This summer, CTS participated in a variety of activities that introduced middle and high school students to transportation topics, careers, and education opportunities.
For the fourth consecutive year, CTS hosted and sponsored the National Summer Transportation Institute (NSTI). This free two-week program, open to students entering grades 7–9, is designed to attract a diverse range of students to education and career possibilities in transportation. This year, 25 campers engaged in classroom activities, went on field trips, and explored campus life at the U of M.
During visits to the Metropolitan Airports Commission, Mississippi Watershed Management Organization, Metro Transit, and Hennepin County Public Works, students got a firsthand look at transportation in action. Campers were also introduced to the wide range of transportation-related research conducted at the U of M on tours of the HumanFIRST Laboratory, Thomas E. Murphy Engine Research Laboratory, and Multi-Axial Subassemblage Testing (MAST) Laboratory. In other sessions, students learned about the future of transportation, urban planning, bridges, and more from transportation experts.
Student highlights included the camp’s hands-on activities and the opportunity to meet and learn from working professionals on the field trips. “My son is truly energized to learn more about transportation and engineering,” one parent said.
CTS also organized tours of transportation-related labs at the U of M for girls in the Eureka! Program in July. The program, a partnership between the U’s College of Science and Engineering and YWCA Minneapolis, helps girls explore STEM-related careers and prepare for next steps in their education. As part of the session, 25 ninth-grade girls visited the Minnesota Traffic Observatory and the Michael M. and Nancy L. Heuer Soil Mechanics Laboratory.
In August, CTS arranged an afternoon focused on bicycle and pedestrian safety for Discover STEM, a week-long summer camp offered by the U of M’s College of Science and Engineering. About 25 students in grades 11 and 12 participated in the session, which began with a demonstration of a bicycle collision-avoidance system being developed by mechanical engineering professor Rajesh Rajamani. Then, Humphrey School professor Greg Lindsey led the students in a discussion focused on bike and pedestrian safety and how science is used in urban planning.
