The Teen Center Creative Lab at Richland Library Main is available to teens age 12-18. We offer state-of-the-art creative technologies, including 3D printers, a sound recording booth, Macs and PCs with access to Adobe Creative Suite software, iPads and Windows tablets, and mobile ready-animator stations that allow for the creation of stop-motion animation videos. Along with these high-tech creative pieces, the Creative Lab offers access to more traditional creative tools – art supplies (crayons, markers, pencils, paper, etc.) are kept stocked and available in our cabinets – our teens don’t even have to ask!

We support active learning by encouraging our teens to find their own way with these resources. We leave the materials available and staff is on-hand to assist teens with any questions they may have. We offer support and encourage teens to explore these resources and let their imaginations inform their creations. In addition to this free-form atmosphere, we offer more structured camps and programs. This past year, we have taught classes on 3D printing, coding, entrepreneurship, video game creation, film editing, photo editing, and storytelling through stop motion animation. With these programs, we have opened up a world of possibilities for our teens.

Our Creative Lab has brought about a better understanding among teens of the technologies available to them today, leaving them eager to experience and interact with these tools and to imagine the future technologies of tomorrow. Thanks to our helpful staff and programming, teens in Richland County have had hands-on learning experiences with technologies that they would not have encountered elsewhere and now have the capabilities to create exciting new opportunities for themselves and their community. Our staff have attended conferences, trainings, and worked with partners to acquire skills that we pass on daily through one-on-one teaching moments with our teens. We have taken these skills and the library resources ‘on the road,’ reaching out to schools, community partners, and the community has a whole. 

After being open for less than one year, we have seen an increase in program attendance, and increase in the number of programs offered for teens, and more teens using the library’s creative resources and creating and exploring on their own. Our maker space has blossomed into a safe-space where teens can learn, explore, engage, and acquire skills with state-of-the-art technologies and access a brighter future: www.richlandlibrary.com/check-it-out/teens.