Cobalt Boats hosts STEM students

Cobalt Boats recently hosted over 100 middle school girls (6th – 8th grade) from Independence, Kansas, all of whom participate in their schools’ STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and Fab Lab programs.

As part of the program experience, field trips allow the girls to see behind the scenes at area businesses and organizations who are using STEM in their everyday operations.

First on the agenda was a presentation on the Cobalt history given by Shane Stanfill, President of Cobalt Boats. He had the girls guess the purchase price of the Cobalt A40, and received some interesting answers!

After Shane’s presentation, Kelle Pierce, Marketing Manager of Cobalt Boats went over the agenda and safety items. The girls were then divided into groups and toured the Cobalt plant to observe the process of how the boats are made along with the skills used in the various job duties.

After the plant tour, the girls enjoyed refreshments and were given a Cobalt Boats/STEM factory tour t-shirt as a gift. During this time, the girls also had the opportunity to visit with women working at Cobalt in various capacities.

“The tour of Cobalt Boats was an amazing opportunity for our girls in the STEM program,” said Joanne Smith, Director, Verizon Innovative Learning Girls’ STEM Program for Independence Community College and Fab Lab ICC. “While most of our participants have grown up in southeast Kansas, few have had a hands-on experience inside an operation such as Cobalt or had the opportunity to see STEM concepts at work in a real-life industry. Our girls thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated their experience at Cobalt.”