By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
This was not the grimy grind of manufacturing jobs of the past. This had students using robotic arms, building hydraulic cylinders and creating electric circuits.
The annual Manufacturing Day at Bowling Green Middle School Friday exposed students to today’s manufacturing industry. The event is intended to show teens that manufacturing jobs are unlike those of the past.
“Anytime students can be exposed to manufacturing jobs available, it will help them,” Middle School Principal Radabaugh said. The event included 12 local companies – “right in our backyard.”
Many of the companies had hands-on experiments.
“They are loving it,” Radabaugh said of the students.
The companies participating were Betco, Lubrizol, Vehtek, Rosenboom, TH Plastics, NSG, Pinnacle Plastics, GKN, Penta Career Center, Regal, CMC and Wood County Hospital.
Sue Clark, executive director of Bowling Green Community Development Foundation, said the event is held in the middle school so it reaches students early as they consider career paths.
“We want to get younger kids excited and thinking about maybe going into a career in manufacturing,” she said. “If we don’t get them excited at this age,” it’s often too late.
The hands-on activities with everyday products were key, Clark said.
For example, TH Plastics gave students a close view of how the “whirligig” works in a dishwasher, she said.
Lubrizol employees let students drip liquid soap into dishes and watch the grease disperse.
“These kids are getting excited about manufacturing,” said Matt Paquette, from Lubrizol. “It’s great for their futures. It’s great for the town’s future.”
And best of all, the learning was mingled with fun.
“The kids are having a blast, and we are, too,” Paquette said.
Eighth grader Ela Ostrowski said she enjoyed seeing the products made by local industries.
“It’s interesting to see products that we use come from these businesses,” she said.
Her classmate, Kora Rollins, was particularly interested because she plans a career in robotics engineering.
“It kind of opens your eyes to what is actually out there,” she said.
At the Vehtek table, students were tested to see if they could follow work instructions to put together toy planes. Nearby at the Rosenboom table, kids were given a chance to assemble small hydraulic cylinders.
Penta Career Center’s robotic arm was a hit, as was the display for CMC Group, where students used spray bottles to make dissolving labels disappear. And at the Regal table, the teens built simple circuits by using Playdoh.
“They really like it because they can play with Playdoh,” an employee from Regal said.
