Published: July 27, 1997

Twenty-five K-12 school teachers, counselors and administrators from Denver area K-12 schools will participate in a CU-Boulder workshop July 29 through July 31 designed to help them “discover engineering” using hands-on learning.

Sponsored by CU-BoulderÂ’s Minority Engineering Program, the Exploring Engineering Institute will be held at the engineering collegeÂ’s new $11 million Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory. Participants from Denver, Littleton, Arvada, Aurora, Thornton, Lakewood, Boulder, Louisville, Longmont and Loveland will work in teams with CU faculty and students and Denver area engineers from business and industry during the three-day event.

The goal is for the teams to experience hands-on engineering exploration and learn what professional engineers do in daily life, said MEP Director German Nunez. The teachers and counselors will be able to take new engineering ideas and techniques back to their home schools and pass the knowledge on to students.

Participants are expected to gain a broader understanding of engineering as an important career option for students, he said. Business and industry representatives involved in the workshop are expected to benefit by learning more about the expertise of the K-12 system in Colorado and the “pipeline” of future engineers that move from K-12 schools through college and into the work force.

For more information contact Nunez at 492-6606, MEP associate Director David Aragon at 492-7601 or Jim Scott in the CU-Boulder public relations office at 492-3114.