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The Peters Township Public Library is offering its patrons an exciting way to learn the art of computer programming with a new Finch Robot available for checkout.

Finch

The Finch is a small robot designed for computer science education for students as young as 8 years old. It was created after four years of study at Carnegie Mellon's CREATE lab. The Peters Township Public Library is the first location in Pennsylvania to launch a program lending the Finch to adults with a library card in the WAGGIN (Washington and Greene Greater Information Network) system.

During a two-week checkout period, any patron, including families with children in elementary grades through high school, can experience a user-friendly introduction to computer science learning and programming.

A white plastic, two-wheeled robot with bird-like features, Finch can quickly be programmed by a novice to say "Hello, World," or do a little dance, or make its beak glow blue in response to cold temperature or some other stimulus. The robot includes temperature and light sensors, a three-axis accelerometer and a bump sensor. It has color-programmable LED lights, a beeper and speakers. With a pencil inserted in its tail, Finch can be used to draw pictures. It can be programmed to be a moving, noise-making alarm clock. It even has uses beyond a robot; its accelerometer enables it to be used as a 3-D mouse to control a computer display.

To check out a Finch Robot, visit the Peters Township Public Library or place a reserve to borrow one through the library catalog at www.ptlibrary.org.

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