On a cloudy Tuesday morning, eight middle school Construction Pathways campers with UW-Stout Polytechnic’s summer STEAM experience watched a crane lift an air conditioning unit onto the new Aspirus Clinic that is being built in Chippewa Falls.
The site tour, led by the Boldt Company, introduced the campers to different career opportunities in the construction industry, including project management, skilled trades, labor, engineering, safety, and more, as well as what being a construction management student at UW-Stout Polytechnic might be like.
“Students gained a better understanding of how a construction site operates with a behind-the-scenes look at how projects are planned, built and managed from the ground up. They discovered career paths in construction, woodworking and other skilled trades they may be interested in pursuing in the future,” said technology education senior Annika Schlueter, who taught the camp.
The construction campers are just some of the more than 500 children from around the region and country who are traveling to UW-Stout Polytechnic to join the Middle School STEAM and High School STEAM week-long experiences this summer.
Introducing young campers to career paths in science, technology, engineering, and art and design fits hand-in-hand with UW-Stout Polytechnic’s mission of preparing its students for the workforce, as 99% of recent graduates were employed or furthering their education within six months of graduation.
New experiences in the Woods Lab
In the Jarvis Hall Wood Prototyping Lab, the campers created their own wooden cutting boards, crafted from black walnut, ash, cherry, and maple, and personalized them with laser engraving technology.
Through the hands-on project, they learned foundational skills in woodworking, like tool safety and how projects are designed, managed and completed from start to finish. They used a full range of the lab’s machine, including table saws, routers, an overhead sander, a CNC (computer numerical control) machine and a laser engraver.
“Along with these hard skills, they developed important life skills like teamwork, communication, problem-solving, responsibility and time management,” Schlueter said. “Students gained skills they can use both in their future careers and in their everyday lives. By completing projects and working through challenges, they built confidence and gained valuable skills that will benefit them long after the class is over.”
Most of the campers had done small woodworking projects before, but using the CNC machine was an all new experience. Levi Ryan, who traveled from Texas to attend the camp, didn’t even know the machine existed. “Seeing what all of the different machines can do was the best part,” he said.
Caleb Larson, of Baldwin, joined the camp to be able to work with his hands. He enjoyed “seeing all of the work come together, especially at the construction site visit.”
While waiting for glue to dry or for the CNC machine or laser engraver to be available or for classmates to complete the sanding process on their cutting boards, there was time for extra projects.
“Keeping the kids busy was the hardest part,” Schlueter said. “We did a lot of additional projects on the fly, like resin-pour coasters and keychains, and other laser-engraved wood designs as gifts.”
Prepared to lead in the classroom
Originally, the STEAM construction camp was going to be taught by engineering technology Assistant Professor Kevin Dietsche, but his schedule did not line up, so he offered the camp to Schlueter. Schlueter, who serves as a lab assistant in the Woods Lab, has completed her pre-student teaching and will begin student teaching next spring. The construction camp was her first experience leading a classroom.
Marrissa Haglund, who also serves as a lab assistant, was asked to be a teaching assistant for the camp. Haglund fell in love with the Woods Lab after taking a couple of engineering technology courses. She graduated in May with a B.S. in business administration.
“This opportunity has given me confidence, experience, and application in my field, and I think it is a great program for the students,” Schlueter said. “This camp not only offered me technical experience but also a lot of soft skills with coordination, communication and organization. I did a lot of budgeting and planning to get ready for the camp, so it could be as time-effective as possible. I’m very thankful that I was given the opportunity to be the instructor.”
Additional STEAM camps this summer include experiences in:
- Science & Health: Freshwater science, fish conservation, anatomy, molecular ecology, psychology and gardening
- Technology: 3D-printing, robotics and virtual reality
- Engineering: Packaging and plastics engineering
- Art & Design: Claymation, comics, game design, fashion, cinema production, interior design and drawing.
The STEAM programs are sponsored by the Menomonie, Chippewa Falls and Eau Claire school districts, the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin, Junior Achievement of Wisconsin, the National Science Foundation, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Xcel Energy and the UW-Stout Foundation & Alumni Association, in partnership with Continuing Education & Conferences.
