2,331 students from 68 middle and high schools toured manufacturing facilities on National Manufacturing Day in Florida thanks to FLATE's leadership of this statewide career recruitment event.

Two ATE centers have found that explanations of modern manufacturing are effective when they include a bit of show-and-tell in the form of facility tours.

Florida Advanced Technological Education Center of Excellence (FLATE) and the 360? Manufacturing and Applied Engineering ATE Regional Center of Excellence use National Manufacturing Day as an opportunity to work with their industry partners on manufacturing facility tours at various locations in Florida and Minnesota, respectively. FLATE is located at Hillsborough Community in Tampa, Florida; 360? is located at Bemidji State University in Bemidji, Minnesota.

FLATE Surveys Document Positive Results of Industry Tours

FLATE coordinated the celebration of National Manufacturing Day in Florida on October 4. As a result of its collaboration with its regional industry partners, 2,331 students from 68 middle and high schools, 71 parents and 110 teachers toured one or more of 72 high-tech manufacturing facilities located in 23 Florida counties.

Altogether 225 employees from 71 manufacturers and colleges, regional manufacturers associations, manufacturing-related professional organizations, and school districts across the state worked together to make the day successful. In addition to arranging the tours, FLATE and its industry partners raised $5,000 for manufacturing day t-shirts. FLATE designed and delivered the t-shirts to manufacturers throughout Florida.

FLATE’s surveys of participants provide evidence of the tours’ impact.

Of the 1,163 students who returned surveys to FLATE after the tours,

• 91% agreed or strongly agreed that the tour made them think about careers in advanced manufacturing.
• 96% agreed or strongly agreed that they learned about technologies used in advanced manufacturing industries.
• 88% agreed or strongly agreed that the tour helped them understand how science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects taught in school are applied in advanced manufacturing industries.
• 95% agreed that they learned something new and interesting about manufactured products.
• 95% agreed or strongly agreed that they would recommend the tour to other students.

Based on individual student responses, FLATE calculates that student interest in advanced manufacturing careers increased statewide by 32.8% following the tours.

FLATE also surveyed the host industries and educators. Of the 24 industry hosts that responded to the survey,

• 26% have hired students from school tours as interns or employees;
• 100% agreed that the tour was a good use of their company’s time and resources.

Of the 30 educators who responded to FLATE’s survey, 100% said the tour provided their students with the opportunity to see how STEM subjects learned in school are applied in high-tech industries and careers in advanced manufacturing. When asked about the impact that manufacturing day had on students, a majority of the educators responded that the tours gave their students a real-world connection to STEM, and provided insights into local opportunities in technology and manufacturing careers.

Marilyn Barger, FLATE executive director, plans to use the survey data to cultivate a higher level of engagement statewide in 2014. FLATE has already piloted a special Manufacturing Day curriculum in Hillsborough County. Feedback from the Hillsborough County teachers will inform implementation of the new curriculum in more regions next year.

More People Tour Minnesota Manufacturers

Dozens of manufacturers open their doors for public tours on the annual Minnesota Statewide Tour of Manufacturing that 360? coordinates.

Of the 3,000 individuals who toured a manufacturing facility in 2012, 80% said they had a more positive view of manufacturing careers after the event, and 41% said they learned about a new manufacturing career.

Survey data are not yet available for the 2013 event, but participation was up with more than 4,000 people touring 65 manufacturing facilities.