Building wonder
Woodruff brings Construction Week to AFES
-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert <br> Ke-Ke Coleman, 6, reacts to getting to sit in the driver's seat of a telescopic handler lift on Wednesday as Woodruff Construction brought some construction tools and equipment to teach kids at AFES about the construction industry.
-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert <br> Anthony Meinke, a project manager at Woodruff Construction, and Austyn Jones, 5, check out a laser level during Woodruff's visit to AFES on Wednesday afternoon to teach kids about construction careers.
-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert <br> Woodruff Construction visited AFES on Wednesday afternoon to teach kids about construction careers during Construction Week.
-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert <br> Israel Coleman, 7, tests how fast he can screw bolts into two sections of pipe during a visit from Woodruff Construction at AFES on Wednesday afternoon.
-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert <br> Anthony Meinke, a project manager at Woodruff Construction, shows Fitz Wheaton how a laser level tool works during a construction careers event at AFES on Wednesday afternoon.
-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert <br> Ke-Ke Coleman, 6, reacts to getting to sit in the driver's seat of a telescopic handler lift on Wednesday as Woodruff Construction brought some construction tools and equipment to teach kids at AFES about the construction industry.
-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert <br> Anthony Meinke, a project manager at Woodruff Construction, and Austyn Jones, 5, check out a laser level during Woodruff's visit to AFES on Wednesday afternoon to teach kids about construction careers.
-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert <br> Woodruff Construction visited AFES on Wednesday afternoon to teach kids about construction careers during Construction Week.
-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert <br> Israel Coleman, 7, tests how fast he can screw bolts into two sections of pipe during a visit from Woodruff Construction at AFES on Wednesday afternoon.
-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert <br> Anthony Meinke, a project manager at Woodruff Construction, shows Fitz Wheaton how a laser level tool works during a construction careers event at AFES on Wednesday afternoon.
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It's not every day a 6-year-old gets to sit in the driver's seat of a piece of construction equipment and pull a lever -- with help and supervision, of course -- to make the boom lift extend up into the air, but on Wednesday afternoon, that's exactly what Ke-Ke Coleman did.
Woodruff Construction, of Fort Dodge, spent Wednesday afternoon introducing the afterschool kids at Athletics for Education and Success to the worlds of possibilities of a construction career.
"There's so many possible options out there," said Gregg Miller, operations manager at Woodruff. "There's a lot of people that see buildings finished, but they don't comprehend what it all takes to truly build it."
The event was scheduled during the Master Builders of Iowa's Construction Week, a celebration of the commercial construction industry.
Miller and his crew from Woodruff brought an array of tools and equipment for the kids to check out, including laser levels, a telescopic handler lift and a laser distance measuring tool. Because construction companies like Woodruff do more than just construct buildings, they also brought a couple pieces of pipe to show the kids how the pieces are connected using bolts and nuts.
Woodruff's goal for the event was to spread awareness and get kids interested in the construction industry, Miller said.
Israel Coleman, 7, watched intently as Woodruff Project Manager Anthony Meinke showed him how to use the laser levels.
"It's really cool," Israel Coleman said.
He also got to learn how to use the laser measuring tool to determine the distance between objects -- or even his own height.
"You can measure yourself with lasers," Israel Coleman said.
When Zar Mericle, 12, saw the telehandler lift, he wasn't so sure about it.
"I thought it was the thing that you have to go up in it," he said.
But after getting to see how the machine actually works -- that it's used to lift objects, not people -- he was willing to check it out.
"It's pretty fun," Mericle said.