Hampton, Lenzini and Renwick, Inc. (HLR) participated in the School District U-46 Explore event at NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates October 5-6 with hopes of inspiring the next generation of engineers, scientists, and surveyors.
Explore is the District’s annual curriculum and career expo, in partnership with the Alignment Collaborative for Education, that provides 2,500+ 8th graders with a unique opportunity to explore different career and technical pathways. Alignment is a non-profit local organization that brings together community resources and initiatives to support District U-46 priorities.
The event opened with a Parent Showcase on Wednesday, October 5, followed by the student event on Thursday, October 6. Prior to the Explore event, students utilized Naviance, a digital college and career planning system, to learn which career clusters align with their current interests and aptitudes. Using information gathered from Naviance, students worked with school counselors to select the career groups they wanted to learn more about at the event.
HLR was featured in the Manufacturing, Engineering, Technology, and Trades pathway. The 60 participating local businesses, industries, governmental organizations, and nonprofits were encouraged to create a three-to-four-minute interactive, engaging, and informative exhibit for students to visit so they can learn more about the professions and careers offered at each organization.
HLR’s exhibit featured an augmented reality sandbox—a 3D, interactive, dynamic educational tool to help students understand mapping, topography, and watersheds. Moving the sand inside the box updates a real-time projected color-coded topography map onto the sand, and can even simulate a rain event displaying where water would naturally flow based on the sand elevations.
“It was a very good example,” said Alex K., a student at Kenyon Woods Middle School in South Elgin, after speaking with HLR employees. “I liked how they explained and went into depth about everything, and then they gave us details about what you’d need to do if you wanted a job in engineering.”
The HLR team had a great time interacting with all of the students, parents, and U-46 staff. Hampton, Lenzini and Renwick, Inc. looks forward to its continued support of the Explore event and opportunity to inspire the next generation of engineers, scientists, and surveyors!
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