Changing the perception of plastics one classroom at a time

PlastiVan® enjoys attending conferences and inviting students from local schools to participate in a PlastiVan® program and explore the conference floor. This is an exciting time for students and conference attendees. Watching students get excited about career possibilities, products and machinery on the exhibit floor makes this fun for all.

Best practices when PlastiVan® is present at conferences:

• Put the PlastiVan® program on the conference schedule. This makes everyone aware of the program and the presence of the students.
• A PlastiVan® representative gives a short presentation to conference attendees. This can be at the opening dinner or luncheon, awards banquet, or a general session. Conference attendees enjoy the fun activities and are amazed at how much teaching can happen in a short period of time and in such an enjoyable format.
• Include PlastiVan® marketing material as part of the “conference bag.” We are trying to engage more colleagues to sponsor PlastiVan® in their communities. This is a great opportunity for us to spread the word.
• Schedule the PlastiVan® conference visit to coincide with the college student poster session or other activities to facilitate high school and college student interaction.
• A classroom space is necessary for the PlastiVan® presentation.
• Make the PlastiVan® presentation a regular part of your annual conference and let us be part of the planning.

Call to Action

• Contact Mark Richardson at mrichardson@4spe.org to begin the scheduling process.
• We need at least 6-9 months lead time to schedule the PlastiVan® visit.
• Use your local school connections to schedule the conference PlastiVan® visit.
• Generally, the conference pays for student lunches, the sponsorship fee ($1750), and possible transportation to the conference location. The SPE Foundation may be able to secure a grant to help finance the sponsorship fee.