(FLINT, MICH – July 8) Area middle school students will have a chance to use digital technologies to move an idea to the product stage July 8-10 in the Mott Community College-Regional Technology Center FabLab (Fabrication Laboratory). The opportunity is part of the “Summer on the Road” program of YouthQuest, a free, innovative afterschool and summer enrichment program of the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce.
The YouthQuesters will visit the lab over three days to create and design water bottles and key chains using cutting-edge technology alongside MCC professors and students during afternoon sessions from 1:30-4 p.m. FabLab is designed to support creativity and innovation and to provide access to sophisticated equipment at a reasonable cost. The lab is focused on the use of digital technologies that will drive the future of product development.
“Many of our YouthQuest students have expressed an interest in entrepreneurship. This partnership with the MCC FabLab is a great way to foster our students’ interest by giving them an opportunity to work alongside Mott students and professors on entrepreneurial projects,” said Rhetta Hunyady, Vice President, Education and Training for the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce.
“It is our belief that exposing students to college campuses increases their vision of one day attending a college or university, hopefully in our area,” Hunyady added.
The “Summer on the Road” program 2013 is serving 114 students. They “travel” inside Genesee County as the middle school program goes “on the road” to experience canoeing, disc golf, kayaking and ice skating. Students will also have an opportunity to experience an introduction to piano and percussion, a Japanese Tea Ceremony and Physics, Chemistry and Molecular Biology labs at UM-Flint. Middle school students will also tour the campuses of Baker College, Mott Community College, Kettering University, ITT Technological Institute, UM-Flint, Michigan State University and the University of Michigan Ann Arbor.
YouthQuest is a free, innovative afterschool and summer enrichment program for K – 8 youth in Genesee County, serving Carman-Ainsworth, Flint, Mt. Morris, Lakeville and Montrose school districts. For more information visit http://www.yquest.org/ and follow the program on facebook at YouthQuest and Twitter @GRCC_YouthQuest