MakerFest 2026 Brings Hands-On Career Exploration Back to Allen County

MakerFest returns to the Allen County Fairgrounds on October 8-9, 2026, giving local high school students hands-on exposure to careers in healthcare, manufacturing, skilled trades, public works/safety, and business/logistics. Since launching in 2015, the event has grown into one of the region’s signature workforce-development efforts, connecting students directly with the same companies they drive past every day.

Last year’s event (2025) brought together roughly 1,560 students from 22 area schools with about 25 sponsors and 101 hands-on activities, its biggest turnout yet, up from 1,385 students and 83 activities in 2023.

2026 looks to be another great year, with a forecast of 1,600 9th- and 10th-grade students from 24 schools attending the event. While there, students will engage with 60+ companies and explore approximately 100 booths featuring the careers offered by our regional companies. It is exciting to see companies return year after year and to see eight new companies take interest in participating.

Since 2015, MakerFest has hosted more than 10,000 students exploring and considering careers with our regional companies. At the end of last school year, a survey of Apollo Career Center’s 11th- and 12th-grade students asked whether MakerFest had any influence on their pathway to Apollo. Fifty-three percent affirmed that MakerFest helped them decide to choose Apollo and a specific program at the school, a significant confirmation of MakerFest’s influence.

Educating our regional students about the opportunities at these companies is key to maintaining our workforce pipeline. When students experience a career activity at MakerFest and then associate that experience with a company’s logo, there is a strong likelihood that the student’s career path may return to our regional companies.

A Day at MakerFest

Students arrive early and spend the day rotating through interactive booths tailored to their interests, simulating real job tasks such as patient care, machine operation, or drone piloting rather than just hearing about them. This year’s schedule is as follows:

• 8:00 a.m. — Sign-in begins
• 9:30 a.m. — Opening statements from local leaders
• 9:50 a.m. — Demonstrations begin (students visit 8 companies selected through an interest survey)
• 12:10 p.m. — Lunch
• 1:00 p.m. — Dismissal

Students register for their top 4 career interests. Once completed, scheduling software will match students with their top four career choices, along with 4 elective career choices to explore. This process helps students confirm their choices or learn about a different career they have not considered.

Last year, one student shared that they initially wanted to pursue healthcare but changed their mind after participating in the Power Lineman activity. This example is not an isolated case. Students have given testimonials appreciating the variety of career opportunities and their chance to explore before settling on a pathway.

Why GLR Supports MakerFest

The Greater Lima Region has long partnered with MakerFest as part of our broader commitment to workforce development, connecting students to the career pipeline that keeps Allen County businesses growing.

“MakerFest is an investment in the future workforce of our region. By giving students an opportunity to see, experience, and learn about the careers available within our local companies, we are planting a seed of interest. As students choose their educational and career pathways, we want them to remember the opportunities they discovered at MakerFest and recognize that they can build a rewarding career right here in our region,” said Tim Fitzpatrick, Regional Workforce Development for the GLR. 

This Year’s Sponsors

MakerFest wouldn’t be possible without the support of local businesses and institutions investing in the region’s future workforce. This year’s sponsors include:

Platinum

• Apollo Career Center
• Google
• Lima Memorial Hospital
• Lima/Allen County Chamber of Commerce

Gold

• Cenovus Energy, Lima Refinery
• Diamond Manufacturing
• Honda
• iHeart Media
• Mercy Health, St. Rita’s Medical Center
• Nutrien
• UNOH

Silver

• Charles River Laboratories
• City of Lima
• Crown Equipment Corp.
• Lima Area Electrical Apprenticeship
• Lima Electrical Professionals
• Procter & Gamble
• Rudolph Foods Co.
• Superior Credit Union
• Tuttle Construction, Inc.

Bronze

• ACI Construction Co., Inc./Kirk Corporation
• American Electric Power
• Alexander & Bebout, Inc.
• All Temp Refrigeration
• Allen County Agricultural Society
• Bluffton University
• Citizens National Bank
• First National Bank
• Grob Systems
• Howard Hanna Real Estate Services
• Johnny Appleseed Metropolitan Park District
• Juvenile Detention Center
• K&M Tire
• Lima-Allen County Regional Planning Commission
• Local 776 Plumbers, Pipefitters, & Service Technicians JATC
• Marketing Essentials
• Mental Health & Recovery Services Board, AAH
• Ohio Department of Transportation
• Ohio Northern University
• Perry proTECH
• Reineke Family Dealerships
• Rhodes State College
• Spallinger Millwright Service
• The Lima News
• The Ohio State University at Lima
• Touchstone Energy Cooperatives
• Train With CTS (Northwest State Community College)
• Trisco Systems, Inc.
• Union Ironworkers Local 290
• U.S. Plastic Corp.
• Vantage Career Center
• Vernon Nagel, Inc.
• Weigand Construction
• Wieland Randall
• Wightman
• Wright State Lake Campus
• Your Hometown Stations, Gray Local Media, Inc.
• YMCA

See MakerFest for Yourself

Last year’s event drew students from across the region for a full day of demonstrations, career conversations, and hands-on activities, captured in MakerFest’s event photo gallery, which is already updated with 2025 photos.