All summer long, Seattle Public Library programs have kept kids and teens busy, learning, exploring. Not just through reading – the High Point branch celebrated two programs Monday evening, both of which produced creations you can enjoy. First, the song you can hear below:

That song is the work of the STYLE program – Songwriting Through Youth Literature Education. The students read Maya Angelou‘s poem “And Still I Rise,” talked about it, and wrote music inspired by it.

(WSB photos by Leda Costa)

STYLE, taught by education director Nate Bogopolsky and teen librarian Ken Gollersrud, was a collaborative program – as was the other one celebrated last night, the six-week game designing program Story ‘Hood. It was led by SPL digital media/learning program manager Juan Rubio and intern Tigh Bradley along with Gollersrud. They led ten tweens through the process of designing, coding, testing, and then playing a game. Last night, the gamemakers, with friends and family, walked from the library to High Point Commons Park to play the game, Storm Fighters:

The game is based on High Point-area history/information but ultimately about environmental consciousness, and photojournalist Leda Costa, covering the celebration for WSB, observed that awareness turning into action: “On our walk back to the library, some of the kids actually started picking up litter around the park and saying things like ‘Look! I picked up virtual litter and real litter!'”

The game is “their creation completely,” said Rubio. “They came up with the idea about falling trees, a storm that destroys the environment, they wrote all the text that you see in the game, they decided on the locations, so it’s about working together but it’s also about going through the design process and creating content/creating media.” The game integrates GPS.

You can play it at Commons Park with a smartphone or tablet – go to taleblazer.org and use the game code gsyiykb.