Welcome to P-12 STEM

Purdue University’s Spring Fest was held on April 18 this year and there were many opportunities for children to learn about Discovery Park. In addition to a teacher’s corner, some of the student activities were: create your own planet, spin the big wheel health quiz, and renewable energy cars. There were energy car races, while others attempted to eat 100 billion nanogram burgers! For more information regarding this years Spring Fest as well as future program dates, check out the Official Spring Fest Website.

What can Purdue and Discovery park offer you as a teacher? Which resources are available to support your science instruction in the classroom? Discovery Park and the Wabash Valley Education Council are planning a workshop for upper elementary teachers based on state core science standards in grades 4-6. Teachers attending this workshop will receive a tour of the new DISCOVERY PARK, participate in demonstrations, and have opportunities to practice and manipulate the materials utilized in science activities. All teachers will leave with a science resource pack full of lesson ideas, resource information, and science materials... Read More

zipTrips is a new program to create science-based electronic field trips for students in grades 6–8. These field trips use technology to provide virtual visits to the West Lafayette campus, where students will meet scientists from Purdue’s School of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue Agriculture, and Discovery Park, and learn first-hand about their work. Purdue zipTrips is funded by a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Visit www.purdue.edu/ziptrips to learn more.

Have you and your class been to Purdue University’s newest research facility? We would like to invite you to take a tour. To register for a class visit, please go to:
http://www.purdue.edu/dp/index.php.

Sponsored by the Discovery Park Center for Advanced Manufacturing. Workshop dates are July 20-24, 2009. The goal is for 12 high school teachers to be given the specialized skills required to make an electric guitar and to present the building activity in class as a means of interesting students in STEM topics. There will be a strong emphasis on underlying principles and on how to deliver the activity. Attendees will be able to run successful workshops (perhaps with Purdue involvement) when they return to their schools. The teaching materials, including a book entitled “Engineering the Guitar – Theory and Practice”... Read More

The goal of this project is to develop a demonstration kit and accompanying activity-based curriculum that teaches the basics of fluid power in a way that is complex enough to provide challenging learning experiences for teachers and students, yet simple enough to be economical, reliable and portable. The design and construction of the kit is finished and curriculum development for students in grades 8-12 is underway. The kit includes materials needed to assemble a complete working micro-excavator, using water hydraulics or pneumatics that can be built and implemented in classrooms or hands-on displays. Fabrication instructions... Read More

The NEXTRANS Center at Purdue University is sponsoring a high school essay competition for students residing in Indiana. The goal of this contest is to encourage students to consider how integral transportation is to the future of Indiana and our nation, and potentially interest them in pursuing transportation-related careers and/or higher education in the field. Deadline: May 15
(Will accept essays for up to a week after deadline.)

For contest guidelines and additional topic information, please visit:
http://www.purdue.edu/dp/nextrans/contest.php

Headquartered at Purdue University, the NEXTRANS Center is one of ten Regional University Transportation Centers selected competitively by the U.S. Department of Transportation to serve as leaders in meeting the nation's need for safe, efficient, and environmentally-sound transportations systems.

The Center is currently seeking qualified applicants for the NEXTRANS High School Internship in Transportation. This program provides qualified students with the opportunity to complete a 4-6 week program of research and activities at Purdue University. Participants will be exposed to the field... Read More

Purdue University is seeking school partners and 7th and 8th grade teachers to aid in research that will help us understand how middle school students learn complex science. We will focus on global warming and climate change as the theme for this multi-year study. Concepts for the study have been carefully chosen to address Indiana State Standards.

For more information about how you can become part of this research team follow the link below. Read More

A summer workshop, Infusing Energy Education into Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies is available for Grade K-8 Teachers. This project is supported, in part, by an Improving Teacher Quality Partnership Program grant (Public Law 107-110) administered by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.

http://www.purdue.edu/eas/workshop/sisi.html

Discovery Park’s second annual Afternoon for Educators at Discovery Park to be held Tuesday, July 21 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. in the Burton D. Morgan Center. Please come for a good look at Discovery Park and to find out about STEM Education opportunities during the coming school year.

The Grand Opening of the Discovery Learning Center. Look for an upcoming notice of the Discovery Learning Center building opening sometime in the fall of 2009. You will be invited to interact with the STEM research facilities and faculty and tour Discovery Park.
More Information    Construction Cam

On September 18, 2009, the Purdue Conference on Indiana P-12 Energy Education will be held on the Purdue University campus. The purpose of the Conference is to share ideas and practices with P-12 teachers and administrators on teaching energy and energy policy content in Indiana schools using interdisciplinary thematic lessons. Education about energy can help students meet state standards in core subject areas like math and science, and understanding energy policy is a relevant and timely... Read More