Over the last decade or so, you’ve probably heard a lot of people talking about the high cost of college. Usually that complaint is followed by the recognition that we need people working with their hands in one of many trades. Well let me tell you, if you’ve regretted accumulating college debt ever since day one of freshman English 101, we have an opportunity for you to cleanse your soul. We not only have 14 museums full of creaky leaky old machinery, we have shovels and rakes and all manner of things to pull, push, drag and drive through mud, mulch, grass, and gravel. This is your chance to give manual labor a try. Volunteering won’t reduce your college debt, though.

Ok, so maybe you already know you can handle basic labor, but to be at least a little serious, there’s a lot to learn at Powerland Heritage Park. Most of the equipment is antique so don’t expect cutting edge tech skill development. However, it isn’t unreasonable to expect to eventually experience the satisfaction of bringing a near-dead piece of machinery back to life. Volunteering over time is likely to present to you some unique mechanical experiences.

Some of our regular volunteers have spent lifetimes working with machinery and they literally know all of the tricks of their trades. Volunteering really is an opportunity to learn from them. You can expect to work with folks who know fabricating, machining, mechanical, plumbing, carpentry, and blacksmithing. Admittedly, some days only expert level scrounging around campus is needed from our volunteers, but you still get the wit and wisdom from our masters. Between the people you’ll meet and learning how to bring a huge hunk of iron back from the brink, volunteering may just lead you to learn something. We can’t give you any kind of degree, but we can guarantee you’ll have some fun.

For more info on volunteering check out the Join Us section of our website