We are pleased to invite your school to the first Alvernia Engineering x Project Lead the Way Showcase at Alvernia University on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. 

The main event of the day will be your PLTW teams presenting their capstone projects. We want to showcase your PLTW capstone students, give them the opportunity to present their work to a wider audience, and create space for schools to see one another's projects and interact with each other. 

Presenting teams will give a formal 10-minute presentation to a panel of Alvernia faculty, O'Pake staff, and industry partners. After the formal presentations, there will be a show-and-tell session for informal discussion and demonstration of products and prototypes. Projects will be juried, with awards for Best Innovation and Best Presentation. We are also interested in identifying strong innovations that may have potential for further development with Alvernia business and engineering students. 

This event is not only for capstone teams. Please bring your sophomore and junior students as well so they can observe the presentations, learn from other teams, and begin thinking about their own future capstone work. If your school did not complete a capstone project this year, you are still very welcome to attend and participate. 

Students will also take part in an engineering entrepreneurship workshop and tour our engineering labs. We are excited to welcome PLTW students and educators to campus, and we hope this will be the start of even more outreach and collaboration with our high schools. 

Schools must register to attend. Once registered, you will receive follow-up information about presentation logistics, judging criteria, the schedule for the day, and the required permission, liability, and media release forms. 

Please plan to arrive between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. The event will begin promptly at 9:00 a.m., so all groups should be checked in and ready to start by then. The day will conclude at 1:00 p.m. 

The event is free and open to PLTW students in grades 10 through 12. Schools, students, and chaperones should bring their own lunch. If your group brings coolers, we will have a room available to store them during the morning. We ask that schools bring at least one chaperone for every ten students, with a minimum of two chaperones per school. Van and bus drop-off will be available at the building, with parking available afterward. 

The registration deadline is May 1, 2026. 

8:00am -9:00am -- Check-in at the John R. Post Center 

9:00am-9:10am -- Event Welcome

9:10am-10:10am -- Presentations/Workshop Block A 

10:10am-10:15am -- Transition Time  

10:15am-11:15am -- Presentations/Workshop Block B

11:15am-12:00pm -- Capstone "Show and Tell" and Engineering Lab Tours

12:00pm-12:45pm -- Lunch and Presentations from Admissions, TExpL, O'Pake, and Engineering

12:45-1:00pm -- Award Presentations

1:00pm -- Depart

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All attendees will need to complete a permission slip and media release form prior to arriving. More information will be sent to the corresponding teacher once registered. Please contact joseph.mahoney@alvernia.edu if you have not received an email with the documents. 

The Alvernia Engineering x Project Lead the Way Showcase will take place at Alvernia's John R. Post Center at 401 Penn St, Reading, PA 19601. Students can be dropped off at the Penn St. entrance on the north side of Penn St. 

Vans can park in the Chiarelli Plaza Garage. Pay with ParkMobile (https://readingparking.com/parkmobile-app-download/)

For more details, contact 

Dr. Joe Mahoney

Department Chair of the John R. Post School of Engineering 

joseph.mahoney@alvernia.edu 

https://sites.google.com/view/jmmahoney 

Feel free to post during the event be sure to include @AlverniaU, #PLTW, and #AlverniaEngineering on all the socials