Western Transportation Institute

2023 National Transportation Summer Camp

Project #: 4WA483

Start Date: 06/01/2023

End Date: 05/20/2024

Status: Current

ABSTRACT:

In August, twenty-four Montana middle school students participated in WTI’s weeklong Summer Transportation Camp, held at Salish Kootenai College (SKC) in Pablo, Montana. The camp introduced participants to a wide range of transportation and STEM topics. Students were able to pick out a bike from Free Cycle bike kitchen in Missoula, which they used to sharpen their bike repair skills, and learned to ride safely during a bike rodeo and a helmet drop demonstration and design competition. Campers also developed high-tech skills, like circuit construction and coding, through a hands-on project – using an Arduino to design a traffic control system. They were also able to test drive SKC’s driving simulator, where they attempted to avoid dangerous road conditions from the safety of the lab.

OBJECTIVE:

The objectives of the summer transportation camp are to:

Increase students’ awareness of the importance of different modes of transportation;
Expose middle school students to the variety of transportation careers available and demonstrate how transportation professionals work to identify and solve real-world issues that have society-wide impacts;
Increase students’ understanding of STEM topics and the importance and need for creative and innovative transportation solutions;
Improve students’ problem-solving skills;
Bolster student confidence by improving their STEM skills and by providing career exposure.

Benefits: The summer transportation camp aims to heighten pre-college student interest in transportation careers and to enhance STEM skills of students, particularly those from underrepresented groups.

PERSONNEL: