Engaged Students Discover Career Interests As a result of learning to use tools such as mills, lathes and drills, students may discover a career path in designing, producing and repairing automated equipment. The hands-on nature of the projects engages students (watch video); for many it is the first time they have used these tools or made something from wood, metal or plastic. The Centers for Applied Competitive Technologies want to attract young people to highly paid, in-demand technical and manufacturing careers in the State of California.

See what students, teachers and employers say about Tech-Explorer [Watch video]

Current Projects:

Catapult Projects – Manual, Electrical, Solar and Electronic Students make a catapult out of metal parts that they cut, drill, punch and assemble on a wooden board. The finished catapult is about 18” x 12” x 8”. The students participate in a contest at the end to see who can toss a sponge ball through a target. Additional modules are available to convert the manual catapult release to an electrical, solar or electronic operated release.

Hover Craft (coming soon)

For more information about bringing CACT Tech-Explorer to your school, call your local CACT office http://cact.org/centers_home.php. For schools located from Sacramento north to the border of California, contact the Sierra College CACT Tech-Explorer Outreach Coordinator, Valaine Hoffmann at (530) 305-6700 or by email valaineh@vfr.net.