What are Career Connection Days?
Students explore a variety of science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) related careers and businesses that exist in the region.
What is the difference between STEAM and STEM careers?
“STEAM is intentional about connecting the arts in and through the STEM areas. It’s not just about ‘making the product look pretty’. Instead, the arts are an integral part of the work as a whole. Both the actual arts themselves and/or the skills the arts build.”
Image and excerpt from “STEAM Careers for the 21st Century“
Each Career Connection Day includes the following:
- Meet & talk to STEAM professionals in a relaxed, informal setting.
- Discover pathways to developing STEAM skills and experiences outside of school.
- Participate in a hands-on workshop relating to the day’s career theme.
- Downloadable souvenir booklets with interactive sections designed specifically around Career Education & Work Standards.
- Create evidence of standards fulfillment for the student files.
Standards addressed include:
- 13.1 Career Awareness and Exploration
13.1.6-8.A Educational requirements and opportunities
13.1.6-8.C Factors in career decisions
13.1.6-8.E Resources in school and community - 13.3 Growth and Advancement
13.3.6-8.A Career growth
13.3.6-8.B Lifelong learning - 13.4 Personal Interests and Career Planning
13.4.6-8.B Identify personal interests
Upcoming Career Connection Days
- Wed, October 15 – Manufacturing
- Thu, October 16 – Manufacturing
- Wed, November 5 – Environmental Science
- Thu, December 18 – Women in Science & Engineering
- Fri, December 19 – Women in Science & Engineering
- Thu, January 29 – Environmental Science
- Wed, February 25 – Healthcare
- Thu, February 26 – Healthcare
Hands-on Workshops
Exclusive workshops for Career Connection Days are available during select days. Workshops are an additional $3.50 per student.
Manufacturing Workshops
Toy Factory: Surprise!
Career Connection: Industrial Engineer, Packaging Designer
You’ve discovered that you’ve inherited your secretive neighbor’s toy business! The problem? You have a major order due in 20 minutes! Can you assemble and code the components needed to make it to market in time?
Unmake It
Career Connection: Product Designer, Machinist
Sometimes the best way to learn about technology is to take it apart. We will disassemble a simple consumer machine, investigate how it works, and then try to recreate it in different electronics!
Environmental Science Workshops
Invasive Art
Career Connection: Conservation Specialist, Botanist
In this two-part activity, we’ll take a closer look at specimens of invasive plants and learn why they harm our local ecosystems. We’ll talk about how we can fix it, then use the plant specimens to make art using sunlight. Take home a conversation piece that spreads the word about invasive plants (and not the seeds!).
Animal Encounter
Career Connection: Wildlife Biologist
Meet the animal ambassadors of Da Vinci Science Center! During this interactive presentation, students will have the unique opportunity to meet two of our education animals up close and learn about their habitats, adaptations, behaviors, and the importance of conservation. Learn about and practice research techniques that wildlife biologists use to study and conserve wildlife populations.
This interaction is more than just an animal encounter—it’s an educational experience that fosters empathy, curiosity, and a deeper appreciation for the natural world.
Women in Science & Engineering Workshops
Newton Cars
Career Connection: Physicist; Aerodynamics Engineer
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Test Newton’s Third Law with these unusual tabletop vehicles. We’ll experiment with vehicle body shapes and extensions to see how they affect motion.
Paper Circuits
Career Connection: Electrical Engineer, Lighting Designer
Learn how to make a circuit on paper to light an LED bulb, then incorporate the light into a piece of 2D or 3D paper art! (Bonus points for multiple bulbs on a single battery!)
Healthcare Workshops
Be an Athletic Trainer
Career Connection: Physical Therapist, Orthopedic Surgeon
Athletes ask a lot from their bodies, and they need special care to perform (and recover) at a peak level. Create an exercise plan for members of a soccer team, and design and test a stabilization device for a broken bone!
Note: This program was designed by the Franklin Institute through the GSK Science in the Summer Program
Virus Modeling
Career Connection: Epidemiologist, Pharmaceutical Chemist
Learn how researchers create and use models of viruses to better understand their structures, how they infect humans, and how we might develop the antivirals to stop them before they make us sick. Students will build model viruses and determine their infection rates by literally throwing them. This workshop makes infectious disease research easy to understand and is, honestly, a lot of fun.
Scholarship opportunities available through the Linny Fowler STEAM Scholarship Fund.
Want to make a reservation? Contact the Reservations Office at 610-841-1875.