Cream for Kids |
7–12 |
John Pomeranz & Kathie Overton |
Ever wonder how fast you can freeze ice cream? Find
out when we use a not so ordinary method to make a creamy treat. Taste the
results!! |
| LOTR Book
Discussion |
7–12 |
Dave Weingart |
Participate in a lively discussion about the LOTR
books. Dave will be introducing the characters as they are in the book, perhaps
discussing the difference between having a position by Merit versus by Blood,
and what would it be like to live in Middle-Earth. Come bring your own ideas.
|
| LOTR: Now
You've Seen the Movie… |
7–12 |
jan howard finder |
Tolkein fan and movie buff jan howard finder went to
New Zealand to see the movie set, and now has much to say about it. |
| Magic Show |
2-6 |
Daniel Dern |
|
| 7–12 |
| Magic Wands |
2–12 |
|
Turn a chopstick into a magic wand to bring your
imagination to life. |
| Magnetic Bookmarks |
5–8 |
|
Stopping in the middle of a page can be so confusing
when you get back to reading. Create a fun paper bookmark that will mark the
line to start reading again. |
| Make Your Own
Journal |
4–7 |
|
Want to remember the special things about Noreascon
4? This fun journal will give you place to write, draw, or put a picture to
keep those memories forever. |
| Mars or Bust |
7–12 |
Steve Hammond |
An elementary school-level look at Mars; What is Mars
like and why would we go there? What are we looking for? How do we get there?
These questions are discussed with pictures, video and a 3-D look at the
Spirit and Opportunity missions. |
|
Mask-Making |
7–12 |
Ming Diaz |
Make a mask. Then tell us the story behind it. |
| Masks |
2–8 |
|
What costume would be complete or improved with a
colorful mask? Come glue, stick and create a fun mask to wear. |
| Model Magic
Sculpture |
1–12 |
|
Model Magic is an air–drying clay that can be
colored using magic markers. We'll have a different theme each day for you to
start your creation from. |
| Movie Critic
for a Day |
7–12 |
Dan Kimmel |
Have an opinion on the movies geared towards kids
these days? Have a big favorite? Voice your opinions with a professional movie
critic, and hear what he has to say. |
| Movies |
1–8 |
|
Movie schedule will be posted outside of Beacon A.
|
| Moving to
Music |
1–7 |
|
Clap and sing to the music of Jim Cosgrove, a Kansas
City children's folk singer. |
| Musical
Instruments From Things You Can Find at Home |
7–12 |
Persis Thorndike |
Let's make an orchestra! Coffee cans, oatmeal boxes,
toilet paper tubes, combs…take some paper and markers to decorate, then
we'll play. |
| Open Playtime |
1-6 |
|
We will have tunnels, balls, blocks and other toys
out for the kids under 6 to play with. |
| Origami |
7–12 |
Mark Leeper |
Create shapes and animals using Japanese folded paper
techniques. Learn the basic folds and see what you can create. |
| Origami for the
Young |
4–6 |
|
Origami with big sheets of fun paper and a few
simple folds. |
| Out of the Box
Games |
7–12 |
Persis Thorndike |
|
| Paper Cutting
and Folding |
7–12 |
Persis Thorndike |
Ever wonder how a few snips and folds can turn a flat
piece of paper into a 3-D pop-up? This panel will teach you how to make a
lantern and a pop-up card. |
| Pencil
Holder |
5–10 |
|
Toilet paper tubes and cardboard make the basic
structure for this fun craft. You make it personal. |
| Pictionary! |
7–12 |
Teddy Harvia |
|
| Playground
Games |
4–7 |
|
Play basic rule games in a more organized manner than
open playtime (Duck, Duck, Goose; Animal Tag; Simon Says, etc.) |
| Poly Shrink Pins
|
7–12 |
Elizabeth James |
Design and make a pin with the instruction of an
expert. |
| Polymer
Dragons |
7–12 |
Robin Trei |
Learn how to make your own dragon from polymer clay
in this hands-on session. We will bake your critter after the session, so that
you can pick it up on Saturday. Limit 25. |
| Postcard to a
Friend |
2–12 |
|
Everyone loves getting a postcard from someone far
away. Make one to send to a friend back home. |
| Rapier Making |
7–12 |
Persis Thorndike |
Make and decorate the sword you'll use in the sword
play hour coming up next. |
| Reading |
7–12 |
Kathleen Kudlinski |
|
| The Real Lord of
the Rings: Exploring Saturn |
7–12 |
Steve Hammond |
After a seven-year journey to Saturn, the Cassini
probe has finally arrived. We'll take the kids on a field trip and join Cassini
for a look at Saturn and the weirdness in some of its 31 moons. We'll conclude
with a video preview of the Christmas day landing on Saturn's largest moon,
Titan. |
| Riddles in the
Dark |
7–12 |
jan howard finder |
Reading from The Hobbit. |
|
|
|
|
| Rocks for kids
|
3–10 |
|
Learn about and handle some of the precious stones
that go into making beautiful jewelry from someone who knows. |
| Roman Legionary
and Gothic Knight |
7–12 |
Higgins Armory Sword Guild |
The Romans conquered the known world two thousand
years ago.
The knight was the most powerful force on the battlefield five
hundred years ago. Each wore plate armor and carried a sword, a spear, and a
dagger, but they were very different.
Come hear a Legionary and Knight
explain their equipment and how they fought, and try to guess what would happen
if they were to face each other in battle. |
| Rounds Singing |
7–12 |
Lois Mangan |
|
| Science &
Technology |
7–12 |
Brenda Cooper |
Discussion of what's here and what's to come in the
(maybe not so distant) future. |
| Shrinky
Dinks |
4–12 |
|
Wonderful plastic you can color and then shrink into
a permanent piece of jewelry. |
| Sign Language from
Planet ZOOG |
7–12 |
Geary Gravel |
Aliens might not look like us or sound like us. How
would we communicate face-to-face? Learn some ASL signs that might help you
out. |
| So You
Want to be a Rocket Scientist? De-Mystifying Relativity |
7–12 |
G. David Nordley & Carl Frederick
|
The universe is a big, exciting place (at least
scientifically speaking). Come share the thrill of it with other science-types.
|
| Stamping |
1–12 |
|
Stamping is so much fun. Paper and creativity will
help you make a great card, stationary, or bookmark to take home with you.
|
| Staying Safe on
the Net |
7–12 |
James Turner |
Let's go surfing now, everybody's learning how,
follow all the links with me! The Net can be a wild ride! Let's learn
how to enjoy it while keeping private things private. |
| Stories in
the Stars |
7–12 |
Steve Hammond |
Every culture has put its stories into the stars.
Come explore the night sky through stories from different cultures, pictures of
the constellations and the wonders within them. |
| Storyboarding
|
7–12 |
Ruth Sanderson |
Ever wondered how to write and illustrate your own
story? Ruth Sanderson will show you how. |
| Storytelling
|
7–12 |
David Kopaska Merkel |
|
| Story Time
|
1–6 |
|
Listen to some fun tales. |
| Stump the
Scientists |
7–12 |
Michael Burstein, Isaac Szpindel &
Bridget Coila |
We know you're smart. Here's a
chance to test your skills against our panelists. Bring your questions and quiz
these specialists. |
| Swordplay |
7–12 |
Melanie Fletcher |
Learn some of the moves that make swashbuckling
movies so great with a SWFA musketeer |
| Tea with Tammy
|
7–12 |
Tamora Pierce |
Come talk with popular YA author about her books, her
ideas, recording with Full Cast Audio… |
| Time Travel
Dance |
7–12 |
Susan de Guardiola |
Bring your time machine and dancing feet! Costumes
encouraged. Wear your favorite costume or one you've just made, and dance from
the Renaissance to the Present… |
| Video Games and
Science Fiction: A Discussion |
7–12 |
Michael Gilmartin |
|
| Visual
Storytelling; Creating Comics |
7–12 |
Colleen Duran |
A hands-on introduction to creating your own comics.
|
| WETA for Kids |
7–12 |
Norman Cates |
|
| What's in a
Name? |
7–12 |
Ruth Sanderson |
How do names relate to the stories being told about
them? Or do the names tell the story? |
| What's Next After
Harry Potter? Reading for Pleasure |
7–12 |
Susan de Guardiola |
Discuss your favorite books with our panelists.
What's your favorite book this year? Come share your thoughts about your
favorite books. Create a Top 20 Kids Favorite Books List. |
| Wizard/Princess Hat
|
2–6 |
|
Cut out and decorate a cone-shaped hat to pretend
with or to start your design of a new costume idea. |
| Write a Story
|
4–7 |
|
Everyone has a story running around inside them.
Here's the time to bring it out. |
| Writing Workshop |
7–12 |
Elizabeth Bear |
|
| YA Books: A Round
Table |
7–12 |
Tamora Pierce & Sharyn November
|
Come tell an author and editor what you like—and
don't like—about "Young Adult" books. What sorts of things that you're not
finding in those books would you be interested in seeing? |
| Yarn Bug |
4–8 |
|
Yarn, wiggle eyes and a lot of wrapping will help
build up these funny creatures. |