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Outreach Programs Draw 1,000 Visitors | TEAMS: Inspiring Youth in Our Own Backyard |
Honors and Awards | Faculty and Staff | College Calendar | In the News | Fast Facts

High school students attending WIEP/MEP Senior Day try out a classic pinball game that electrical and computer engineering major Ryan Hunter, above right, and his teammates revamped with digital components for their senior design project.

Outreach Programs Draw 1,000 Visitors
Nearly 1,000 high school students and parents visited the College of Engineering and Applied Science in the last few weeks to attend one of three outreach programs for prospective students. Some 650 people attended the Engineering Open House on Oct. 21 despite the snow. Prospective students and parents came from all over the U.S. to learn more about the college and its departments. Demonstrations included “Inventing Virtual Teachers and Therapists,” “Fun with Fluids,” and “Machine Learning and Robotics,” among others. Thanks to all of the departments, panelists, faculty, staff, and students (approximately 100 people) who helped to make this event successful.

The Colorado MESA (Math Engineering Science Achievement) Fall Fling was held Nov. 2-3 for more than 260 students from 27 high schools around Colorado. The students tested their skills at building boats and medieval trebuchets at the CU Student Recreation Center, and heard an inspirational speech from former Bronco Ken Lanier. They also toured the campus and received information about college admissions and financial aid. The event, which was held at CU-Boulder for the sixth consecutive year, was co-sponsored by MEP and SpectraLink. 

WIEP and MEP co-sponsored a Senior Day program Nov. 3 for 60 high school seniors from across Colorado. The students got a first-hand look at the various engineering fields through dynamic lab tours and an interactive department fair. The students enjoyed their own Crime Scene Investigation experience in a CSI/DNA fingerprinting lab, learned how engineering can be used to protect and improve the environment, and took turns sitting in the SAE Formula race car, among other activities.
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TEAMS: Inspiring Youth in Our Own Backyard
Since the beginning of the new school year, seven graduate and six undergraduate CU engineering TEAMS Fellows have been teaching hands-on engineering activities to about 1,400 students weekly in 55 third- through 12^th grade classes. The Technology and Engineering to Advance Math and Science initiative, which involves five Lafayette schools, is funded in part through the NSF GK-12 program, and is coordinated by the ITL Program and supported by the Women in Engineering and Multicultural Engineering Programs.

The TEAMS Fellows hail from several majors — environmental, aerospace, civil, architectural, chemical, electrical, and mechanical engineering — and draw upon K-12 engineering lessons and activities created and tested by previous fellows, now available through the TeachEngineering.org digital library. This free and searchable collection of 174 engineering lessons and 346 activities (and growing!) was created through NSF funding by a partnership between several engineering colleges. The ITL Program leads the multi-institution creation of TeachEngineering, and has contributed 66 percent of the curricular contents to date. 

In addition to classroom instruction in collaboration with teachers, TEAMS Fellows also lead seven weekly extracurricular TEAMS clubs, providing more opportunity for youth to experience engineering through hands-on projects while connecting with enthusiastic CU role models.

The objective of a long-term CU/school district TEAMS partnership, supported in part through a college I-CUE investment, is to start early interesting and preparing youngsters to pursue engineering and technology futures. Lafayette elementary and middle school students may ultimately participate in Centaurus High School’s four-year Pre-Engineering Academy as well as on-campus summer Success Institutes.

Early results are promising. Of the 2006 Centaurus Pre-Engineering Academy graduates, 13 are enrolled at CU-Boulder; 10 are already in the college and three are hoping to transfer in after their first year. And several return weekly to Lafayette schools to support TEAMS clubs or provide tutoring — further cultivating interest and relationships between the college and youth in our own backyard.
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