Valley Park students took learning beyond the classroom on Oct. 2 with a visit to ABB, a manufacturing company located right here in the Valley Park community.
In celebration of National Manufacturing Day, ABB invited Valley Park students to tour its facility and get a firsthand look at modern manufacturing and the wide range of careers available within the industry. Students from the Small Engine and Design & Enterprise classes participated in the experience.
During the tour, students learned about ABB’s manufacturing process, including how steel plates are transformed into laminations that become key components in high-performance motors. Employees also shared their own career journeys, giving students a chance to hear about the different education, training and experiences that led them to their current roles.
Preston Jensen, Class of 2029, shared why seeing the manufacturing process firsthand made the experience especially valuable.
“I think that it is more helpful to go to a place like ABB than just learning about manufacturing in a classroom because it is better to see something in person and see how it's run than just getting told what's happening. The most interesting thing that I learned was that while they have a lot of stuff that is automated, they have machines like lathes, surface grinders, and drill presses to maintain the forms and the machines.”
The visit wrapped up with a hands-on engineering challenge. Working in teams, students used toothpicks and marshmallows to build structures designed with strength, stability and height in mind.
The experience gave students an opportunity to see classroom concepts come to life in a real-world setting. They observed how design, engineering, precision and problem-solving are used throughout the manufacturing process, then put many of those same skills into practice during their own design challenge. Students had to communicate, collaborate, test ideas and make adjustments as they worked toward a shared goal.
Experiences like this help students make the connection between what they are learning, why it matters and where those skills can take them after graduation. Partnerships with local businesses like ABB also allow students to explore career pathways they may not have previously considered, right here in their own community.
We’re grateful to ABB for opening its doors to our students and providing an experience that brought classroom learning, career exploration and hands-on problem-solving together.
A Glimpse Inside Our ABB Visit - Click the photo below (Photo Note: Photography was limited to designated areas during the visit to ABB. While students explored additional areas of the manufacturing facility, photos were not permitted in those spaces.)
