By The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Great Lakes Bay Region
SAGINAW – Members of the local Boys and Girls Clubs learned the basics of metal casting through the experiential “Foundry in a Box” program, which visited their Saginaw KidsCampus on Feb. 6.
The American Foundry Society (Saginaw Valley Chapter) facilitates the program to provide young people with an exciting, hands-on experience with metalworking. Designed to cultivate the engineers and technicians of tomorrow, the Foundry in a Box is just what it sounds like: a portable foundry. Under the supervision of qualified industry professionals, children as young as 9 can create works of art with molten metal.
“I’ve been in the foundry business for 55 years; I’m retired but I stay active,” Brian Smith, a volunteer with the Foundry Society, said. “We’re trying to inspire a new generation of people who want to get into metal casting. That’s really why we do this.”
Smith began the program by discussing the many types of metal castings before guiding participants in selecting castings and packing their molds with sand. Volunteers from the AFS then poured super-heated tin into the mold. After the metal cooled, the youths trimmed and filed away any excess metal from their creations.
This was fun because I got to learn about metals, and how they get liquified and poured in the mold,” Kden, 14, said. “It only took a couple minutes to dry.”
According to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Great Lakes Bay Region, program partners like the American Foundry Society elevate the Club experience at its facilities.
“They get a chance to experience things they probably wouldn’t have access to on their own,” Assistant Site Director David Brown said. “They get a glimpse of various hobbies, careers, and possibilities out there.”The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Great Lakes Bay Region operates six sites across the Great Lakes Bay Region, serving 831 young people. Families interested in registering a young member should visit https://www.boysandgirlsclubsglbr.com/registration.html.
