After a nearly three- year-COVID-19 shutdown, the Public Library of Mount Vernon & Knox County is reopening a program for teens this month.
It's called the Teen Makerspace, and it reopens Aug. 15 at the library, 201 North Mulberry St. in Mount Vernon.
"It's a place where teens can come relax, hang out and learn new skills that involve S.T.E.A.M., art, tech, gaming and science, as well as meeting new people," the library said on its website. "With many new additions since we were last open, we are sure you'll enjoy yourself when you come in."
Among the attractions is a three-dimensional printer, said Morgan Durfee, the library's head of teen services.
"We also have a really nice gaming PC so the kids can come in and experience video games," she told the Mount Vernon News.
There are wood-burning, button-making, slime-making, textiles and sewing and many more activities that go beyond the traditional role of a library as a place to just sit quietly and read a book.
On Aug. 29, the Makerspace will host a Harry Potter-themed event from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m..
"You come in and make a little cauldron with a bath-bomb in it to represent your Harry Potter house," Durfee said.
The teen program is held in the basement of the library so that young people can enjoy socializing without having to whisper.
"There's a carpet on the floor and nobody really around so we can have video games and board games and the kids can get a little loud," she said. "A lot of good friendships are made in the Makerspace."
Some of the friendships extend even after the kids are no longer kids, said Durfee.
"I have some kids who are now in their twenties and they will come back just to visit us," she said. "Some said they couldn't have made it through if it weren't for the Makerspace. That made me cry."
Once teens age out of the program, they are often followed by younger brothers and sisters, said Zane Atherton, a teen-services assistant at the library.
"The younger siblings will be pretty infatuated by the idea of the Makerspace from what they have heard about it from their older siblings," he said.
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