CHILLICOTHE – “Chance it! Chance it!”

The chant started with just a couple young voices, then picked up steam until nearly all 30 or so participants Wednesday in a manufacturing camp at Pickaway-Ross Career & Technology Center were urging fellow participant Donraya Davidson to put one more cup onto what was already a stately tower. The 11-year-old’s problem, however, was that even though she was standing on a chair, the top of the tower was just a little bit beyond her reach.

She stretched and gave it a try, but as the structure tumbled to the ground, Davidson joined in the laughter — laughter that only increased as the tower of her team’s opponent also collapsed seconds later, leaving both teams scrambling to create what they could in the final moments before time ran out.

Fun and the chance to spend some time over the summer learning about manufacturing careers were the centerpieces of Ross County’s version of the three-day summer manufacturing camps being sponsored across the state by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown. The camps, which locally brought the involvement of the United Way’s Map Your Future program, Pickaway-Ross and several area businesses, targeted kids in grades 5 through 8 and are part of the growing movement to expose students to a variety of career paths at younger ages.

“Ohioans are proud of our state’s long manufacturing history,” Brown said. “To keep up that tradition, we must get a new generation interested in our changing manufacturing sector. That’s what these camps are all about. These camps are helping students around Ohio learn about manufacturing jobs right here in Ohio and the opportunities our manufacturing sector has created for their parents and grandparents.”