IRONTON ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” The Center of Science and Industry (COSI) began its Workforce Roadshow on Wednesday, making its first stop at Ohio University Southern, in Ironton.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWe are traveling ... all over the state, and delivering opportunities for kids, middle school, high schoolers, to connect directly to businesses, to learn about in-demand careers and jobs that are available,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ COSI Chief Strategy Officer Stephen White said.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWhat weÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re doing is weÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re not only introducing them to those businesses, but then weÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re giving them hands-on, fun experiences that are connecting them to the knowledge, the skills ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥¦ that they need to get those jobs.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
White said STEM jobs are in high demand in Ohio right now and are some of the fastest growing professions. Still, he said not enough college graduates are going into those fields.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s reflective here in Ohio. You got a lot of kids graduating from high school, but itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s not matching the career pathway opportunities with the fastest growing fields, which are manufacturing jobs, aerospace and aviation,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ White said.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œAnd theyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re not dark, dangerous and dirty, theyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re exciting. TheyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re using artificial intelligence. YouÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re using computer technology. These are really incredible jobs that are available right here in this community, and we want to get families and youth to know about those opportunities.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
To encourage local youth to take interest in STEM careers, COSI invited Vistra, Vertiv and Marathon, among other companies, to showcase themselves in a way that makes students ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œbelieve that they can do that job in the future,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ White said.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œTheyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re having a chance to facilitate mentor-mentee relationships. And then weÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re also giving them a little bit of knowledge, a little bit of skill around those jobs. We call it the hive model.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Kids were introduced to these skills Wednesday through hands-on activities, including lava lamps to understand chemical activity, shooting off rockets to learn safety protocol and engineering processes, and making solar panels to connect to cellphone batteries.
They also had the opportunity to test virtual reality headsets and artificial intelligence and learned about topics like electricity, welding, plastics and water density.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œAll of those things are connected back to the jobs from the companies that theyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re being introduced to today. ThatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s the hive model,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ White said.
By the end of the event, each child received a certificate from COSI and the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce to show theyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re interested in going into STEM careers. They also received Learning Lunch Boxes, which each contained 10 hours of science activities to take home.
COSI will continue its roadshow throughout the summer in six other counties ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Monroe, Gallia, Hawking, Meigs, Harrison and Vinton.
David Hazlett, a high school junior in the Tri-State STEM+M School, volunteered to be a group guide during WednesdayÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s event. He said he chose the STEM school because learning through hands-on activities made school a more encouraging environment for him.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s a really good opportunity,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ he said of COSIÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s roadshow. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œSeeing all the kids that are here, especially younger ones ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥¦ seeing that these little kids get the opportunity before they actually need to go into the (Tri-State STEM+M School), itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s just encouraging because it shows that our school and our stuff that we do, it helps the world.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Zachary Smith, an engineering teacher at the Tri-State STEM+M School, said seeing the push for STEM in education was ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œencouraging.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ He said he feels itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s important because of the ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œbrain drainÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ the Tri-State area is experiencing, in which students graduate from local colleges and build careers elsewhere.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWhen we have all this opportunity and the talent that we want to keep in the area, this is the first step of that pipeline, I think, to retaining talent for STEM careers in the Tri-State,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ he said.
Overall, he said connecting students with career opportunities is important because it adds ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œauthenticityÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ to their education in showing them how those skills can be used in the real world.
Julie Reisinger attended the roadshow Wednesday with two of her grandchildren. She said she was impressed with the event and was excited they had an educational opportunity during the summer months.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œI think itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s very interesting. And both of the kids are ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥¦ theyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re in a gifted program,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ she said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œI think this might be something that they might be interested in. I mean, itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s out there, and itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s the future. So yeah, I think itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s good to teach them a little bit about things they may not get in school.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
ReisingerÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s granddaughter, Hadley Ward, 11, said she learned about positive and negative circuits using LED lights. She said the experience was fun, and she would like to see the COSI facility in Columbus.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œAfter seeing the elephant toothpaste experiment, I wanted to be a teacher of some sort, and so a chemist teacher went into my head,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ she said.
