EAST LAKEVIEW — For the past five months, a group of middle schoolers has developed a product, manufactured a prototype and pitched it to companies.
Whether it gets made now is up to you.
Eighth-grade students at Nettelhorst Elementary School have worked with product design professionals (including "Shark Tank" success story Andrea Sreshta) and Northwestern University students to create a collapsible, tree-shaped jewelry stand through Science and Entrepreneurship Exchange, or SEE.
The students created a prototype and launched a Kickstarter campaign in late March to raise $7,000, with backers receiving Jewel Trees that will be manufactured only if the teen entrepreneurs reach their goal. With 11 days left, 42 backers have pledged $2,176.
For two years, the past Nettelhorst classes have exceeded their goals, with hundreds of people supporting the inventions.
"Many of the people are doing it for two reasons: Yes, their daughter may like a Jewel Tree, but many are doing it because they want to support programs like this and want their kids to have the opportunity [in the future]," said Melissa Porter, SEE program and curriculum development manager.
SEE has test-piloted the eighth-grade project at Nettelhorst for the past three years, but the program is expanding to Evanston this summer, and Porter said there is potential for further branching out with online video chats and instructional videos from experts.
"That's really my passion, getting these programs in the hands of the students so they're preparing for choosing majors and career paths," Porter said. "Students are put in situations in high school where they need to choose areas of specialization. How can they possibly make that determination with so little information?"
The project allows students to experience the full product lifestyle and encounter a wide range of professions along the way, from engineering to marketing, and many of the students appreciate the chance to take the wheel.
"At first they're hesitant, and there isn't a lot of belief this is real. They're used to being told what to learn and reading about it. [But] they're being taken very seriously, and that's something they don't always get, so they rise to the occasion," Porter said.
Entrepreneurship is on the decline, with The Kauffman Foundation's recent study citing college debt and an unsteady economy as causes for the vanishing class of young entrepreneurs.
Giving students an entrepreneurial experience early on can encourage them to seek it out as a career, Porter said. The hands-on approach is also a welcome change from the drudgery of standardized testing.
"They're curious; they want to understand. How often does that happen in the school day? If you're learning because of something you're experiencing, it's more relevant," Porter said.
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