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Minds in Motion – An Event to Engage Pre-College Students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math

Tonya Emerson, Jamie Piacentine

College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Construction Management California State University, Chico

Abstract Exciting pre-college students and teachers about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) is a critical component for increasing the number and diversity of students entering engineering programs at universities both in the U.S. and internationally. Exposing pre-college children and teachers to and educating them about the vital roles accomplished by STEM professionals also increases the general interest in these fields. In a directed effort to expose children to the exciting world of STEM, the students of the Civil Engineering Department at California State University, Chico developed the award winning Minds in Motion outreach event. This event has grown to reach over 4000 students and teachers in 2005. The Chico State students were motivated by two goals. First, they wanted to excite kids about STEM. Second, they wanted to create an event to showcase the STEM students and academic departments in an effort to improve societal awareness regarding the important service roles and future opportunities in STEM related fields.

Each year, the Civil Engineering students bring together hundreds of volunteers. Students, staff, and faculty from both the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Construction Management and the College of Natural Sciences, along with local professional engineers, come together to host what has been described as the best organized and most educational event for pre-college to be offered at CSU, Chico. This paper describes Minds in Motion and details the planning effort to create a similar event at any university around the globe. Resources for outreach materials are also provided. In addition, unsolicited parent and teacher comments provide a qualitative view of the impact of Minds In Motion on pre-college students.

Background California State University, Chico is an undergraduate teaching institution located 174 miles northeast of San Francisco in rural Northern California. The university’s service area is approximately the size of Ohio. The majority of our engineering students work part-time and the average age of our students is 22. One of 23 California State Universities, Chico is continually ranked in the top western schools by the U.S. News college rankings. Chico is a fairly small school with approximately 1,500 students enrolled in The College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Construction Management, with 230 of those in Civil Engineering. The Civil Engineering students annually earn the right to attend the American Society of Civil Engineer’s (ASCE) National Steel Bridge Competition, beating teams from Stanford, UC Berkeley and UC Davis to earn that right. The steel bridge team has placed in the top 10 three times, including both a 1st and 2nd place overall finish. The ASCE student chapter at CSU Chico is very active and is an integral part of the civil engineering student experience.

“Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition” Copyright © 2005, American Society for Engineering Education

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Piacentine, J., & Emerson, T. (2005, June), Minds In Motion – An Event To Engage Pre College Students In Science, Technology, Engineering And Math Paper presented at 2005 Annual Conference, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--14934