Eighth grade students from Old Forge Junior/Senior High School on Thursday visited the IDEA Center at Robert S. and Marilyn A. Weiss Hall — the University of Scranton’s newest building — to explore the innovative tools and creative spaces available to university students and the broader community. After a tour of the Madison Avenue building, the Old Forge students participated in a hands-on project, working in teams to design and develop small-business concepts. They were challenged to think like entrepreneurs by identifying a product or service, defining their target audience and considering key elements like branding, marketing and production. Each group’s brand imagery was then fabricated onto products using the IDEA Center’s laser engravers. Students will present their ideas to classmates and reflect on the process, with the intention of gaining a deeper understanding of innovation, collaboration and entrepreneurship.
A laser wood cutter creates the end result of designs created by Old Forge students during an entrepreneurial workshop at the University of Scranton’s IDEA Center in Weiss Hall on the Scranton campus Thursday, March 19, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Old Forge eighth-grade students collaborate during an entrepreneurial workshop at the University of Scranton’s IDEA Center in Weiss Hall on the Scranton campus Thursday, March 19, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Old Forge eighth-grade students, from center left, Coleman Nee, Ethan Granko, Chris Sica, Gaetano Lubrano, and Jacob Poehlman, work on their design during an entrepreneurial workshop at the University of Scranton’s IDEA Center in Weiss Hall on the Scranton campus Thursday, March 19, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Old Forge eighth-grade students Chiara Johnson, Annabella DiGregorio, Maddison Pezzuti, present their ideas on camera during an entrepreneurial workshop at the University of Scranton’s IDEA Center in Weiss Hall on the Scranton campus Thursday, March 19, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)