Community Construction Zone combines fun with career options

Community Construction Zone combines fun with career options Main Photo

6 Oct 2024


BELOIT — Children were eagerly drawing shapes on mock floor plans for a house during the Community Construction Zone event on Saturday.

“The floor plan shows how we can conform a space to a client’s needs,” said Jessica Berg of Corporate Contractors Inc. (CCI). “We’re just asking the kids to add what they want to the floor plan and let their imagination go wild.”

CCI was one of the many construction-related businesses inviting children to check out building plans, equipment and other attractions at the event held in the parking lot near the Ironworks campus in downtown Beloit.

Children were able to climb into the seat of large earth moving machines, dig into sand piles using toy backhoes and get a taste of demolition work by knocking down styrofoam blocks with plastic hammers.

Companies represented at the event included the Batterman engineering firm, The Morse Group, Area Erectors, Midstates Concrete, Total Mechanical, the Walbec Group, CCI, Hendricks CareerTek and the City of Beloit water services and public works departments.

The children had fun, and company officials were able to show off what skills and equipment is needed to build houses, roads and sewer systems in a community.

“Its a great idea for kids,” said Jay Gravitt, who was at the Community Construction Zone with little Henry Healless, who was busy playing with remote control cars at the Batterman booth.

Gravitt said it was his first time at the event, but little Henry was at last year’s event also.

The event, organized by Hendricks CareerTek, kicks off Careers in Construction Month.

While small children each were given brightly colored hard hats and lined up to climb into the seats of cranes and blacktop machines used to resurface roadways, the older youngsters also were at the Community Construction Zone.

Students from Beloit Memorial High School, Turner High School, Rock County Christian School and The Lincoln Academy were competing in a building exercise.

Teams from each school were sawing, hammering and measuring as they each build a construction module using blueprints.

“They all have from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to complete the project,” said Matt Schultz, who was the team advisor for the Lincoln Academy team. “They will be graded on material use, accuracy, quality of the product, safety and site cleanliness.”

Schultz said he could give students some pointers, but he could not touch any of the materials during the competition.

It was hoped the students would see the value of quality work and possibly become interested in a career in construction.

Elsewhere, children were observing the construction of tool boxes, watching how water flows through sewer lines and driving screws through wooden boards. There also was face painting and hot dogs and chips for all the families.

Add to ReportView Custom Report