At exactly 4:17 p.m. Wednesday, about 15 future CIA agents got their mug shots taken. They received a sealed package of instructions preparing them for their induction into the NBI – North Branch Informants. They then embarked on a rigorous training course during which they deciphered codes, mastered the art of invisible ink and “destroyed secret messages by eating them.”
Spy School was officially in session.
For one hour, the North Branch of the Evanston Public Library transformed itself into Spy School 101, an elite training academy for local students in fifth through eighth grades. This is the first program at the North Branch targeting the middle school age range by supplying them with interactive educational activities.
“This program was created to bring boys into the library,” said librarian Ginger Jusko, a.k.a. Agent G. “I think it’s great to get them to come to the library after school instead of just going home and going on the Internet, because this way they can interact with the library staff and with each other.”
The main attraction was an edible paper station run by a man dressed in a black trench coat, whom the librarians called “Detective Dan.”
Dan Schwarzlose placed three different papers in front of the children, each with the same picture of a crow. He explained that although the papers all looked the same, they each had their own flavor. He let each child take a bite of each paper and guess what flavor it was.
“It tastes like orange … no, strawberry … um, lollipop?” responded one skinny boy.
“Close,” Schwarzlose said. “It’s bubble gum.”
The boys laugh and ask for another one.
“When (the kids) try it, they like it,” Schwarzlose said. “It’s just that they have never done anything like this before.”
Schwarzlose is a Northwestern alumnus who currently works with chef Homaro Cantu. Cantu, owner of Moto Restaurant in Chicago, is a “molecular gastronomer” who mixes culinary arts with science to make unique new tastes. One of his inventions was edible ink and edible paper, which he uses for the edible menu at Moto.
Librarians said the edible paper interested them so much that they created the Spy School to introduce it to children.
Other exhibits included code-breaking cipher wheels, writing secret messages with lemon juice, making coded bookmarks to pass secret messages, hiding messages in “dead drop” books and other language puzzles.
The students also became more acquainted with the library, as the last step of Spy School was to check out a spy-related book.
Lisa Coveliers brought her two sons and their friend to Spy School.
“It’s good to see them do something experimental,” Coveliers said. “They’re doing something they’ve never done before, like eating paper, and it is very exciting to try these new things. I like that they come to the library and instead of sitting down and reading a book, they are using their senses.”
Her 8-year-old son Josh nodded shyly when asked if he had a good time.
“My favorite part is that you can make paper that you can eat and has different flavors,” Coveliers said. “My favorite flavor is cotton candy.”
Willard Elementary School students Madison Carmichael and Stephanie Sheikh saw practical uses from the activities at Spy School.
“My favorite part was making bookmarks with secret code because we do a lot of reading at school, and now we can pass notes on our bookmark,” Sheikh said.
