The digital age has spawned an exciting new wave of creativity.
But what if you have a creative spark, great new ideas, or just a desire to muck around with new technology and tools, but you don含羞草研究社檛 have the hardware, the software, or the wherewithal to indulge your digital muse?
The at Kelowna branch is for you!
The space is built to encourage STEAM programming 含羞草研究社� Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math 含羞草研究社� and help creators do what they do best: create.
You含羞草研究社檒l find a 3D printer, a Cricut vinyl cutter, Dobot Robotic Arm, Sphero Robots, the full Adobe creative suite, a recording studio, video capability and more.
含羞草研究社淲e含羞草研究社檙e at the unique intersection of the cultural district and the tech centre of Kelowna,含羞草研究社� said Christopher Stephenson, the branch含羞草研究社檚 head librarian. 含羞草研究社淭here are a lot of talented people and mentors standing by to share their expertise and help the community learn new skills together.含羞草研究社�
The library already runs engineering and coding clubs for preteens and teens. Club members with an interest and an aptitude can book the space and explore the tools on their own or with their group. 含羞草研究社淭hat leads to new hobbies and might lead in a different direction of future study,含羞草研究社� Stephenson said. 含羞草研究社淲e hope to be a feeder location for some of the great programs that happen at the college level.含羞草研究社�
Building community connections
The library is building connections among existing arts groups, Women in Trades, First Nations, schools and homeschool associations. With the B.C. educational curriculum updated to include design thinking, the Makerspace can complement what schools are doing. And while it sounds like something for technologically advanced young people, Stephenson said it含羞草研究社檚 an extension of the existing role of public libraries 含羞草研究社� to make information available to everyone.
含羞草研究社淎s the world gets more complex, we have young kids all the way up to seniors who may be falling behind with technology, but still need to function in the world. We含羞草研究社檙e there to help bring people up to speed,含羞草研究社� he said.
If you want to see the Makerspace in action, and experiment with the possibilities, the library offers public open hours on Wednesday nights and Saturdays. There will be some training available.
含羞草研究社淲e含羞草研究社檒l offer some basic training. Once you develop the aptitudes, we含羞草研究社檒l allow people to come and play and explore,含羞草研究社� Stephenson said.
含羞草研究社淭he page hasn含羞草研究社檛 been written yet for what the Makerspace will become,含羞草研究社� he said. 含羞草研究社淚t really depends on the unique needs and desires of the community, so that含羞草研究社檚 what we含羞草研究社檙e interested in hearing.含羞草研究社�
