Children, technology take center stage at Rostraver library open house
Evan Sanders
Haley Clark, 10, of Carroll Township, plays on a makeshift piano keys through a computer application with Rostraver resident Tina Ruozzi, during an open house held at the Rostraver Public Library on Tuesday.
Evan Sanders
Maria Stump, 7, of Rostraver communicates with a Dash toy robot, which teaches children how to code, during an open house held at the Rostraver Public Library on Tuesday.
Haley Clark (center), 10, of Carroll Township, plays on make shift piano keys through a computer application during an open house held at the Rostraver Public Library on Tuesday, January 10, 2017.
Haley Clark (right), 10, of Carroll Township, runs through an application demonstration for Rostraver Township Commissioner Gary Beck (left) and Jeff Yoskosky (center) during an open house held at the Rostraver Public Library on Tuesday, January 10, 2017.
Marie Stump watches in amazement as Dash lives up to its name, the mini spherical robot dashing across the floor of the book room in the Rostraver Public Library, converted into a maker space.
“It was really, really cool,” the 7-year-old girl exclaims joyfully after watching a demonstration.
“I liked when it looked at me. I thought it was my friend.”
The Dot and Dash toy robot technology, on loan from the Westmoreland Library Network, was on display during an open house Tuesday evening at the Rostraver Public Library. While it was on display for the public, the children were especially enjoying the technology and becoming enthralled in it.
Haley Clark, 10, used a tablet to program the Dash robot to move across the room.
“It’s kind of cool,” Haley said. “I like it. I feel like I have some power over it.”
Haley, a fourth-grade student at Ringgold Elementary School South, said she hopes to be an artist, like her mother, but she sees how programs like the one she experimented with Tuesday night could help her create art.
Tina Ruozzi, who teaches first grade in the Mount Pleasant School District, said second grade students in Southmoreland recently presented a demonstration on how to use MaKey MaKey to her students.
MaKey MaKey is a program which create circuit boards programmed to create mechanical functions.
Her niece, Dionne Ruozzi, 16, a sophomore at Belle Vernon Area High School, used LittleBits to create a vehicle.
“It’s fun and educational,” said Dionne, who hopes to go into orthopedics. “I take a medical STEM class.”
While the open house was held to introduce the public to Naomi Cross, who assumed the position of library director Nov. 7, it showcased the high tech innovations at the library.
“The event is all about the kids and the community in general,” Cross said. “We hope to get some of the adults to play with these. I caught some of my staff trying them out — on camera.
“They’re addicting — people want to see how they work.”
The reviews of the library were favorable too.
Lauren Spang, fifth-grade language arts teacher at Rostraver Elementary School, and Carol Frow, Belle Vernon Area Middle School English teacher, discussed with Cross the possibility of showcasing student work at the library.
Frow said they obtained a grant from McDonald’s for a student-led local history research project.
“With our students writing, it’s not just for the teachers,” Frow said. “The public could see the amazing things they write.”
Kelly Yoskosky, children and adult program coordinator, showcased the Play-K area of the library. With everything from puppets to Lincoln logs and play food toys, pre-school students prepare for kindergarten.
“It’s just as important for them to play,” Yoskosky said. “The state says we have to prepare kids for kindergarten.”