Klang! Seven year old Leo’s safety solution makes a big noise in Bucksburn Library

09 January 2018

Young Bucksburn Library member, Leo Caldwell (7), has won a national competition aimed at educating children about road safety.

Puzzle-solver Leo entered the ‘Klang: The Road Home’ word search competition at Bucksburn Library and was picked as one of four winners from over 4,000 entries across Scotland. He has received a £25 book token to spend at Waterstones.

Presented with his prize at Aberdeen Central Library, it was discovered that Leo is the great-grandson of Marcus Milne, who was the City Librarian for 30 years from 1938-1968. Leo and his family were able to view some archival material from Milne’s time at the library when they collected the prize.

Klang is an app launched by the Scottish Government and Road Safety Scotland, with support from the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC), aimed at 8-11-year olds, the most vulnerable group among pedestrian casualties. Child pedestrian casualties in Scotland in 2015 totalled 450, with injuries commonly resulting from crossing the road close to home or school.

Councillor John Wheeler, Education and Children’s Services Convener, said: “We are very proud to have a local winner of the national KLANG competition. At seven years old it’s a fantastic achievement for Leo to be one of the national winners.

“Libraries within the City are key resources for the development of healthy and safe communities and with access to free WiFi - and supportive staff - they are ideally placed for digital engagement. Within a city with many busy roads it is important that we work with young children to raise their awareness of road safety using this app that is fun and exciting while at the same time gets the safe message across.”

Klang uses gaming technology to teach children about the importance of road safety in a fun way. Public libraries across Scotland have been encouraging children, parents and teachers to download the app and interact with a wealth of resources available to reinforce the importance of road safety. The word search competition was promoted through libraries.

Pamela Tulloch, Chief Executive, SLIC said: “We were very pleased to support this important road safety initiative through public libraries in Scotland. Librarians and library staff have a huge contribution to make to education and learning for people of all ages, whether that’s about reading and literacy, new digital skills or health and safety issues, such as road safety.”

The photograph shows Leo with Fiona Clark, Service Manager for Culture