PALM CITY, Fla. — A vending machine at a school in Martin County isn't dispensing sugary snacks, just knowledge and learning.
Children at Citrus Grove Elementary in Palm City on Wednesday couldn't wait to show WPTV morning anchor Tania Rogers the school's book vending machine.
WATCH BELOW: Vending machine dispenses books at Martin County school
"I call it the big machine of wonders," student Joseph Martin said.
"A machine of wonders, why?" Tania asked him.
"Because books are full of wonderful things," Joseph replied.
Lisa Rhodes, the executive director at the Education Foundation of Martin County, explained the implementation of the book vending machine at the school.
"I saw a vending machine in New York; instead of snacks or sodas, they were using books," Rhodes said. "I thought that was an amazing idea and a great opportunity to offer our kids here the opportunity. They are in all of our schools here in Martin County, all of our public schools."
"I was blown away. I was so excited. It was really fun," student Layla McClain said.
The students earn coins, which then allows them to pick a book out of the vending machine.
"We call it for the love of reading program with the book vending machines, and it's all about increasing engagement and enthusiasm with students over reading," Rhodes said.
"What about you, Jack Fitzgerald?" Tania asked.
"I was just wild and was like they don't do prizes, so then I get all sad and grumpy about that. But then when I finally came out, there were so many choices that I just had to take 5 minutes or something," Rhodes said.
Abigail Beeuzup couldn't wait.
"I was really excited. I wanted to reach my first book goal. I think that was 10 points," Abigail said.
The students were beaming with excitement.
"It's fun because you get to keep the book forever and you have a huge selection of books that are all amazing," Layla said.
"I believe there is a very strong correlation between our scores and the reading level of our students," Sharon Windsor, the school's media specialist, said. "They are so excited, and we've never been to the machine where the student said, 'I don't like anything here.' They are always trying to choose; they are not sure what to get. It's not that they can't find one. And then it pops down, and it's super exciting. We let them turn around and hold the book up to the camera and take a picture of them. We put it on social media so families can see that they were excited."
Read more about the book vending machine program here.
