Building the Workforce of Tomorrow

Youth Robotics & Digital Literacy at the Greensburg Hempfield Area Library With support from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, the Greensburg Hempfield Area Library (GHAL) has expanded its digital literacy and workforce development programming in a unique direction, one that begins earlier than most. While many L&I grant recipients focus on adult technology upskilling, GHAL has paired its adult (including teen) digital literacy offerings with a rapidly growing pipeline of youth robotics and coding programs. The result has been remarkable. Over the past year, hundreds of children across Westmoreland County have participated in hands-on STEM activities that strengthen problem-solving, computational thinking, teamwork, and early workforce readiness.

Preparing Students for a Global STEM Competition This year, GHAL launched two youth robotics teams to compete in the Sphero Global Challenge: Season 6—Outdoor Adventures, a national STEM competition that invites students to tackle real-world engineering problems through coding, creativity, and collaboration. GHAL’s two teams, an Upper Elementary team (ages 8–11) and a Middle School team (ages 11–14), are competing in the BOLT+ Wilderness Survival track. Students take on engineering roles such as programmer, engineer, debugger, manager, and designer as they work together to complete challenges, film submissions, and refine their builds. Finalists from this season will advance to the Sphero World Championships in Spring 2026.

For the students, the experience has already been transformative. They routinely stay past the scheduled program time, collaborate with peers they have just met, experiment with trial-and-error coding, and demonstrate resilience when their early designs fail. One team--nicknamed The Potatoes--even created matching “potato hats,” inspiring a friendly wave of team spirit among the competing groups. As one student shared during an interview, “The best and the worst part is figuring out how to make the robots do what you want them to.”

Hands-On Digital Skills for Children Beyond the competition teams, GHAL offered year-round robotics and coding programs using Bee Bots, Ozobots, and Sphero robots. Monthly in-library programs regularly draw between 10–20 children and their caregivers. Programs such as Bee Bots in Winter Wonderland, Bee Bots Not-So-Scary Halloween, Art with Bee Bots, and Spooky Spheros blend literacy, storytelling, engineering, and coding in playful ways. Children learn to sequence commands, debug their robots, and solve problems while staying deeply engaged.

Outreach visits have greatly expanded access to early digital literacy. Staff visited Youngwood Tots-N-Tykes, KinderCare Learning Center, Hope in Life Afterschool Program, Merakey Extended School Year, Greensburg Partial Program, and Nicely Elementary School, introducing more than 250 children and teens to foundational coding concepts. At Tots-N-Tykes alone, 107 students rotated through hands-on lessons using Bee Bots, Ozobots, and Sphero robots. Teachers repeatedly shared that many students, particularly those who struggle with traditional classroom activities were fully engaged and eager to participate.

Building Confidence, Community, and Early Workforce Skills The impact of these programs extends beyond technical skills. Several children on the autism spectrum or with social-emotional needs have found comfort, confidence, and connection through robot-based activities. One child who once attended programs silently and alone is now a valued member of the Sphero Global Challenge elementary team, responsible for programming sound and color effects, and now actively interacts with peers and mentors. At a Bee Bot Camp held last August, another student bonded so strongly with a new friend that his parents and therapist described the experience as profoundly meaningful.

Families consistently report that these programs are extremely valuable and students regularly comment that they’ve had “the best day ever,” while participating. Many students now express interest in future careers in robotics, engineering, or technology.

A Model for Early Workforce Development Through this L&I-supported initiative, GHAL is demonstrating that workforce development begins long before a child enters high school. By engaging learners as young as three in coding, sequencing, debugging, problem-solving, and engineering thinking, the library is building a foundational skill set that directly connects to future digital literacy, employability, and STEM career readiness.

These programs, whether in a public library, a preschool classroom, or a community center, are sparking curiosity, fostering collaboration, and laying the groundwork for the next generation of Pennsylvania’s innovators.