UNION COUNTY, Pa. — Third grade students at White Deer Elementary in Union County were hard at work on Thursday. The kids are building catapults using plastic spoons, rubber bands, and popsicle sticks.
Thanks to a $200,000 state grant awarded to the organization known as The Improved Milton Experience (TIME), students in the Milton Area School District will have more access to STEM manufacturing projects like this one.
"The grant will primarily be used for salaries, salaries for students that are acting as teacher's aides, and for supplies and materials that need to be required," said George Venios, the executive director of The Improved Milton Experience.
"It will be a pilot program in the high school, middle school, and programming at the elementary schools, all tailored to those age groups to get them excited about manufacturing," said Gwen Ross, director of workforce development initiatives for the state's Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED).
This week is National Manufacturing Week. Ross stopped by to meet with the students. She says the goal is to get younger students interested in future careers.
"It is like putting vegetables in a dessert. You don't realize you are getting the good nutrition. So, here they are learning skills, but they are almost like being tricked, but in a great way," Ross said.
"I have been wanting to be a designer, a builder, or like a construction worker and more," said third grader Yamill Diaz.
Savannah Nixon is a senior at Milton Area High School. She is one of the students acting as a teacher's aide.
"I want to be an elementary education major, so this whole thing in the elementary schools means a lot to me because I would love to see this when I become a teacher," Nixon said.
The DCED says if the program is successful, it could expand to other school districts.
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