I had the priviledge of attending ALA's Midwinter meeting in Seattle January 25-29.  I had an amazing time and enjoyed every minute of every meeting, presentation, and discussion.

Directly across from my hotel was a store that caught my eye for obvious reasons-- Marbles: The Brain Store. I just had to investigate and was not disappointed by what I found. Every game, activity, and puzzle you can imagine graced the shelves. I spent way too much time browsing, playing, and struggling through several of the displayed games. I looked up their website as soon as I got back to my room and thought it would be great to share.  

I can envision a library space with a sign saying something like --"Brain Health Center: Exercise Yours Every Day!" Fun games, puzzles, and stimulating activities would be laid out for mid-lifers (and others) to "play" with...and exercise their brains. Have an old chess or checker board in a closet somewhere? Put that out too! Even libraries with limited budgets could find a way to incoporate this idea I think! Give it a try and if you do, please share your story!

Some of my favorites from Marbles were: 

• Splicketly Lit - This game will wip your flig....get it?
• Mustache Game (3 versions available and only $5.99!)
• The Daily Perpetual Brain Calendar - 365 days of fun puzzlers...
• Become A Word Wonder - designed to build vocabulary and work that brain!