Manufacturing Day at Great Lakes Science Center

Great Lakes Science Center on the Cleveland, Ohio lakefront, celebrated Manufacturing Day with a showcase of modern manufacturing giving area middle and high school students exposure to future career possibilities.

More than 600 students from 20 area schools, including the Cleveland Metropolitan, Berea-Midpark, Euclid, Garfield Heights, Nordonia, Brooklyn City, Orange City, Cleveland Heights-University Heights, North Ridgeville, Shaker Heights, Warrensville Heights, and Richmond Heights school districts as well as Spring Garden Waldorf School and Cleveland Central Catholic High School, participated in the event.

Manufacturing Day gives students the opportunity to interact with representatives from leading manufacturing and technology companies and nearly a dozen education partners during the event. Interactive sessions for the students included insights from industry professionals on their manufacturing career experiences through mentorship sessions, hands-on activities, and a Manufacturing Career Expo.

Local manufacturing partners brought more than 300 corporate volunteers to the event presented by Rockwell Automation, with additional major support from Applied Industrial Technologies, Swagelok, Timken Co., Lubrizol, PPG Industries, Heroux-Devtek, Lincoln Electric, Olympic Steel, Saint-Gobain, The Sherwin-Williams Company, and Worthington Steel.

Photo Credit: Great Lakes Science Center

“Manufacturing Day celebrates, educates, and demystifies the present and future of advanced manufacturing that drives innovation all around us,” said Marzell Brown, Rockwell Automation’s digital transformation manager and a member of the Science Center’s Board of Directors. “Through hands-on learning, students from across Northeast Ohio will explore career paths in our region and gain a deep understanding of the importance of the present and future manufacturing workforce. Here at Rockwell Automation, we are thrilled to partner with Great Lakes Science Center and other Northeast Ohio industry leaders to continue to make this event possible.”

The students also had an opportunity to meet with representatives from community education and advocacy partners including Cuyahoga Community College, University of Akron, Lorain County Community College, MAGNET, Cuyahoga Valley Career Center, Polaris, Women in Manufacturing, Precision Metalforming Association, and the Northeastern Ohio Science and Engineering Fair.

Manufacturing Day is a nationwide effort, typically held in early October, to show students what the world of modern manufacturing is all about. New technologies are developed daily and bring about whole new careers, requiring a skilled workforce interested in pursuing them and it’s anticipated that U.S. manufacturers will need to fill up to 3.8 million additional jobs by 2033, according to the Manufacturing Institute. Together with the National Association of Manufacturers, The Manufacturing Institute, MEP Centers, and federal agency partners, the Manufacturing USA network celebrates the manufacturers who make the products that strengthen our economic security and provide opportunities for the nation’s workforce.

Great Lakes Science Center is one of the top 10 museums in the nation as celebrated by the 2025 USA Today 10 Best Readers’ Choice travel award for Best Science Museum. The Science Center is home to the NASA Glenn Visitor Center. The Science Center makes science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) come alive for more than 300,000 visitors a year through hundreds of hands-on exhibits, temporary exhibitions, the Cleveland Clinic DOME Theater, historic Steamship William G. Mather, daily science demonstrations, seasonal camps and more. The Science Center, a 501(c)(3) non-profit institution, earned at Charity Navigator Four Star Rating in 2025, receiving top scores for financial efficiency, sustainability, and trust worthiness. The Science Center is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.