CHARLOTTE, N.C. - A group of 13- and 14-year-old students in Charlotte took their eighth grade community service project to the next level.
- A group of eighth graders built a Little Free Library for their community service project
- The library has a solar-powered camera that keeps inventory of the books
- The project taught the teens about adult responsibilities and collaboration
It involved construction and science.
Three eighth graders built a Little Free Library all from scratch. Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization that helps establish free tiny wooden libraries in neighborhoods where anyone can walk, donate a book, and then pick up a book.
"We wanted to give kids a way to read without needing to buy books or go to a store," eighth grader Jake Schoonmaker said.
The teens decided to build a Little Free Library as part of their eighth grade community service project at Piedmont Open IB Middle School. But this isn’t a typical wooden box full of books.
"The solar panel gets energy from the sun, then it goes through to a charge controller, and that charges a battery," eighth grader Brooks Modesitt said.
The battery then hooks into the camera, and every time the door closes it takes a picture of the books inside.
"There is an auto-sync function that hooks it up to a Google drive folder and from there they can upload to a website," Modesitt said.
This way people will know what is inside the library before they walk over. The teenagers say the hardest part wasn't the physical labor. It was taking on adult responsibilities.
"I learned a lot about communicating to people through calls and emails," eighth grader Nathan Kao said.
The teenagers are fundraising all the money by themselves and finalizing a place to put the little free library.
"Finding a location was really hard, it took us a lot of time," Schoonmaker said. "We need a lot of specifics."
In the end they all gained skills they will help them down the road.
"I want to be an engineer when I grow up, so this could help me in the long run," Kao said.
The students plan to put this library on The Green at Prosperity Village, which is located in North Charlotte. They are meeting with officials Saturday to work out the details.
They are also still raising money to buy the registration sign for the Little Free Library.
To donate click here.