Kids and Teens at Arisia 2021
Arisia is just as much a convention for kids and teens as any other age group. That said, this year’s Arisia is a little different from usual because of its online format. Associated adults for these young fans should make sure to read our Youth Policies and Code of Conduct and also the rest of this page!
Discord, Zoom, Gaming, and Arisia’s Virtual Convention Site
This year’s Arisia will have its own Virtual Arisia site, which our Remote team is designing, but a lot of Arisia events will happen through third-party apps, especially Discord and Zoom. Unfortunately, Discord’s Terms of Service require that users be at least 13 years old to have an account.
Here’s what this means for kids at Arisia:
- Fast Track programming will not use Discord. We will make sure to use Zoom, Minecraft, and other kid-friendly platforms, including for the Tween (ages 9-12) Lounge.
- This year’s Teen Lounge really will be restricted to teens (ages 13-19) because it will be in Discord, though teens and tweens are welcome to hang out together in other parts of the con.
- Older attendees are welcome to let Fast Track family members look on or participate in a Discord-based activity with them at their discretion; we just can’t give Fast Track attendees Discord accounts of their own, and attendees with Child/12 and Under memberships will not be able to connect their accounts to the Arisia Discord.
- We particularly encourage families to participate together in the new Space Cats puzzle game from Green Door Labs that will be happening on Discord throughout the convention. The game is meant to be played in small groups with people of all ages and would be a great way to include younger family members while honoring Discord’s Terms of Service.
Finding Kid-Friendly Events and Activities
Arisia's Kids' program, known as Fast Track, is designed as a con-within-a-con for our younger fen (ages 6-12). With a purchased registration, they have access to a wide variety of program items. See the Fast Track page for more details. We welcome teen volunteers!
This year, Fast Track activities will be distributed throughout the con: games in Gaming, workshops and discussions in Programming, and so on. Fast Track activities will each be marked with this icon:
Also, some all-ages panels, games, and activities that are not Fast Track will actively welcome kids and teens. Activities where this is the case will be marked with this icon: .
Tween Lounge (Meeting space for ages 9-12)
This year’s Tween Lounge will happen as a breakout room in the Zoom social space. This is a space for older kids to hang out, play games, and generally relax and have fun.
Teen Lounge (Meeting space for ages 13-19)
This year’s Teen Lounge will happen in Discord and is a space for teens only; it is run by teens, for teens. The Teen Lounge can be used to hang out, meet other teens, play games, and generally relax and have fun over the course of the con in a safe, comfortable space.
All members are asked to respect the rules posted in Teen Lounge, for the enjoyment of all the teen members. Teen Lounge is staffed by at least one teen volunteer at all times. For more information on Teen Lounge, please contact @email.