A new hands-on library workspace has opened up for students or staff to take part in during their free time.

The new library workspace, headed by Amy Pine, library media specialist, was organized for students who come to the library with no schoolwork or assignments to do, so that they could do something “creative and critical” in their spare time.

“It has to do with motor skills, physics, creativity, basically stimulating the creative part of your brain, which I don’t think kids get a lot of opportunity [during] the school day because there is not a lot of free time,” Pine said.

In order to give students that creative stimulation, the workspace consists of a coloring station with bookmarks and a station with building blocks called KEVA planks. According to Pine, the KEVA blocks first caught her eye because “I saw the KEVA planks and thought, ‘I’d bet you if I put those out in the library here that kids would actually do something with them.”

The workspace has been drawing in students mainly during ninth period, according to Pine, but students with time during fourth period have been partaking in the coloring station as well.

“It’s kind of fun to color. I didn’t do it right away. I just didn’t have anything to do in my study hall, so I just grabbed it because everyone else at my table grabbed it,” said Angelika Popek, sophomore.

While some students have taken an interest in one part of the activity, students can also take part in other areas if they may not feel inclined towards the arts.

“The kids that have been getting really into building have been competing with each other, so it’s not been so much of a collaboration as it has been a couple of students building side by side to see whose tower can get taller,” said Pine about the KEVA planks station.

Some students who are interested in the KEVA planks have been putting on events and trying to outdo each other with their respective builds.

“The competitions are like who can build the coolest thing. We weren’t like actively trying to beat each other, but it was more so we were trying to show off our creativity and see who could make the best creation,” said Lukas Troutman, senior, about the planks.

The workspace is piquing interest in students throughout the day, and Pine is looking to introduce new projects to the student body.

“Hopefully in a couple of years after the library renovation, I’ll have a good idea what types of activities to put in a maker-type space, you know, what has garnered interest,” Pine said.

According to Pine, she is trying to make the library more interesting for people with new ideas and innovations she’s trying out.

“There are books–you know, I love books–and there’s research–research is awesome–but I don’t want that to be the only reason for students to come to the library,” Pine said. “Books are my favorite thing in the world, but that’s not the only reason people are going to libraries now, so I want to offer more to get people here.”