U.S. Sen. Brown gets a hands-on experience at OH WOW! manufacturing camp

YOUNGSTOWN — Monday was the first day of the YWCA Mahoning Valley Summer Manufacturing Institute camp at OH WOW! The Roger & Gloria Jones Children's Center for Science & Technology.

And U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, whose office started organizing summer manufacturing camps in 2013 in Youngstown, wanted a typical OH WOW! hands on, up-close look.

The YWCA Mahoning Valley Summer Manufacturing Institute camp is for only girls in fifth through eighth grade and is part of an effort to address the gender gap in the science and technology fields, and spark an interest in electronics and engineering.

Brown, whose office has helped organize 99 camps in 28 counties since 2013, said programs like this can help spark young people and get them interested in the skills needed for the manufacturing industry.

"They'll turn into good jobs," Brown said. "People working with our hands and our brains, and Ohio can help lead the way."

Summer manufacturing camps give students the opportunity to learn about careers in their communities, tour local manufacturing facilities and learn from experts.

Students will also learn how products are made, participate in team-building exercises and work on a project specific to their community.

The camp at OH WOW! will go on for the next four weeks.

Ralf Urbach, director of education and outreach for OH WOW!, said the girls will learn about microelectronics and build a digital clock by the end of the program.

Throughout the camp, the group will also learn from local manufacturers, such as Ultium, Youngstown State University Excellence Training Center, TinyCircuits in Akron and more.

Urbach said it's important to get students interested at an early age in electronics and technology so that interest will carry on to high school and college careers.

"You can do some really cool things, and you can stay right here," Urbach said, adding that the community is a great foundation for the camp.

Brown said Urbach has been working on this program for almost a decade. Youngstown is the first city of all the camps in Ohio to do such a program every year.

Last year, Urbach hosted a virtual summer camp due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Other camps across the state will begin in-person this year and all will be in-person next year, Brown said.

"This will be a permanent fixture for local communities, businesses, not for profits, and committed people like Ralf," Brown said.

Brown also visited America Makes, a manufacturing hub supported by public and private organizations, on Monday. Because of America Makes' success, it serves as a model for new tech hubs that will be established across the country through the United States Innovation and Competition Act, Brown said.

Brown championed key provisions of the act that will make a once-in-a-generation investment in American science, technology and innovation to help the U.S. preserve its competitive edge.

The act aims to:

• Provide funding to support existing institutes like America Makes and create at least 15 more Manufacturing USA institutes, by committing $2.4 billion through 2025;
• Promote more direct collaboration with minority-serving institutions;
• Integrate the Manufacturing Extension Program – which provides critical assistance to small and medium-sized manufacturers.

"This bill is a step," Brown said. "The country wants us to go big and really build back better in the sense of building a foundation so people can have opportunity in their lives."

This story was originally published June 29, 2021 at 3:52 AM with the headline "U.S. Sen. Brown gets a hands-on experience at OH WOW! manufacturing camp."