Fall is in the air, which normally means the Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs® (NBT) summer manufacturing camp season has come to an end. If you’ve been following NBT, however, you may already know that this year’s manufacturing camp season has been unlike any other. Camps were held in the summer and some will be held in the fall, either after school or on the weekends.

In February 2020, NBT announced a record number of 185 manufacturing camps were expected to take place across the country. In March, however, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. hard and many schools were forced to cancel their summer camp plans.  In all, a total of 80 camps were or are scheduled to be held in 2020. Fifty-five camps converted to a virtual format where students participated online, and 25 proceeded as in-person camps when restrictions were lifted throughout many states.  All in-person camps were held in accordance with CDC guidelines and with required safety measures in place.

Moving to a virtual camp format saved 55 camps from potential cancellations. Scott Beebe, manager of FABLAB Jackson County in Vancleave, Mississippi, structured a virtual camp plan and, together with NBT, shared his resources with other camp directors. Read more here. According to Beebe, “the virtual camps served to keep students engaged and learning about the manufacturing industry at a critical time when in-person camps were not permitted.” Teachers and staff got creative in terms of delivering a quality camp to students while many states were under shelter-in-place orders.

Take a look at the I.D.E.A. Academy (Innovation Design Engineering Automation) virtual manufacturing camp hosted by East Arkansas Community College, held July 13-16.

Parents and students alike enjoyed their camp experiences this summer. Here are a few comments from the parents of students who attended a mixture of in-person and virtual FABLAB summer camps:

• “I love that these classes are exposing my daughter to a whole new world of ideas!”
• “My son took great joy in participating in the Robotics STEM class and getting to see other classmates. He loved the interaction and challenges!”
• “Thank you so much for doing this! It’s a great way to keep [kids] engaged and learning instead of watching TV or playing video games during this shelter in place.”
• “This has been an awesome opportunity for the kids to keep learning and to get their minds off the things that are going on around them. Thank y’all so much for giving them an opportunity to do what they love in a different way. Thank you to the sponsors for helping with costs, because so many families would not have been able to afford the camps right now in these tough financial times.”
• “We enjoyed watching my daughter become excited about learning and spend hours solving problems!”
• “We have thoroughly appreciated the online instruction during this pandemic. My daughter has really enjoyed the class, and it has grown her interest in robotics and coding.”

Looking Forward to Manufacturing Camps Next Year

NBT is eagerly looking forward to next summer and all the possibilities that lie ahead. 2021 camp grant applications are being accepted now through December 1, 2020. Please consider hosting a camp and help fill the skilled labor gap. You can also help by sharing the NBT camp grant application with a school in your area such as a community college or technical high school that has a degree program or training curriculum leading to a career in manufacturing.

Apply for a 2021 Camp Grant

NBT would like to thank our donors and camp sponsors for their continued support of the summer manufacturing camp program. Thanks to you, we’re able to support schools throughout the country that encourage youth to pursue careers in the manufacturing industry, impacting thousands of students across the country.