Durham County Library Hosts Scratch Day Event

Scratch Day isn't about back scratching. Nor is it about making food from scratch. But it is about creating digital blocks and sharing projects with an online community in Durham.

The Durham County Library will host a Scratch Day event to introduce young patrons to a programming language designed just for them. Created by Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab, Scratch allows people to create interactive stories, games, animations, music and art.  This hands-on event will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 18 at East Regional Library, 211 Lick Creek Lane.

Scratch projects are created by snapping together digital blocks, as one would snap together LEGO bricks or puzzle pieces. Projects can then be shared with an active online community consisting of hundreds of thousands of registered members. Community members regularly comment on projects to ask questions and give feedback, create galleries of related projects, download projects to study their construction and remix downloaded projects to be re-shared online.

Scratch Day is a worldwide network of gatherings, where people come together to meet each other, share projects and experiences, and learn more about Scratch. The library will provide flash drives pre-loaded with Scratch software, and some workstations will be available, but patrons are encouraged to bring their own laptops if possible.

For more information about the event, call 919-560-0214 or visit online. Durham County Library encourages Discovery, connects the Community and leads in Literacy. As a department of Durham County Government, the library furthers Goal 1 of the county’s Strategic Plan by enhancing cultural, educational and creative opportunities. For more information about the library, visit this website.

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