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The Ministry of Education in partnership with UNICEF inaugurated its 7th USPACE learning hub today at the Leo Bradley Library. Dozens of students were in attendance to get a first hand look at all the new resources the library will now have to offer thanks to this initiative. Jomarie Lanza attended the inauguration and here's her report.
It's a hub teeming with children after school on weekdays, and now this learning environment has received a tech and interactive upgrade thanks to MOE's USPACE initiative. The Chief Librarian at the Leo Bradley library says it's refreshing to see that now the students who come here will have access to new and creative resources.
Luciola Castillo, Chief Librarian Belize National Library
"It really energising me as the chief librarian because we are always looking for new spaces, cultural and creative spaces for youths because when you find out in the afternoons especially after school. Because as you heard everyone mentions this is the space, the hub, the school system and after classes they would either come here to do evening classes or do their research to do their assignments and so forth. But they take breaks so they would be outside playing and running around and we will all be nervous about it , but now with the USPACE it will have their attention locked in because they will be able to use the legos, the robots and create with the 3D printers and do a lot of things prior we were not able to provide for them so we had to get creative with games and so forth for them to do now but in addition to that we will have this arm of technology they will be able to use and appreciate."
For the Ministry of Education, it's the 7th USPACE that they have opened, and they plan to continue to expand the initiative to other learning spaces.
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education
"We think its a very exciting initiative we are very happy that we were able to get support from UNICEF we have partnered with them you know so its a team effort, we've been working so its not only the ministry of education its also the ministry of culture, NICH in particular all of us working together, really to create transformative spaces community spaces whereas I said our young people can feel comfortable where they can come to be creative to express themselves and so that is the whole purpose of this and yes this is the 7th one across the country and we hope with the support of organizations like UNICEF that we will be able to do more in the future."
Castillo says they serve up to 600 persons that come in monthly, aside from their regular patrons and she can already envision how this USPACE will surely give them something to look forward to as Child Stimulation month approaches
Luciola Castillo, Chief Librarian Belize National Library
"And I am already looking forward to March, March is child stimulation month so I can just imagine how the kids will be enthused about building legos and playing around with the robots and creating things so I can see March as child simulation month very differently at the Leo Bradly because of the USPACE. "