PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Jeff Weaver, Melony Ritter
(501) 760.6410 office
press@np.edu
October 7, 2016
OVER 600 LOCAL STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN MANUFACTURING DAY AT NPC
Hot Springs, Arkansas – National Park College (NPC) hosted over 600 students from area school districts today as part of a nationwide initiative for Manufacturing Day. Participating schools included Lakeside, Lake Hamilton, Fountain Lake, Mountain Pine, Jessieville and Hot Springs.
NPC organized on campus tours, visits to local industries, and hosted a trade show for students to connect with manufacturing through hands-on experiences. Airtech Supply, Inc., Alliance Rubber, Window Mart, and Berry Plastics provided industry tours for students.
Post-Secondary program tours included welding, aerospace and industrial technology. Students who visited the welding department received hands-on practice with a virtual welding machine. The Aerospace tour included demonstrations of how airplane parts are made from fiberglass, graphite, honeycomb cores, and structural rivets. The industrial technology lab provided students hands-on experiences with hydraulics, motor controls, and gear trains.
High School Technical Program tours included pre-engineering, wood technology, and
machine tool technology. NPTC students shared projects from their Pathways to Engineering
class for high school juniors and seniors. The Wood Technology tour showed students
how skateboards are made using a vacuum bag for shaping the wood, laminating techniques,
and computer numeric controls (CNC). The machine shop was open for participants to
explore equipment used by machinists such as the laser cutter and welder, and student
built electric go-cart and drift bike projects were shared with participants.
Five vendors participated in the hands-on manufacturing trade show located in the
NPTC student center, including Mountain Valley Spring Company, Arkansas Welding and
Industrial Supply, Xpress Boats, Arkansas School for Mathematics, Science and the
Arts, and NPC Innovative Technologies Center.
Pictured: NPTC Director, Mike Wiles showing an electric go-cart built by NPTC students
to Manufacturing Day participants.
Vice President for Workforce and Strategic Initiatives, Kelli Albrecht said, “We enjoy
organizing this event for our area school districts. Local businesses and industries
are very supportive and we are so grateful to all of our volunteers who make this
happen.” She added, “Manufacturing Day helps students realize how critical math and
science skills are in a variety of career fields. Our manufacturing partners participate
because they understand that the students visiting them today are the employees of
tomorrow. Manufacturing is an important part of the Arkansas economy, especially
here in Hot Springs. We want students to know they can get a good education and a
good job right here at home.”
