New hands-on learning opportunities that combine creativity and cutting-edge technology will soon be just a click away for over three dozen south Florida teens, thanks to a new Creation Station center that enables them to produce and edit audio and video recordings on demand.

DPR teamed up with the Batchelor Foundation to deliver the highly anticipated audio/visual recording center project at Milagro Center in Delray Beach, which serves economically disadvantaged youth in the region. Both longtime contributors to the organization, DPR provided materials and labor to renovate and equip a soundproof room that will house software and equipment provided by the Batchelor Foundation through a grant.

The Creation Station room renovation included designing, assembling and installing numerous large, multicolored acoustic panels, strategically placed for maximum visual effect. This fall, about ten DPR volunteers spent an afternoon creating and installing the panels, aided by a handful of Milagro Center teens who were inspired to help.

At the Milagro Center, DPR volunteers build the Creation Station, an audio/visual recording space, for Florida teens. (Photo courtesy: Adriana Martinengo-Rosenberg)

Luke Stocking, DPR’s liaison to the Milagro Center, said the teens are looking forward to designing and producing their own original videos using a big screen, computer software and audio equipment in the soundproofed, custom-renovated room. The only other Creation Station in Palm Beach County is at the Main Branch library, 25 miles north of Milagro Center – and it usually has a waitlist of two weeks to use that equipment.

Even more important than the “cool” factor of being able to make multimedia videos in their own after-school center, however, are the practical skills the Milagro Center teens will gain from doing so.

When complete, the Creation Station at the Milagro Center will provide teens with technical skills they can use in the workforce. (Photo courtesy: Adriana Martinengo-Rosenberg)

“The big picture is that it gives them technical, professional skills they can use in the workforce,” said Stocking. “These teens will get hands-on experience with the software, the technology and the equipment at their own center, whenever they want to use it.”

The Creation Station will be completed this month.

“The teens can’t wait to start using the Creation Station,” said Anthony Bacchus, director of the Milagro Center. “DPR has made a major impact at the teen center over the years, giving the teens confidence and knowledge about careers in construction. Sponsors and parents are truly inspired by DPR’s involvement with the center and the community.”