August 22, 2005
Middle School Students Blaze Trails to Engineering
Lubbock – In West Texas, cattle trailers are as common as cotton fields. But pack that same trailer full of engineering experiments and the results are surprisingly uncommon.
Meet Trailblazer - a 40-foot-long trailer turned discovery center on wheels. A project of the Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering (TAME), Trailblazer is jam-packed with hands-on exhibits designed to get students interested in engineering careers.
During the trailer's weeklong stay, over 500 students from Lubbock Independent School District's elementary and middle schools climbed aboard the mobile science museum to experience interactive exhibits ranging from aerodynamics and electricity to biomedicine and meteorology.
Dedicated to increasing minority enrollment in engineering, the Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering uses programs like Trailblazer to educate students through experience-based learning. By motivating kids academically and connecting them with K-12 engineering programs like the Pre-college Engineering Academy at Texas Tech University, the alliance continues to provide engineering opportunities for students from all walks of life.
This year's event was coordinated by Texas Tech's Center for Engineering Outreach in cooperation with Dunbar Middle School. Dunbar is a member of the center's Pre-college Engineering Academy.
Story Features
A Dunbar Middle School student experiments with a Lumin Disk in Trailblazer's exhibit on lightning and static electricity.
Outreach Partners
With a shared vision for giving K-12 students a chance to experience engineering, the Center for Engineering Outreach and TAME have a long-standing partnership for doing engineering outreach.
Media Contacts
Center for Engineering Outreach
T 806.742.3451
Office of Communications and Marketing
T 806.742.2136
Center for Engineering Outreach, Box 43103, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409-3103
806.742.3451