A new tech center on the South Side is giving young people the opportunity to explore careers in the industry, from designing video games to mixing music in a studio lab. The Gary Comer Youth Center, located at 7200 S. Ingleside Ave., welcomed its first crew of young people to the Best Buy Teen Tech Center on Thursday.
Programs and Facilities
The youth campus was awarded the space last spring after submitting to a competition, said Remington Price, executive director at the Gary Comer Youth Center. Best Buy invested about $170,000 in start-up funding to bring the tech center to fruition ahead of Thursday’s grand opening, Price said.
The Best Buy Teen Tech Center has different “zones” within the space, allowing young people to expand their understanding of all things available in the world of technology. One zone is dedicated to photo and video, where young people can explore what it’s like to work with professional cameras and create content as they become “tapped into social media.”
The computer science area in the tech center has high-speed gaming computers where young people can learn coding and game design, tinker with animation and character creation, and “see behind the scenes” of careers tied to playing video games — a hobby teens are passionate about, Price said.
Supporting Young People
Remington Price emphasized the importance of supporting young people, saying, “Our young people truly are assets. They have so much knowledge and unique lived experience and, more so than ever, no one older than them really understands in full the world that they’re navigating because none of us have ever experienced life the way they are currently experiencing it.”
Anyone 13-18 years old can fill out a partnership membership form and drop in to explore the technology available at the Best Buy Teen Tech Center. Summer hours are 8-9 a.m. and 2-6 p.m. Monday-Friday. The music studio is open 1:30-3:30 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays.
Original reporting: Block Club Chicago — read the source article.
