2 days ago
Mini-Park Village opens as educational and career-focused space for kids
SOUTH FORK, Pa. (WTAJ) — A new Mini-Park Village that will educate children and help them explore careers is now open in South Fork.
The South Fork Public Library, in partnership with the Forest Hills School District, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday to celebrate the opening.
'I'm just so excited to see it come alive again, because this park has sat here empty probably for 10 or 15 years, and it's such a beautiful location. And I told someone that the ironic part of this is that my father designed this park and was part of it being built in the 1970s,' Stacey Lewis, South Fork Library Treasurer, said.
The Mini-Park Village is a dynamic educational and career-focused space that was made possible through the 'Building Opportunities Out-of-School Time' (BOOST) Grant awarded to both the School District and the town of South Fork.
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According to the library, the park offers hands-on learning experiences that promote career exploration, civic engagement, and real-world application of academic skills.
'I'm a former kindergarten and first-grade teacher, so I know the importance of dramatic play for children. That's how children learn and that's how they develop skills. So in each of the centers, there is a developmental skill, like maybe colors or shapes, and just hands-on activities for children to learn,' Lewis said.
Educators, community leaders, and local government also supported this effort.
'So what this mini park is designed to do is really to start planting the seed in our youngest students that, you know, we can start thinking about our careers at a very young age, and there's boundless opportunities. And then in school, we learn what skills they need in order to develop the skills for those careers,' Robert Dill, Assistant Superintendent for Forest Hills School District said.
In the winter, the toys and equipment will be moved, and the park will be flooded to create an ice skating rink.
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