STEM/Advanced Manufacturing & Technology Expo November 3 - Free, Open to Students, Teachers, Parents

The Waterbury Regional Chamber’s Manufacturing Council will host its seventh annual STEM/Advanced Manufacturing & Technology Expo on Friday, November 3, 2017, from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Technology Hall Atrium of Naugatuck Valley Community College (NVCC) at 750 Chase Parkway in Waterbury. Admission is free and open to the public.

With support from the Smaller Manufacturers Association (SMA), Granville Academy, and Naugatuck Valley Community College (NVCC), hundreds of middle and high school students from throughout Greater Waterbury will attend the Expo to directly interact with local and state manufacturing and technology executives. They will also have the opportunity to view exhibits and demonstrations to learn about job and career opportunities in STEM — Science, Technology, Engineering ,and Math — from leading area manufacturers.

This is the second consecutive year the Expo will be held at NVCC. “This is the second time we are welcoming the exciting opportunity for middle and high school students to tour NVCC’s Advanced Manufacturing Technology training facilities,” said Joseph DeFeo, program director for NVCC’s Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center. “The students will have the opportunity to walk through our actual classrooms and our advanced manufacturing machine lab to learn about career opportunities in 21st-century manufacturing.”

Waterbury Regional Chamber President and CEO Lynn Ward said the event was an enormous success during its first year at NVCC last year. “We are sincerely grateful to Naugatuck Valley Community College for once again hosting our STEM/Advanced Manufacturing & Technology Expo,” Ward said. “We believe presenting the Expo in collaboration with NVCC’s Advanced Manufacturing Center is a positive way to encourage our region’s young people to consider a STEM or manufacturing career. The majority of our Chamber’s manufacturing members continue to express their very strong needs for skilled, talented professionals in these increasingly vibrant and expanding industries.”

SMA Executive Director Cyndi Zoldy agreed. “Once again the SMA is proud to partner with the Waterbury Regional Chamber for the seventh annual STEM Expo,” Zoldy said. “This event represents an important outreach to schools in Waterbury and the region about the importance of STEM programming and careers in manufacturing. Our hope is with this Expo we will continue to spark interests in students about the many diverse career opportunities manufacturing has to offer and it all begins with what they are learning in STEM classes in our schools.”

One of the largest chambers of commerce in Connecticut, the Waterbury Regional Chamber (www.waterburychamber.com) has a membership of nearly 1,000 businesses in Greater Waterbury, serving Beacon Falls, Bethlehem, Cheshire, Middlebury, Naugatuck, Oakville, Oxford, Prospect, Southbury, Thomaston, Waterbury, Watertown, Wolcott, and Woodbury.

The 2017 STEM/Advanced Manufacturing & Technology Expo is supported by Gold Sponsor Liberty Bank and Copper Sponsor Braxton Manufacturing. To learn more, call 203-757-0701, send an email to info@waterburychamber.com, or visit www.waterburychamber.com,