Cathlamet Public LIbrary to provide Ozobots kits for use by young patrons

The Cathlamet Public Library will soon have the popular Ozobots kit for youth patrons to use for a limited time this summer.

The Ozobots http://ozobot.com/ kit can be programmed to race and do other maneuvers. The kit, which is intended for use by kids age 10 and up, will be at the library for three weeks.

"This is the first opportunity for our library to host a hands-on robot lab," said Librarian, Carol Blix.

The Washington State Library is providing the Ozobots kits to libraries that request them, said Carolyn Petersen, the State Library's assistant program manager for library development. The intent is to give kids STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) activities at their local library.

"We think kids will have a lot of fun playing with the Ozobots at their local library—so much fun they won't even notice that they are learning to code at the same time," Petersen said. "Ozobots fit in well with this year's summer reading theme, 'Get in the Game – READ.'"

The kit, which can accommodate up to 15 kids, includes seven iPads (six standard size, one mini) and nine sets of Ozobots (18 total).

The State Library is part of the Office of Secretary of State.