Two AGC chapters, AGC of Kansas and Kansas Contractors Association, recently hosted the Kansas Construction Learning Center at the Kansas State Fair. This effort also included the Kansas Chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction and numerous companies.

Over the 10-day fair, the coalition, known as KC3, offered hands-on activities for kids of all ages and supplemental information for adults on careers in construction. The children’s activities were varied and designed to appeal to different age groups. For young children, there were construction-themed pages from coloring books and crayons; remote-controlled toy excavators; playground excavators that the youngsters could sit on and dig through sand looking for hidden treasure (coins), and building blocks for tower-building.

For older elementary school and middle-school kids, there were equipment simulators, a screw gun that they could use to drill different size screws through wood, a tape measure reading and applied math contest. For high school students there was “backhoe golf” where they were allowed to operate the bucket of a full-size backhoe to try to pick up a golf ball and place in a cup.

“Committee members were talking last fall about more efficient ways to reach the youth in Kansas to tell them about the high-paying careers available in the construction industry and what better way than to reach the tens of thousands of kids who attend the Fair,” said Becky Harmon of Koss Construction.

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