Milwaukee School of Engineering leaders on Wednesday celebrated the grand opening of the new We Energies STEM Center on its campus.
The 10,000-square-foot center at 1444 N. Water St. was developed in partnership with Milwaukee-based We Energies, Rockwell Automation and Northwestern Mutual and Madison-based American Family Insurance. It was built on the ground floor space on the north side of the parking structure that is topped by Herman Viets Field at 1305 N. Broadway.
The center is now home to all of MSOE’s STEM outreach efforts and hosts K-12 students from across Milwauke for hands-on learning experiences. It includes a flexible technology studio, design and development lab, machine tooling area and a FIRST Robotics playing field for teams to practice on a regulation field before they compete.
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- Supporters gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the We Energies STEM Center at MSOE, 1444 N. Water St.
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- MSOE president John Walz
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- Azul Hernandez, a St. Augustine Prep student who has used the STEM Center at MSOE.
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- Kevin Fletcher, WEC Energy Group president and CEO
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- Patricia Contreras, Rockwell Automation VP of global public affairs
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- Patricia Contreras, Rockwell Automation VP of global public affairs
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- Sheldon Cuffie, American Family Insurance chief information security officer
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- Stig Haagensen, Northwestern Mutual technology chief operations officer
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- The entryway of the We Energies STEM Center at MSOE.
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- We Energies STEM Center at MSOE
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- The Rockwell Automation FIRST Robotics Competition Zone.
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- The Rockwell Automation FIRST Robotics Competition Zone.
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- The Rockwell Automation FIRST Robotics Competition Zone.
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- The We Energies STEM Center at MSOE.
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- The Rockwell Automation FIRST Robotics Competition Zone.
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- The Rockwell Automation FIRST Robotics Competition Zone.
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- A FIRST Lego League challenge in the Rockwell Automation FIRST Robotics Competition Zone.
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- A Cargo Connect challenge in the Rockwell Automation FIRST Robotics Competition Zone.
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- The Rockwell Automation FIRST Robotics Competition Zone.
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- A robot in the Rockwell Automation FIRST Robotics Competition Zone.
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- The Northwestern Mutual Lab in the We Energies STEM Center.
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- The Northwestern Mutual Lab in the We Energies STEM Center.
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- The We Energies STEM Center at MSOE.
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- American Family Insurance sponsored the We Energies STEM Center tech classroom.
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- The American Family Insurance Tech Room Classroom in the We Energies STEM Center.
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- The American Family Insurance Tech Room Classroom in the We Energies STEM Center.
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- A kitchen area in the We Energies STEM Center at MSOE.
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- A kitchen area in the We Energies STEM Center at MSOE.
The new center is an outgrowth of MSOE’s investment in outreach in 2017, which led the college to establish a dedicated outreach department to introduce more students to science, technology, engineering and mathematics opportunities. More than 15,000 students from 150 K-12 schools have participated in STEM outreach program since then.
The center allows MSOE to grow its in-house programming while also partnering on programs with K-12 schools, local companies, community groups and organizations. The programming is available to students from all school types, including public, private, charter and homeschool.
Uilhelin/Wilson – Ramlow/Stein Architects were the project developers and Catalyst Construction the construction manager.
In addition to the main corporate partners, Milwaukee Tool gifted tools to help outfit the STEM Center. MSOE Corporation member Scott Haag and his wife Linda have also made a gift in support of this project.
