Get ready to tinker, create, build and innovate!

Rust Library has the distinction of housing the A.V. Symington Teen Center with its recently opened Makerspace. The space has been designed for and by middle and high school students. There you will find thousands of books, 24 computers, gaming systems with wide-screen TVs, 2 Macs and board games. The Teen Center is meant to be a place for teens to gather and be creative, play games, hang out, study and read.

The Makerspace extends the opportunities for fun and creativity and exploring at the Teen Center. It’s open during regular hours and can be used for free. Some small fees may apply for supplies or printing. The Makerspace now features:

• 3D printer
• 3D carving machine
• sewing machines (also serger and embroidery)
• coding gadgets (Mindstorm, Sphero, Arduino, Raspberry Pi)
• digitization equipment (VHS-to-DVD)
• heat press
• microscope

The Teen Center kindly offered to bring here to the Academies of Loudoun for two days this week some items from their Maker Space, and the students enjoyed the opportunity to play and create.

Besides the Makerspace activities, there are other reasons that might draw you to visit Rust Library. The Teen Center also has a number of programs aimed at teens that focus on creativity, academic enrichment, arts and culture and STEM, including:

• Book Club
• Writing Club
• Teen Advisory Board
• Anime Club
• Movie events
• “It’s All Write” short story contest
• Summer Reading
• Film Festival
• AnimeCon
• Teen Read Week
• Teen Tech Week
• Photography class
• Dance workshops
• Habits of Successful College Students
• Gamer’s Union for Teens with Asperger’s