Lake Park celebrates new Innovation Center

A new 3,000-square-foot engineering and precision machining facility greeted nearly 200 juniors and seniors this fall when they returned to Lake Park High School's West Campus in Roselle.

The state-of-the-art Innovation Center represents the collaborative vision of the District 108 school board and a Technology Advisory Council comprised of more than 25 business professionals and industry leaders.

The center is designed to support both curricular opportunities for college-bound students and increasing demand for skilled workers in the engineering and precision machining industries.

On Thursday, Sept. 24, Lake Park faculty members and students will showcase the new facility during a community open house from 4 to 6 p.m. at 500 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.

Guests will have the opportunity to tour the center, observe machinery demonstrations, and attend a brief recognition program from 4:30 to 5 p.m. in the auditorium.

Momentum for the facility began in 2013 when Lake Park became a recognized Project Lead the Way School - the nation's leading science, technology, engineering and math program - and secured a $35,000 grant for three years to support implementation.

Lake Park also was named a recipient of a four-year, $50,000 grant from the Technology and Manufacturing Association Education Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting technology, manufacturing and engineering educational initiatives.

Concurrently, in 2013, council members launched an aggressive schedule of site visits to schools, trips to local manufacturers and countless meetings with equipment vendors, school administrators and architects to develop a project scope for the Innovation Center. The resulting footprint includes an engineering design lab and precision machining lab.

Officials say such a pathway program provides students with beneficial exposure to technical concepts and hands-on experience with equipment and software. Partnerships with industry experts, they say, ensure the school is making decisions in the best interest of preparing students for their futures.

Lake Park students will graduate workplace- and college-ready and even have the opportunity to earn a competitive advantage by testing for industry-approved certifications, officials said. They will also earn dual credit through the College of DuPage.