INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — JA JobSpark returned to the Indiana State Fairgrounds on Tuesday.

More than 15,000 eighth graders were scheduled through Thursday afternoon to attend the Junior Achievement of Central Indiana‘s career fair.

Activities were to be set up across three buildings at the fairgrounds. Students were to learn about careers across eight different sections that organizers call career clusters.

Those clusters were architecture, engineering and construction, agriculture, food and natural resources, advanced manufacturing, engineering, logistics, business and finance, government, law and public service, health and life sciences, hospitality and tourism, and technology. 

Molly Baines, director of JA JobSpark, says it’s important to show students what’s out there. “It’s a lot of fun. It’s very different from a standard career fair because it’s very interactive. It’s hands on. We don’t pass out a lot of brochures or flyers or things like that so students can actually get in and try the equipment.”

Each cluster were to have activities for kids to get a feel for different careers. Professionals in the industries were to be around to talk about what they do. 

Beth Petrucce, the community engagement director at Ascension St. Vincent, a health care provider, helped bring volunteers to the event. She headed up organizing the health and life sciences cluster. Petrucce says the event is a great way to get involved with the next generation.

“When they leave there’s always a lot of excitement in this cluster,” Petrucce said. “It’s quite large, and all the organizations work together to bring these activities for the students so they can really see ‘Oh, I thought I wanted to be this when I grow up, but this is a really neat new career that I didn’t even know existed.’”

Don Steffy, executive director of the Indianapolis Ballet, helped organize the hospitality and tourism cluster. Students were to try out sports broadcasting, talk to an IndyCar driver, and fly in a flight simulator. “It’s everything from a formal way of making a living to an informal one. It’s just a great time for the kids. It’s fast-paced.

A new feature of the 2024 career fair included Campus Corner, where students could hear from local college students about their experiences.