Media Release - Library Receives Gift of Sensory Table
Posted: Friday, March 12, 2010
When children come visit the Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library over March Break they will find an exciting new addition in the Children & Youth Services Department. Designed by Jeff Trask of AMSCO Solid Surfaces along with Grant Nicholson of Nicholson Design, the lime green Sensory Table is an original concept furniture item created right here in Owen Sound.
The idea for this came about back in the fall when Trask was visiting the Library with his family. “I have always liked giving back to our community, especially to children,” says Trask. “After seeing the amazing upgrades to the Children & Youth Services Department, an idea began to blossom.” This whole project started with Trask’s daughter simply suggesting that he make a lime green countertop for the Library. That’s all it took to get the wheels turning.
The Sensory Table has four removable discs that are CNC engraved by Grant Nicholson, “This opportunity to donate my time and skills to the Library is gratifying. The project itself is intriguing; when art becomes functional, as in this educational table, greater possibilities emerge. The tactile discs, mounted in the table, are unavoidable. You can’t help but touch them and examine the letters on them. I think we’re onto something great!”
Made from an easy to maintain acrylic material manufactured by Affinity™, the
table is hygienic, nonporous and easy to clean. The removable discs can be custom
engraved to create a table that changes with the seasons. The possibilities are
limited only by your imagination: animal footprints, leaf identification, letter
knowledge, numerical sequencing, games, labyrinths, even Braille. “I can’t believe
what Jeff and Grant have developed from what started out as a simple tabletop,”
says Children & Youth Services Librarian, Nadia Danyluk, “I’ve never seen
an interactive table like this anywhere before.”
AMSCO hopes that the presence of this prototype sensory table in the Library will generate interest from elementary schools, daycares, learning centres and other institutions. The Library is grateful for the generous support it receives from the members of our local business community and is delighted to accept this unique donation. For more information on the sensory table please contact Jeff Trask at amsco@gbtel.ca or Nadia Danyluk at ndanyluk@owensound.library.on.ca. To find out ways you can support your public library contact Judy Armstrong, Chief Librarian/CEO at jarmstrong@owensound.library.on.ca.
For more information contact:
Nadia Danyluk, Children & Youth Services Librarian
Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library
Tel: 519 376-6623 ext 4 Fax: 519 376-7170
Email: ndanyluk@owensound.library.on.ca
