Much like traditional sports, students learn communication, how to handle stress and overcome failure through esports.
Kisha Ravi / NPR
Ground breaking video gaming facility opens at Whitaker Center
-
Scott LaMar/WITF
Kisha Ravi / NPR
Much like traditional sports, students learn communication, how to handle stress and overcome failure through esports.
Listen to Smart Talk every weekday at 9:30 am and 7:30 pm on WITF 89.5 & 93.3. You can also stream WITF radio live on our website or ask your smart speaker to “Play WITF Radio.”
Airdate: Tuesday, May 31, 2022
Video games are no longer just associated with kids wasting their time while they could be outdoors playing. That”s what adults trying to get their sons and daughters away from video games sometimes thought. Today, video games are credited with broadening young people’s interest and passion for science and the arts. And esports have created a whole new field of competition for high schools and colleges.
The Whitaker Center for the Science and the Arts in Harrisburg has just opened a first-of-its-kind facility that they say “will capitalize on the massive popularity of video games and esports while offering educational, experiential learning in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) tochildren eight years and older.“
It’s called the PNC Innovation Zone and it features a 2,000–square–foot Purposeful Gaming Studio along witho Capacity for up to 30 gaming stations and 12 gaming consoleso 10 75–inch, high–definition flat screen televisionso 12–foot, high–definition projection screeno Esports tiered seating for spectators.
We’ll learn about the PNC Innovation Zone on Tuesday’s Smart Talk from Ted Black, CEO of Whitaker Center, Jim Hoehn, regional president of PNC Bank, and Amy Rote from Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region.
