STEM & Design Camp for Middle School Students: Coming to WTI in Summer 2019

Flyer promoting Mobility Innovations 2019 summer camp for middle school studnetWTI will host two five-day summer camps in 2019 that are free for area middle school students interested in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), as well as community design and  planning.

Mobility Innovations, which will be held July 15-19 and July 22-26 on the Montana State University (MSU) campus, will integrate STEM topics and provide opportunities for participants to apply design thinking to mobility and transportation issues. Through a variety of activities, the camp will explore topics like community design, public health, sustainable construction materials, wildlife and habitat conservation, advanced technologies, and safety.

Students entering grades 6 through 9 in the fall are invited to attend. The camp will bring Montana teachers, MSU faculty and researchers, and industry guest speakers to campus to share a diverse mix of fun, exploratory, and hands-on activities with participating youth.

The camps are free to participants and will meet from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. Space is limited, and applicants may register for only one of the two available weeks. For more information on the camp and to register, visit the Mobility Innovations registration page.  four students participate in design activity at 2018 summer camp

Workforce Center Co-sponsors STEM Event

The West Region Transportation Workforce Center, which is housed at WTI, partnered with the Montana Girls STEM Collaborative to co-sponsor and co-organize a Girls STEM Collaboration Forum held at MSU on Thursday, May 19. WTI’s Susan Gallagher presented at the forum, which brought together over 50 formal and informal STEM educators, including representatives from museums, science centers, 4-H, libraries, and afterschool programs. The forum was focused on improving transportation industry collaborations with informal educators and sharing resources to build the STEM talent pipeline. Activities included a girls panel, an industry panel, networking and collaboration opportunities, and presentations and sharing of free transportation and other STEM outreach content and materials. Industry representatives from MDT, FHWA, KLJ, Sanderson Stewart, and NTSB participated in the panel discussion, which focused on what industry representatives can offer to help build out-of-school STEM programming, industry experiences with implementing successful outreach efforts, and what barriers exist or additional resources are needed to build productive education/industry collaborations.