Ivy Tech Students Restore Science Central Exhibit Through Advanced Manufacturing Class Project

When students in the Advanced Manufacturing Projects class at Ivy Tech Community College were presented with a list of semester projects, one opportunity stood out: the chance to restore a broken exhibit at Science Central and create something the entire community could experience.

"Ivy Tech’s manufacturing projects course is taken by students in their final semester," said Bob Parker, chair of the Industrial Technology Program. "It is designed to challenge them with real-world industrial projects that require them to apply the skills they have learned while also developing new ones. Students also gain experience working collaboratively, helping prepare them for the workplace. The course is both engaging and demanding, as students encounter many of the same challenges they would face on the job."

The project focused on a generator exhibit designed to teach visitors how a generator system works through an interactive display. Over time, the exhibit had stopped functioning after its programmable logic controller (PLC) failed. Because the system was decades old and no backup program existed, students had to completely rebuild the control system program from scratch.

“We saw the list of projects and just thought it’d be really cool to do a project that was going to be out in public instead of one that just stays here on campus and nobody ever sees,” said student Adam Lewis.

What initially seemed like a straightforward repair quickly evolved into a large-scale redesign. Students spent weeks sorting through outdated handwritten documentation, tracing wires, and comparing multiple versions of electrical prints that often conflicted with the actual system. Part of the project involved modernizing the documentation into updated AutoCAD drawings to better reflect the exhibit’s current design and wiring.

The class also worked closely with Science Central to improve the user experience for younger visitors. Originally, children had to complete several steps in the correct order to operate the display. Students redesigned the system to automate the sequence, making the exhibit more accessible and easier for guests to engage with independently.

The redesign required extensive rewiring, fabrication work, and the creation of entirely new display panels. Ivy Tech’s auto body department also contributed by painting the updated panels before the exhibit was reinstalled at Science Central.

Along the way, students encountered many of the same challenges they will face in industry careers, including supply delays, missing components, and incomplete documentation. The experience gave students valuable practice in troubleshooting, problem-solving, print reading, wire tracing, and PLC programming — all skills directly connected to careers in advanced manufacturing and industrial maintenance.

“There’s a lot of print reading, wire tracing, really understanding what was going on under the hood,” said student Wendel Wherry. “A whole new PLC program had to be created.”

For student Thuya “Jack” So, one of the biggest takeaways was learning how to bring a client’s vision to life through collaboration and technical skill.

“Science Central had this idea that wasn’t exactly what they had in the documents, but we were able to bring that idea to life for them how they wanted it,” So said.

Projects like this reflect Ivy Tech’s hands-on approach to career education, where students gain real-world experience while working on meaningful community partnerships. Through opportunities like the Science Central exhibit restoration, students are helping shape the future of innovation and workforce development in northeast Indiana.