The library is no longer a quiet place full of books and computers. At Seneca Valley's Haine Middle School, the library has been transformed into a vibrant and colorful learning environment called the Creativity, Innovation & Research Center.

“This is without a doubt on the cutting edge of an immersive experience in education,” said Tracy Vitale, school district superintendent. “This is our first immersive space. We hope our first of many more to come.”

The school district held a ribbon cutting and celebration Monday night to show off the new space and invited students in to demonstrate what they've learned.

The school district worked with Inventionland, a Pittsburgh-based company, to encourage project-based learning and creative thinking. The books and computers are still there and still used, but they've been moved to another space in the school.

Instead, a tree house with a slide greets you as you walk into the CIRC room. The light fixtures have been adorned with clouds, the exposed industrial ceiling painted blue and the concrete floors painted green. Fabric murals showing outdoor scenes cover the walls.

Chairs, tables and desks on wheels are interspersed throughout the room making it easy to rearrange the space for whatever today's lesson calls for, said Jackie Larson, elementary library media specialist at Haine.

Larson and Eric Fogle, middle school library media specialist, and two technology teachers, Adele Marks and Ronelle Rowe, work in the CIRC room now to combine literature, reading, math, science and technology with hands-on projects.

“This is a place where you can have natural self-exploration and discovery,” Larson said.

The partner

Inventionland was founded to help inventors take their products from ideas to market using the company's nine-step inventing method, said Nathan Field, Inventionland Institute executive director. The company began partnering with schools over the years, founding the Inventionland Institute to create a curriculum based on its nine-step method.

“The sky is the limit for young kids because they haven't been told no yet,” Field said. “So our course is student-led instead of teacher-led. It's teacher facilitated. You give students the ability to learn and grow. Go ahead and make mistakes, it's OK. You figure out what's wrong and keep moving forward.”

Sean McCarty, assistant superintendent of elementary education, early on took a tour of Inventionland's whimsical headquarters.

That facility includes a pirate ship, a tree house and a racetrack. McCarty said he wanted to bring that environment and feel to Haine as they were about to remodel the library.

“We're really triggering kids' curiosity, giving them the opportunity to break down the barriers that have sometimes been in the way of what kids really want to do and get excited about learning,” McCarty said.

Field said they have included creative work stations, but this was their first full-fledged Inventionland Institute-themed environment.

The Inventionland Institute also worked over the summer to adapt their curriculum for elementary school students at McCarty's request, as the previous course was only used in middle and high schools, Field said.

Inventionland Institute designed the space and brought in the supplies and materials, but much of the work was done in-house by Seneca Valley over the summer.

The students

Haine students of all ages worked on projects throughout the CIRC room Monday night. Some used pipe cleaners, Popsicle sticks and Styrofoam or building blocks to create structures. Others worked in front of a green screen to mimic a TV news broadcast.

Julia Valasek, a third grader, and John Nikolajski, a fifth grader, worked with Little Bits, which are one-way electronic building blocks that connect magnetically. The students have been using them in the library since last year, they said.

Valasek used Little Bits at home to create a rotating lamp for her baby sister last year using a starter kit she got for Christmas.

Nikolajski said they're easy for someone who is just getting started in electronics and “they're just fun to use.”

Teaching electronics and wiring did not used to be part of being a librarian, but now it's all part of the job to give students meaningful learning opportunities. And teaching has become more about facilitating the students as they work through problems.

“We want students to earn their learning,” Larson said.

“We encourage failure,” Fogle said.

Larson and Fogle said the CIRC room has gotten a lot of positive feedback from the students at Haine. Students that were reserved are coming out of their shells.

“It's reaching kids in a completely different way,” Larson said.