Wheels turn for high school engineers at MassMakes Innovation Challenge
SPRINGFIELD — Laser optics, said Springfield Central High School senior Anthony Pena La Bosco.
The 17-year-old plans to study laser optics starting next year at Springfield Technical Community College.
"There is just so much you can do with them. Look at those images projected on the screen," he said, pointing to a building-size display at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. "You can use them to treat cancer."
He was one of 300 high school students from across the Pioneer Valley and parts of Central Massachusetts visiting the Hall of Fame on Wednesday as the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative's Center for Advanced Manufacturing hosted its annual MassMakes Innovation Challenge.
October is Manufacturing Month and precedes this year's STEM week, which will kick off Oct. 20 and conclude Oct. 24.
Yanalyz Rodriguez, 14, of Springfield Central High School, directs a remote-controlled car at the MassMakes Innovation Challenge at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Wednesday. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
Students built a robot designed to make a warehouse run more efficiently and streamlined paper-airplane production in a timed event, said Adam Couturier, CAM's director of STEM Ecosystem and partnerships. They also played games designed to build skills, like teamwork, sought out by employers.
"I can see the wheels turning," said state Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler.
Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler introduces the MassMakes Innovation Challenge at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Wednesday. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
Not just literally — there were robots scuttling underfoot as he spoke — but in students' minds.
"They are making the connections between these STEM fields — math and science — and technology, and exciting careers they can have."
Fun is also the goal, said Ashley Bregman, executive director of Blackstone Valley Hub, a workforce development agency in Whitinsville.
"Manufacturing can be fun," she said. "Making things can be fun, and we want students to understand that."
The MassMakes Innovation Challenge at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Wednesday. October. 8, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
Couturier said high-tech precision manufacturing is an economic force in the state. But it often happens out-of-view, with students unaware.
Events like Wednesday's competition helps with awareness. "So that they can see what technology makes possible," Couturier said.
Participating schools at the event included:
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Agawam High School
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Amherst-Pelham Regional High School
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Gateway Regional High School
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Monson High School
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North Brookfield Public Schools
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Northbridge High School
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Springfield High School of Science and Technology
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Springfield Central High School
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Springfield Conservatory of the Arts
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Westfield High School
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West Springfield High School
Stories by Jim Kinney
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