The Veale Youth Entrepreneurship Forum offers a variety of field trips throughout the school year, scheduled based on school availability. These experiences include visits to the Akron Suarez Marketing Lab at the University of Akron, Sears think[box] at Case Western Reserve University, Create-A-Space and BOUNCE Innovation Hub. Each trip provides students with meaningful, hands-on entrepreneurial learning opportunities.
In addition, we work closely with the Young Entrepreneur Institute, which operates the Young Entrepreneur Market—a platform that allows students who run real businesses to sell their products directly to in-person customers.
The Benjamin and Nancy Suarez Applied Marketing Research Lab features a Cognitive Research Laboratory with state-of-the-art technologies focusing on techniques such as eye tracking, brainwave function, and physiological analyses; a Marketing Intelligence Laboratory with workstations where students and faculty can develop comprehensive market intelligence reports; an Experiential Research Laboratory where students and businesses use techniques such as facial coding software to test the effectiveness of various types of advertising.
Areas of Focus:
The Marketing Intelligence Laboratory provides students experience in 3 state-of-the-art technology workstations:
Ninety-five percent of purchase decision making comes from the subconscious mind, these technologies give you a direct path to it.
Students will also experience a Sales Biometrics Lab, which features an infrared camera and physiological sensors such as a heart rate monitor and galvanic skin response sensor. This lab is designed to enhance their communication skills in various contexts, including business negotiations, interviews, and sales settings.
Create-A-Space is a choose your own adventure-style field trip with hands-on opportunities for students to learn from experienced entrepreneurs and creative area professionals. Educators customize their field trip by choosing entrepreneurs in music production, podcasting, accounting, photography, real estate, and more to share their experiences, lead a Q&A panel, and network with students.
Students will also be toured through the Create-A-Space facility and participate in workshops.
These include:
Benefits of Create-A-Space include:
Attendees will also enjoy a catered lunch from Create-A-Space and Bite Creole Kitchen owner.
*Student capacity is 30 participants.
![think[box] 3D printers](https://vealeentrepreneurs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/thinkbox-3D-printers-1024x768.jpg)
![think[box] cars](https://vealeentrepreneurs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/thinkbox-cars-1024x768.jpg)
Discover innovation in action at Sears think[box], a seven-story innovation center and makerspace where students, faculty, entrepreneurs, and community members can design, prototype, build, and even launch startups. Founded at Case Western Reserve University, think[box] is one of the largest open-access university innovation centers and makerspaces in the United States.
During this field trip, students will explore cutting-edge technologies used by engineers, designers, artists, and entrepreneurs. Equipment throughout the space includes 3D printers, laser cutters, digital fabrication tools, embroidery machines, CNC mills, woodworking equipment, electronics workstations, and more.
Workshop Experiences
Educators can choose to register for one of three engaging, hands-on workshop experiences:
Students will learn basic design software to create a custom keychain, then use a laser cutter to bring their design to life. Each student will take home their finished project.
Students will learn the fundamentals of 3D design and additive manufacturing while creating a simple digital model. They will see how a 3D printer transforms a digital design into a physical object and gain an understanding of the complete printing process.
Students will be introduced to human-centered design through a fast-paced, collaborative design challenge. Human-centered design is an approach to problem-solving that emphasizes empathy, creativity, rapid prototyping, and continuous feedback to develop solutions that address real-world needs.
Working in teams, students will tackle a design challenge by moving through the core stages of the design process: Inspiration (Brainstorming and understanding the problem), Ideation (Sketching and refining ideas), Implementation (building a simple protype in 30 minutes), and Presentation (pitching their solution). Throughout the workshop, teams will collaborate, iterate on their ideas, and transform concepts into tangible prototypes.
The workshop concludes with team presentations to an audience and panel of judges, with prizes awarded for the strongest prototype and presentation.
During each workshop, students will:
*Student capacity is 30 participants for each workshop.
Cost: Free
Lunch is included!
BOUNCE Innovation Hub is a modern nine-story hub that is designed to support entrepreneurs and small businesses. BOUNCE offers two immersive entrepreneurship workshop options that introduce students to different aspects of the startup ecosystem.
Each field trip provides students with hands-on opportunities to explore innovation, entrepreneurship, technology, and the skills needed to succeed in today’s rapidly changing economy.
Educators can choose the experience that best aligns with their students’ interests and learning objectives.
Students will explore entrepreneurship from the perspective of investors by becoming members of a venture capital investment committee. In this interactive simulation, students evaluate startup opportunities and make decisions about which companies they would choose to fund.
Working in teams, students will review startup pitch decks for fictional companies. Using structured investment criteria, they will analyze each venture’s business model, market opportunity, competitive advantage, and growth potential before making and defending their funding recommendations.
Students will gain:
REQUIREMENTS:
*Student capacity is up to 40 participants
Cost: Free
Lunch is included in this field trip!
2. Software/AI Startup Basics
Students will explore the entrepreneurial process by identifying real-world problems, developing user-centered solutions, and creating a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). Through hands-on activities, they will learn how entrepreneurs use customer discovery and market validation to refine ideas before bringing them to market.
Throughout the workshop, students will use no-code AI tools to visualize how their ideas can become a reality.
Students will gain:
REQUIREMENTS:
*Student capacity is up to 40 participants
Cost: Free
Lunch is included in this field trip!
*If you have questions about this field trip, or do not have access to electronic devices but are interested in these workshops, please contact
[email protected]
Registration for this field trip is temporarily paused. Please check back for future updates.
Become a Seller at Young Entrepreneur Market
Young Entrepreneur Market provides real-world selling opportunities at farmers markets and community events for students throughout Northeast Ohio. Students gain important skills and knowledge about product development, customer interaction, pricing, and pitching. This program is in partnership with Young Entrepreneur Institute.
View the calendar of available dates to reserve your space at the market by clicking the button below.
Bring learning to life! Register your students for an unforgettable field trip or learning opportunity and spark curiosity, creativity, and real-world discovery.
