Posted on 05 November 2026 by Chris Brown.
A pair of grants from the Community Foundation of Southeastern Alberta has allowed Medicine Hat Public Library to make its popular Honeycomb House a more sensory-friendly space for teenagers in the community and give them more video gaming options when they visit.
Youth & Community Librarian Stephanie Kuhn is hosting a Honeycomb House Grant Party on Thursday, Nov. 12, from 4-5 p.m. to show off the upgrades and additions. Everyone is welcome to the open house style event.
“We have a bunch of new gadgets and gear that we're happy to make available to teens while they’re hanging out in our space,” she says.
Among the new items purchased with a $3,000 grant are various large and small regulation tools, dynamic seating, and sensory-friendly lighting.
Kuhn wants to provide as many tools as possible to teens when they visit the Honeycomb House.
“We never know what state a teen’s regulation or nervous system is in when they come into our space,” says the teen librarian. “Whether they're coming into the space unregulated and looking for a calm space, or if they are in the space and they get overwhelmed, with items like these they can have the tools to help regulate their nervous system and still enjoy the space.”
The Community Foundation also provided a grant of $1,350 through the Frost Family Fund. Kuhn says that money was used to purchase about a dozen new console games for the space and increase storage space on the PCs there.
Kuhn says the high cost of video games are an accessibility barrier for some teenagers.
“A lot of families can't afford all of the new consoles or games and keeping up with all of the new trends. So, this way, we can have these made available to teens and they don't feel left out from their peers, because they know what the game is about. They've played it and they can talk about it with other kids.”
The new games also boost the opportunities for co-operative gaming, Kuhn says, making it easier for teens to build connection with the person they’re sitting next to and playing alongside.
"We hope these updates will improve Medicine Hat youth's sense of connection and belonging as well as their mental health while accessing our newly sensory-friendly teen space thanks to CFSEA,” she says.
Save-on-Foods will provide light refreshments at next week’s grant party and open house.
Follow the library on social media: @mhpubliclibrary