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From Home Furnishing Business
Ergomotion Hosts Chinese Students for STEM Program
September 5,
2018 by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Community / Charitable Support, Industry 
Ergomotion has partnered with its parent company, China-based Keeson Technologies, and a local elementary school to host 14 Chinese school students for a two-week intensive learning program focusing on science, technology, engineering and math.
The Chinese students joined 60 fourth- and fifth-grade students at Norton Elementary School to learn about computer-aided design and 3D printing, and participate in a dozen field trips to gain real-world experience.
The program is the first of its kind for elementary school students in the Santa Barbara, Calif. region and included a visit to Ergomotion’s distribution center. The students witnessed the inner workings of the warehouse and learned about the operation of an adjustable bed base and the complexities of international product distribution.
“This was a wonderful opportunity for these bright young students to expand their STEM knowledge and interact with their peers in the U.S,” said Johnny Griggs, chief operating officer. “The students asked some great questions, but I think we learned as much from them as they learned from us. Our staff really enjoyed working with them.”
Other field trips included visits to the California Science Center in Los Angeles, Walker Stamping Corporation in Ontario, Calif., Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, Calif., and Redlands University’s sustainable farm, where the students planted organic food.
The idea for the exchange program was hatched more than two years ago when Emily Hanson, Ergomotion’s purchasing and logistics manager, visited Keeson’s factory with her mother, a Norton Elementary School teacher. Norton’s principal accompanied them on the trip, and the group met with Jack Tang, CEO of Keeson Technologies, to discuss the STEM work Norton students were doing. Tang was impressed with the Norton effort, and Keeson decided to partner with the school and the families of the traveling students to fund the exchange program.
The company and the school also worked with Global Trade and Technology, a nonprofit group that promotes STEM education, to develop the program agenda. Each of the participating students have family members who work for Keeson.