GRAND RAPIDS — On a sunny afternoon in early May, the Grand Rapids Tech Hub was about as low-tech as things get.
About 20 middle schoolers were enjoying the unseasonably warm weather and starting a game of tag in the grass outside the former Southwest Elementary, now the I.S.D. 318 Educational Services center.
The Grand Rapids Tech Hub opened last year. It’s the second in the area and the third in Minnesota. The Deer River and Minneapolis tech hubs opened in 2022.
Nonprofit Smart North, which runs the hubs, started in 2020 with a mission to promote digital equity. The tech hubs are a space for youth aged 12 to 20 to gather and explore technology.
“I always thought tech made me sweat, just because troubleshooting is so hard,” said Josiah Nelson, manager of the Deer River and Grand Rapids hubs. “But it’s been a lot of fun and a great learning opportunity for myself and all of the staff involved.”
Nelson is a licensed educator and graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 2023.
He doesn't come from a tech background and said it's important to give kids real-world skills that aren’t always taught in a formal setting.
Alex Rivera works at the Deer River hub and said some students come in not even knowing how to use Google.
“They’re very equipped with iPads and tablets, but when it came to computers, they were completely lost,” Rivera explained.
“So that’s when we started to step in and helped them explore a little bit like, ‘This how you use this.’ And then step by step, they started figuring it out on their own, like ‘Ooh, what’s this? What’s that?’ and then they started to find their own exploration since then.”
There is lots of cool tech in the hubs, like 3D printers, a recording studio, gaming consoles and VR headsets.
But there’s also space for kids to read or draw. And there’s a kitchenette; kids get meals on nights the tech hub is in session.
On Fridays in Grand Rapids, they make their own pizza, and they’re planning a garden so they can grow ingredients. Dinner that evening in May was sandwiches from Super One. Nelson said they’re still figuring out the best way to source meals.
"We just try to make sure that they’re fed. We have deodorant, and we have personal hygiene products, and just, try to meet them in a holistic approach,” he said. “So that we can meet them where they’re at, so if we ask them to try to learn some digital navigation it’s not like they can’t because they’re focused on different things that are going on in their life.”
The hubs run with three different models. One allows kids to drop in and explore their interests when the tech hub is open, after school or during the summer. Another model dives into a specific topic for a few weeks, most recently Movie May, where kids learned videography and editing by making a film.
There are also the tech career pathway programs, like The Future is Feminine and Next Gen, which offer certifications in high-demand jobs, plus paid training, mentorship and internships. Those will run this summer.
Smart North is specifically focused on sharing tech opportunities with underserved communities and communities of color.
Deer River was picked as a reservation border town, and Grand Rapids was added after seeing the success of the first area hub.
Rivera grew up in Deer River and just graduated from Bemidji State with an indigenous studies degree. He said technology is a tool to retain traditional knowledge as elders age.
The tech hub collaborated with the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona on a calendar using the Ojibwe and Oʼotham languages. They also made a song and a music video with Red Lake rapper Thomas X.
“They wanted to spread more of a positive message for Indigenous communities and influence to look into these kinds of careers and what they can do with their potential and technology,” Rivera said.
He said he loves working with his community, and it's been an honor to be part of the tech hubs.
Nelson isn’t from the area but said he’s never felt so welcome.
“You either find a mentor or you become a mentor, or maybe a little bit of both,” Nelson said.
“And I’ve found so many people who are willing to give me their knowledge and their experience in what works and what doesn’t in both a youth setting, in a nonprofit setting, in a community leader setting, where I’ve just learned so much, and I just try to pass that on to the kids and just show them what a real opportunity we have here to make a difference and to make our community a better place.”
John, 13, started coming to the tech hub after Nelson visited the school. The word “technology” caught his eye.
He got his friend Masen, 13, to start coming.
“I learned how to 3D print, I learned how to use a monitor, and I learned how to type better,” Masen said.
John and Masen said they wouldn’t have learned those skills in school. The tech hubs are more fun, too.
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