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Highlights: Construction Challenge 2008Innovative Competition for High School Students
Through the Destination ImagiNation, Inc., Imagination4Life program’s partnership with the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), a unique approach to developing the future workforce for the Construction Industry was born. Five Regional Rallies were held in the US on January 12th, 2008 . High School students from 16 states were highly engaged to learn about careers in the Construction Industry for a chance to earn a fully funded trip to Las Vegas for the competition Finals! The Midwest Rally held in Milwaukee hosted 28 teams from Wisconsin and Illinois and 14 qualified to advance for the experience of a lifetime. Diana Baldi of Innovation Training and Consulting was the Midwest Rally Leader. She brought out many creative problem solving skills in teams wanting to overcome obstacles for chance to participate.
The Finals took place March 10 to 14th at the CON-EXPO/CON-AGG convention, one of the largest conventions on the planet. The entire convention center and many parking lots were full of state-of-the-art equipment. Our teams were center stage in the AEM exhibition area in the Central Lobby. The Road Warriors event created quite a buzz. Here two teams of students who had not practiced together were asked to collaborate to complete a bridge, fill in a pothole, lay pipe, then race to carry aggregate across the completed course or alternate route, all in 15 minutes. The teams also discussed/ debated topics related to our infrastructure and quality of life and created an educational product. The students targeted an age group audience, tested their prototype, then refined the product to bring to the competition. WOW is a great descriptor for the variety and detail incorporated by each of the teams. The widespread support of 40 corporate sponsors and members of AEM made this incredible set of events possible in order to address the workforce crisis of the estimated 1 million jobs needing to be filled the next few years! Check out the main project website for more information, video, podcasts, and lots of photos.
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