When the Opp Middle School library became a place that no longer attracted students, the administrators and librarian decided to take a different approach to get students to take a trip to the library.

OMS Principal Sharon Spurlin said that she and Librarian Katie Johnson noticed the number of middle school students checking out books was shrinking.

“We have some students who love to read and they will go to the library and check out books during their break,” she said. “But they are few and far between throughout the entire school.”

Spurlin said she and Johnson talked about wanting to change the atmosphere in the library.

Their solution was to change the library from a quiet place only for checking out books, into a center for innovative thinking.

“We decided to make it more appealing,” Spurlin said. “So, we launched the Maker Space program. It’s all about allowing the kids to learn science, technology and math.”

The Maker Movement is described as a technological and creative learning revolution.

Through the movement, affordable and free versions of inventions are created, allowing students to become problem-solvers.

The movement began more than a decade ago, thanks to Make magazine and public events such as Maker Fairs. In 2014, President Barack Obama hosted one at the White House.

Spurlin said that they began the program right before Thanksgiving and the students love it.

“We did some coding on the computer and the students loved it,” she said.

They have also used Legos to compete several different challenges and build different types of animals.

At Thanksgiving, they were given a certain set of objects and had to use their critical thinking skills to create a fence around a turkey, she said.

“In addition to learning about science, technology and math, they are also learning team work skill and critical thinking and problem solving skills.”

Spurlin said that since most of the items used to facilitate the hands-on-learning program get consumed with one project, it’s expensive to maintain.

“We have had some parents purchase some materials,” she said.

Spurlin said since the implementation of the new program, the numbers at the library are going back up.

“We have about 100 kids per grade level and we have every grade level going to the library now,” she said. “They aren’t necessarily checking out books, but they are looking at magazines once they are finished with their Maker Space projects.”

Spurlin said the students love it.

Opp City Schools Superintendent Michael Smithart said system and school administrators have taken great strides to provide opportunities outside what would be defined as the traditional classroom.

“We want to give students the experience of working within the concept and using the knowledge they have gained to actually create something,” Smithart said. “These type experiences create a sense of ownership and our students seem to be willing to invest the time and effort needed to make it happen. It is an incredibly engaging way of teaching and learning.”