{"id":5066,"date":"2026-10-26T19:53:51","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T19:53:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.edgerton.org\/?page_id=5066"},"modified":"2026-10-26T19:53:51","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T19:53:51","slug":"trades-on-the-move","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/staging.edgerton.org\/?page_id=5066","title":{"rendered":"Trades On The Move"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ken Wortman Trades Science Program<\/h2>\n

The Edgerton Explorit Center is excited to introduce our Ken Wortman Trades Science Program, an innovative hands-on educational program that combines science, engineering, problem-solving, and career exploration to introduce students to the skilled trades.<\/p>\n

Why Trades Science?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today’s students need opportunities to explore career pathways long before they make decisions about high school classes, career academies, or college.<\/p>\n

Our Trades Science Program helps students:<\/p>\n

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  • Connect classroom science to real-world careers.<\/li>\n
  • Develop teamwork and problem-solving skills.<\/li>\n
  • Learn through hands-on experimentation.<\/li>\n
  • Discover careers they may never have considered.<\/li>\n
  • Understand the importance of skilled trades in their communities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    All activities are aligned with Nebraska science standards and can be adapted for students in elementary through middle school.<\/p>\n

    We would love the opportunity to work with your school to create a customized program that fits your students’ needs and your schedule.<\/p>\n

    This program can be brought to your school in two different ways:<\/p>\n

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    1. Trades Science programming options<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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      • Stand-Alone Trades Science Program<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Choose from a variety of engaging demonstrations and hands-on labs that introduce students to careers in trades science where students don’t just learn about these careers\u2014they experience the science behind them through exciting, hands-on activities and live science demonstrations.<\/p>\n

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        • Add Trades Science to Your Edgerton Programming<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          Trades Science activities can also be incorporated into any of our popular Edgerton Explorit Center programs, including:<\/p>\n

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          • Edgerton On The Move<\/li>\n
          • Science Discovery Days<\/li>\n
          • Family Science Nights<\/li>\n
          • STEM Field Trips<\/li>\n
          • After-School Programs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            This allows you to customize a day of programming that best meets your educational goals while giving students valuable exposure to career opportunities in Nebraska’s skilled trades.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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            Ken Wortman Trades Science Demonstrations<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
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            Air Works<\/h2><\/div>
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            Grades: K \u2013 8th<\/sup> <\/strong><\/p>\n

            Air Works<\/strong> is a high-energy Trades Science demonstration for all ages that explores how air pressure and airflow power real-world trades tools and systems. Participants experiment with hands-on activities that show how air lifts, pushes, and moves\u2014connecting simple science to construction, manufacturing, and technical careers. The demonstration ends with an exciting ping pong ball cannon<\/strong>, putting air power on full display.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

            Trades Science: Moving the World<\/h2><\/div>
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            Grades: K \u2013 8th<\/sup> <\/strong>
            \nDiscover how trades professionals use forces, motion, and simple machines every day to build, lift, move, and solve real-world challenges through exciting hands-on demonstrations.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

            Trades Science: Powering the World<\/h2><\/div>
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            Grades: K \u2013 8th<\/sup> <\/strong><\/p>\n

            Discover how trades professionals generate, deliver, and use electricity to safely power homes, businesses, and communities through exciting hands-on demonstrations.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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            Ken Wortman Trades Science Hands-on Labs<\/h2>\n

            Offered on and offsite<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

            News Paper Towers<\/h2><\/div>
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            Grades K and up \u2013 25 \u2013 35 minutes<\/strong><\/p>\n

            Construction and engineering meet competition in this hands-on lab. Students compete against each other to build the tallest free-standing tower out of newspapers and tape. Not enough planning and your tower comes crashing down. Built too strong and you may not be the tallest. It\u2019s a race against time and height.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

            HVAC<\/h2><\/div>
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            Grades 2nd<\/sup>\u00a0and up\u00a0\u2013\u00a025 \u2013 35 minutes<\/strong><\/p>\n

            Heating, ventilation, and air\u00a0conditioning\u00a0are\u00a0very important factors\u00a0in our everyday lives.\u00a0In this lab,\u00a0students\u00a0will\u00a0run their own\u00a0HVAC\u00a0ducking\u00a0through\u00a0a floor plan to supply a room.\u00a0The\u00a0challenge,\u00a0have no leaks and\u00a0make the\u00a0fan\u00a0spin\u00a0at the other end.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

            Good Foundations<\/h2><\/div>
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            Grades\u00a02nd<\/sup>\u00a0and up \u2013 30 \u2013 45 minutes\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

            A\u00a0solid foundation is a must\u00a0when it comes to building, but will it hold when an earthquake hits?\u00a0Students will be challenged\u00a0to build what they believe is a strong structure.\u00a0The question is\u00a0will their structure\u00a0stand the shaking of an earthquake, or will it come crashing down!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

            Flashlight Simple Circuit<\/h2><\/div>
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            Grades 3rd and up \u2014 45-60 minutes<\/strong><\/p>\n

            Basic circuitry can be very simple; power source, LED, and conductor, all built in a closed circle-flowing path. With this lab, students will make a working flashlight out of a popsicle stick, button battery, tin foil or conductive tape, and other office supplies. This is a simple way to see the way a circuit works!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

            Soda Can Catapult<\/h2><\/div>
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            Grades 3rd and up \u2014 45-60 minutes<\/strong><\/p>\n

            Construct a soda can and rubber band resistance catapult. Students will learn to follow instructions and engineering as they build these old-fashioned war machines. Afterwards participants divide into warring parties and battle it out!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

            Helicopter Lab<\/h2><\/div>
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            All Ages\u00a0 30 \u2013 45 minutes<\/strong><\/p>\n

            In this lab, students will explore how gravity and air resistance work together to create a graceful, twirling miniature helicopter. Students will be to test their skills by creating a helicopter they will test using a wind tunnel.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

            Stomp Rockets<\/h2><\/div>
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            Grades 2nd and up \u2013 60 minutes<\/strong><\/p>\n

            Learn about beginning rocketry as we build and launch these simple cardstock rockets. Students will decorate and LAUNCH their rockets, watching the fun fly! After the lab, ask about plans for the launch pad to keep the fun going!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

            Airplane Engineering<\/h2><\/div>
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            Grades 2nd<\/sup> and up\u00a0\u00a0 30-45 minutes<\/strong><\/p>\n

            Discover how aerospace engineers turn ideas into flight! Students design, build, test, and improve their own paper aircraft while exploring the science of flight. Through hands-on experimentation, they learn how engineers use blueprints, testing, and redesign to create better-performing airplanes.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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            OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS<\/strong><\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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            Dinsdale Family Trust<\/span><\/h2><\/div>
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            Phil Nelson<\/span><\/h2><\/div>
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            Wortman Family Trust<\/span><\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1068,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"100-width.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5066","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.edgerton.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.edgerton.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.edgerton.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.edgerton.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.edgerton.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5066"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/staging.edgerton.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5066\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5095,"href":"https:\/\/staging.edgerton.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5066\/revisions\/5095"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.edgerton.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.edgerton.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}