As current students were wrapping up this school year, Sanford Regional Technical Center was busting at the seams, hosting nearly 1,400 8th-grade students from all nine partner schools for an event called “Techsploration.”
This happened over six different sessions in late May and early June.
In advance of this experience at SRTC, all students were asked to complete an Interest Inventory and research SRTC and its 22 programs. During the visit, they were able to visit and experience three different programs of their choosing for 15 minutes each.
The 8th grade students got to have hand-on experience from each program they visited. Students who visited the firefighting program were able to try on gear, tour the firefighting trucks, and use the hose. Students who visited the Engineering Applications with Robotics program were able to use the law bot for a few minutes as well.
"LAW BOT" came to life when the SRTC Law Enforcement program requested the Engineering Applications with Robotics program to design/build a robot that could access areas without placing people (both civilian and law enforcement) in danger that also had the power to open heavy doors, equipped with cameras, lights, sirens, a basket to transport water/food, or a direct line phone for communications and they delivered it all.
During Techsploration, visiting students were given a scenario and had to work together to problem-solve using the robot. These programs have been collaborating for years, bringing their expertise to the table.
Students got their “Techsploration Passport” stamped by each program they visited.
“The timing of this event is purposeful in that these students are about to embark on a new leg of their education journey with high school,” SRTC Student Services Counselor Deanna Farrell said. “Learning that SRTC may be an option for their near future and getting a visual of what Career and Technical look like, and also requires, is important.”
Special thanks to SRTC Digital Design for designing and printing the passports, Stephanie Emmons for creating a custom schedule for every student, and Fire Fighting for kicking off each event with a challenge where randomly selected students had to put on firefighting gear as fast as possible.
