Children of all ages will get hands-on experience operating working heavy equipment next Sunday when the third annual Keiki Construction Zone returns to Whitmore Fairgrounds in Wahiawa. The Nov. 8 event runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and pairs children and adults with working construction professionals for hands-on operating experience, part of a broader push to introduce the next generation to careers in the trades.
The event brings the construction and agricultural industries together for what organizers describe as a hands-on community experience, according to Hawaii News Now. Children of all ages and adults alike will get practical experience operating working heavy equipment alongside professionals, the station reports — a far cry from watching bulldozers from behind a fence.
From a Hawaiʻi Island Startup to a Statewide Draw
The idea traces back to 2023, when Max Behrens, who is affiliated with Dirt Works, launched that company in Panaewa on Hawaiʻi Island. That same year, the station's report notes, Kaimanalani Sasaki — affiliated with BZ Services, which she started in the construction trade four years before the article's publication — helped get the Keiki Construction Zone off the ground. Sasaki has said the event began as a free equipment day that incorporated local businesses and vendors, giving kids space to operate machinery hands-on.
BZ Services LLC organized that inaugural gathering, which, per Environment Hawaiʻi, was held in December 2023 on state agricultural land in Whitmore Village and drew roughly 3,000 attendees. Behrens has said the goal is simple: give as many kids as possible a shot at hands-on trade work, bringing them up to show them the opportunities out there in the blue-collar world.
What's Planned This Year
This year's event is sponsored by Papé Machinery and will feature local companies, farmers and vendors sharing trade knowledge and encouraging interest in vocational careers, the same account notes. David Kahikina, who is affiliated with Papé Machinery, has said the event introduces children to opportunities in blue-collar careers.
Beyond the machinery, families can expect heavy equipment and robotics displays, horseback riding, a farmers' market, live entertainment and local food vendors. Proceeds from the day will support local community groups, including Tyrell's Angels and Aloha from Whitmore.
The station's report lists admission at $35 per person, with free entry for children ages 2 and under. The Max Gainz Inc. website describes a free event held Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, at Ke Alaula Farms, operated by Ohana Hui Ventures, Inc., in Whitmore Village; Hawaii News Now identifies Whitmore Fairgrounds as the venue for the Nov. 8, 2026, gathering.
Why Organizers See Urgency Behind the Fun
A skilled-trades workforce analysis compiled for the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii found the state had 58,470 skilled-trades jobs spread across 85 occupations in 2021, with the number of skilled-trades jobs projected to exceed 75,000 by 2028.
That report also discusses training and education pathways. Separately, Hawaiʻi Public Radio has reported that the state faces a growing construction workforce shortage, even as construction-related projects are expected to sustain nearly 40,000 jobs through the end of the decade. The median age of a construction worker in Hawaiʻi is 44, two years older than the national median of 42, the station reported, with industry leaders arguing outreach needs to start as early as middle school before kids or their parents rule out the field.
Events pairing students directly with equipment aren't unique to Oʻahu. On Hawaiʻi Island, the Hawaii Construction Career Days event has brought together hundreds of students for career guidance, including a heavy-equipment area where participants could try an excavator, a crane simulator and a scissor lift under the supervision of trained operators, according to the Hawaii Department of Transportation. For families in Wahiawa, the Keiki Construction Zone offers a similar hands-on introduction closer to home, with the third annual event billed as an outing for the whole family.
