Barb Davis, Angela Schroeder and Debbie Scamahorn helped NAWIC at their annual Block Kids event on February 11. Block Kids introduces children to the Construction Industry in hopes of creating an awareness of and promoting an interest in careers in the construction industry. Each child received 100 plastic interlocking blocks, 1 small rock, 12” of string and an 18” piece of aluminum foil to build their project. Children were encouraged to use their imaginations to build a project related to the construction industry, i.e. houses, buildings, bridges, roads, airports, or construction equipment such as cranes.
While the kids’ projects were being judged they came to the gym for some entertaining activities. SWE was there with Steady Hand, How many Balloons do you Weigh, and Paper Helicopters. The kids had fun with the activities and we got to hear about their projects. One boy told us about the recycling center he had built for his project. Another boy was excited to pass the steady hand game without activating the light. We told him with that kind of control he could be a surgeon and his face lit up at the possibility.
The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) is putting on the Block Kids event on February 12 from 9:00 am to noon. They need judges for the Lego constructions and helpers for the SWE activity. Wichita SWE provides an activity for the kids during the judging.
Let Barb Davis know if you can help with either activity.
NAWIC is planning a summer camp called Mentoring a Girl in Construction (MAGIC). For more information or if you would like to help, contact Linda Geesaman.
Our NAWIC sisters invited SWE to join a tour of the new WATC facility on October 26. The buildings & grounds are all finished compared to the SWE tour about 2 years ago. It is a great facility, well planned for use, access and expansion, as well as beautiful. We got to see most of the maintenance side and some of the manufacturing side. It was so interesting that we ran long. Randy Roebuck, Executive Director for Technology & Operations was our guide.
A couple important points to note are their online training and the customized training that they can do for industry. They are also accredited to do national trainings like Six Sigma and testing like ACT and FAA certifications.
Of the 18 present, Catherine Rocky and I represented SWE. I was able to join the NAWIC ladies afterwards for dinner at Louie’s. They discussed Block Kids, scheduled for February 5, 2011, and I got in my pitch to have our EXPO flyers distributed at that event.
What: Our friends at National Association of Women In Construction (NAWIC) invite SWE to accompany them on their tour of the new WATC National Center for Aviation Training.
2012 Society of Women Engineers Wichita Area Section I05 PO Box 1096 Wichita, KS 67201 E-mail: Wichita@swe.org
This non-profit organization is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
