Richland County Library to offer interactive labs

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Richland County Library is launching the My Life Experience Empathy Lab this week. The immersive virtual reality technology allows users to interact with various environments and experience issues including homelessness and disability.

To mark National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, the first lab, to be held Thursday at the library’s North Main location, will focus on the experience of being homeless. Using technology from Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab, users can experience firsthand what it’s like to live with diminishing resources.

Thursday’s lab will be held from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. at 5306 N. Main St. The main library branch at 1431 Assembly St. will hold a lab on Monday from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. The lab will move to the St. Andrews branch at 2916 Broad River Road on Tuesday from 10 a.m. until noon and to the Sandhills branch at 763 Fashion Drive on Nov. 27 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

The labs, tailored to an adult audience, are free. Funding is being provided by the Central Carolina Community Foundation and the Tides Foundation.

In coming months, the empathy labs plan to focus on issues including criminal justice, disability, sexual assault and the refugee crisis.

For more information, visit richlandlibrary.com.