LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) — Students from Heir Force Community Schools are getting a hands-on look at whether a future career in STEM fields could be right for them.
Eighth graders from the school took part in a field trip to The Ohio State University at Lima’s Engineering Education and Manufacturing Center, where they participated in several interactive activities, including building a catapult.
The project was designed to help students strengthen their science, technology, engineering and math skills while encouraging creativity and problem-solving.
Eighth grader Nickiya Benjamin said the experience allowed students to use everyday materials and their imagination.
“It's literally just out of scrap. We just got to use our imagination and do what we got to do. We got pencils, we got pipe cleaners, we got tape, rubber bands, little sticks to use. So they just gave us a bunch of scraps, and we got to do it out of imagination.”
Dr. Willie Heggins, executive director of Heir Force Community School, said opportunities like this help students better understand how their interests can connect to future careers.
“This is another opportunity to help kids understand the importance of what their future is going to look like, and how engineering, if that is the platform, could be a pathway for whatever career of choice that they happen to enter in in the future.”
Heggins added that students also learned about the engineering technology program offered at Ohio State Lima and the opportunities available to work with seven industries in Lima and Allen County. He said those partnerships can lead to strong career options close to home.
