SEAOI EDI Commitee
SparkShop Volunteer Event

Come help pack STEM kits for Chicago Public School 4th and 5th Grade Classrooms while catching up with your peers!

When: Wednesday, October 1st, 2025

Where: Thornton Tomasetti’s Office, 600 West Fulton, Suite 705

5 - 6 PM - Pack kits

6 - 7 PM - Happy hour

This event is open to SEAOI members and non-members! Sign-up and reserve a spot as we have a limited number of spaces. Capacity is 40 people.

Who is SparkShop?

• SparkShop is a Chicago nonprofit “on a mission to inspire and mobilize the next generation of engineers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and manufacturing geniuses.”
• They developed a hands-on program where 4th and 5th graders explore engineering in their classrooms.
• Their lesson plans, training, and materials are free to teachers and students.

Why SparkShop?

• SparkShop’s program targets schools with students who are underrepresented in STEM on the basis of race, gender, and socioeconomic status.
• A goal of the EDI Commitee is to increase representation of underrepresented groups within the structural engineering profession. We believe this starts with exposing kids at a young age.