Sierra College focuses on makers for Manufacturing Day

As part of Manufacturing Day, Sierra College collaborated with SME Sacramento Valley and Hacker Lab to promote activities focusing on makers, manufacturers, and advanced manufacturing in the Sacramento, Calif., region during the month of October.

“This year for national Manufacturing Day, we really focused on makers as future manufacturers,” said Carol Pepper-Kittredge, director, Center for Applied Competitive Technologies (CACT), Sierra College. “Whether a corporation creates an internal innovation lab or a student starts tinkering with an idea in college or high school, these are the first steps in creating new products that will eventually be produced by manufacturers.”

Throughout October, SME arranged industry tours, supported student events, and partnered with other professional organizations. “These events introduced students to manufacturing careers and showcased local manufacturers that are developing new technologies and shipping products all over the world,” said Mike Bell, president, SME Sacramento Valley.

SME also participated in the City of Rocklin Mini Maker Faire with Sierra College CACT and Hacker Lab. At the CACT booth, children shaped objects with conductive Play-Doh and lit them up with LED lights and a battery pack.

On Oct. 1 in Rocklin, Calif., Hacker Lab kicked off a six-week Start-up Hustle Accelerator with 15 entrepreneurial teams, explained Eric Ullrich, co-founder of Hacker Lab. Guest instructor George Claire, LEGO builder at The Shop @ VSP Global, introduced the start-up group to design thinking, a method used by manufacturers to develop new products.

SME Sacramento Valley also worked with Capital Region Academies for the Next Economy (CRANE) Consortium to connect career technical education faculty to local manufacturers for Manufacturing Day. This collaboration resulted in an interactive tour at Harris & Bruno Intl. for high school students.