New West Loop library has meeting space for grown-ups, ‘tinkering lab’ for kids

Photo by Troy Closson / Sun-Times

By: Troy Closson | Jan 17, 2019 | Chicago Sun-Times

While residents and community officials gathered Thursday morning ahead of the ribbon-cutting for the new West Loop Branch library, in a nearby room, a group of about 20 kids had their minds on something else. Sitting around a rectangular table in the new library’s “tinkering lab,” — a place to “play, learn and get messy” — the school-aged children wielded wooden blocks and toys, seemingly oblivious to the festivities. Creating spaces accessible to kids — like the tinkering lab — was one of the priorities in the development of the city’s 81st library branch. The new facility, at 118-122 N. Aberdeen St., officially opened Thursday with Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th) and representatives from developer Sterling Bay struggling to cut through a sturdy orange ribbon. Read More....