Sixth Annual Career Laboratory - Friday, May 18, 2012

Welcome to WS Elementary School's Career Laboratory. This unique event for 4th to 6th graders takes place once a year to expose children to as many different professions as possible in a fun and engaging way. The day consists of three, 45-minute hands-on, interactive workshops followed by a luncheon for the presenters and teachers.

The Career Laboratory was the brainchild of Dr. Pamela Hurst-DellaPietra of Setauket, New York, in 2007 whose son was a fourth-grader at the school. She was asked by Principal Nathalie Lilavois to produce a career day. Pam wanted the children to experience something more than just a lecture by visiting professionals describing their careers with "I do this and I do that." She also remembered attending job fairs throughout her life where she would collect brochures yet still have only cursory feel for the professionals she just met. They agreed that a hands-on, interactive venue would make the workshops interesting and exciting for the children.

Dr. Hurst-DellaPietra produced and sponsored the Career Lab for two years and then transitioned the program to Mount. In 2009, Renaissance Technologies generously matched funds with the Della Pietras for this event.

The 2007 Career Laboratory exceeded everyone's expectations. It started with surveying the students in grades four through six to find out what their interests were. The tabulated surveys translated into workshops that were tailored to the children's interest. There were 18 workshops and 27 presenters. There were quite a few creative vignettes showing how various professions interrelate.

The 2008 Career Laboratory offered the students an even wider selection of workshops. Over forty professional presented 32 workshops in diverse fields. We invite you to take a peek at the event on our 2008 slideshow page.

The Third Annual Career Laboratory, in 2009, was another incredible day for the students, with 28 presenters in 25 workshops.

Parents: Click here for important information regarding the Career Laboratory.

Interested in lending your expertise to our Career Laboratory?
Click here to become a presenter.