By Eirene Janus and Pia Klaar

This is the first of three articles in our series about Teen Second Life. It lays the groundwork for the other two by describing a section of Second Life that may on the surface look very similar to the main grid but can be a rather 'Stranger in a Strange Land' experience for the adults who venture there.

Teen Second Life is a separate "grid" (or world) from the original "Main Grid", populated by teens between the ages of 13 and 17. Once they turn 18, teens are transported to the Main Grid along with their identities, inventories and land.

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Library organizations such as the Alliance Library System have had a virtual presence on the Teen Grid from the very beginning. Eye4YouAlliance was created in partnership with the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County and the Alliance Library System to give opportunities to teens to create and collaborate through library services offered in Second Life. Eye4You Alliance has been a place where teens can engage in events ranging from medieval tournaments, contests, college fairs, to programs sponsored by NASA or the Virtual Tech Museum.

Global Kids was the first educational organization to enter Teen Second Life, opening an island in March 2006 and creating a place for teens to learn about important social and world issues. Its main focus is to help teens become global citizens and community leaders. It hosted a digital media essay contest, created the SL version of the Save Darfur charity wristband campaign, and brought in a real world exhibit of photos created by students it worked with in Brooklyn, NY. In the summer of 2006, it held Camp GK, a four week intensive program where Teen Second Life residents engaged in workshops on foreign policy and human rights issues. In the Fall of 2006, it partnered with UNICEF to host the World Fit For Children Festival. In 2006, a real world machinima program, the Virtual Video Project, and a real-world gaming program, Playing 4 Keeps, both using TSL, were launched in New York City schools as after school programs. These projects were Global Kids' first uses of Teen Second Life with students in a face to face educational setting.

Since GK's entrance into TSL, many school districts have also established a niche on the Teen Grid with such teen sims as Ramapo, PacificRim and Skoolaborate. These are only a handful of the many sims that have been established on the teen grid that are sponsored by these educational and non-profit organizations.