'Build My Future' opens doors to explore

A visitor tries his hand at a nail driving competition provided by Berks Homes. Jeff Robinson, of Wm. L. Robinson Concrete in Linden, demonstrates a laser screed, used to level concrete floors. Robinson welcomes a guest aboard the impressive equipment for a closer look. Engaged visitors fill a building construction lab. Laura Kriger (left), executive officer for the West Branch Susquehanna Builders Association, and Denise Lariviere, a member of the association’s board of directors, oversee a competition to determine who could drive five screws flush into a piece of wood the quickest. The fastest, as of about 11:15 a.m., was 13 seconds. Zartman Construction adds to the activity, putting high schoolers in a crane operator’s seat. Ellyn A. Lester, assistant dean of construction and architectural technologies, and Jack Jones, associate professor of building construction technology, address groups in the Academic Center Auditorium. Enthusiastic employee volunteers stand by to distribute T-shirts and information to high school faculty (from left): Courtney E. Dunne, coordinator of academic engagement, engineering technologies; Ashley M. Hunter, coordinator of residence life operations and facilities; Stephanie A. Campbell, library acquisitions and outreach specialist; Krystle M. Steppe, program coordinator, Clean Energy Center; and Marci M. Hessert, office assistant to the assistant dean of diesel technology and natural resources. Behind the controls of a Komatsu excavator, a guest grabs a pylon. The challenge was to then drop the pylon onto one of the PVC poles. During an activity provided by representatives of Lithko Contracting, a builder of warehouses, high schoolers look through a transit to place anchor bolts. A helpful handout for the attendees: “construction orange” T-shirts and safety glasses. Participants pick up gear for the day ahead. Visitors try out a welding simulator ... ... in the college's 55,000-square-foot welding facility. A group explores insulated concrete forms provided by Hoover Industrial Supply. In a heating, ventilation & air conditioning lab, Penn College HVAC engineering technology student Walter J. Heiser (back to camera) shows teens how to use a pipe threading machine. Courtesy of Greater Lycoming Habitat for Humanity, visitors play “Balance Chairs.” T. Ross Brothers Construction’s Justin (left, in gray) and Cody Ross (in plaid) lead a hand-cut challenge and a nail challenge, respectively. Visitors get hands-on with concrete ... ... and experiment with concrete stamping, as this group works color into overlay material. Members of the college’s Construction Management Association, including Jayden Remensnyder (left), lead a “Tower of Power” leadership and communication activity that tasked groups to stack as many blocks as they could in 2 minutes. The challenge: Only one person could speak.