youth hands-on activity at CMI exhibit at geology museum at Colorado School of Mines

CMI Outreach 2017

CMI developed hands-on activities and a CMI exhibit at geology museum at Colorado School of Mines

CMI education and outreach ranges from youth to adult, with an emphasis on workforce development

In addition to webinars, CMI education and outreach in 2017 included:

  • The CSU Energy Institute and the School of Global Environmental Sustainability hosted the 21st Century Energy Transition Symposium on October 30-31, 2017. Building on last year's symposium which featured broader topics around energy, the 2017 Symposium focused on "Tackling, Solving and Addressing Energy’s Grand Challenges."  Featured talks included “Women in energy” and a panel with three governors (Colorado, Nevada, Wyoming) discussing their plan to unite in developing infrastructures and deploying more renewable energy.
  • The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) at Colorado School of Mines is the largest professional organization on campus and the largest collegiate SWE section in the nation. On September 27, CMI Deputy Director Rod Eggert presented the work of the Critical Materials Institute as it relates to energy and the advanced high tech needs of everyday life and the future to representatives of every engineering field. Next, the group will visit the Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum to see the Critical Materials exhibit.
  • On July 25, Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) students hosted at Colorado School of Mines enjoyed a lunch and learn about CMI and critical materials presented by CMI Deputy Director Rod Eggert. CMI education leader Cynthia Howell welcomed the students and REU Director Chuck Stone, a physics engineering professor.
  • About 180 sixth grade students from the Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST) spent part of June 28 at Colorado School of Mines hosted by the Critical Materials Institute (CMI). The field trip included a tour of the Geology Museum and the CMI exhibit, a walking tour of the Mines Geology Trail, and hands-on exhibits at the Tiny House where they learned about solar technology, energy efficiency, sustainability, and design challenges.
  • Colorado School of Mines professor and CMI deputy director Rod Eggert led a research sharing for graduate students and postdocs on Monday, June 19, at the Rare Earth Research Conference at Iowa State University.
  • On June 1, CMI met with about a dozen members of the Southern Ute tribe. CMI shared its educational toolkit examples with the group, then led a tour of the CMI exhibit at the Geology Museum at Colorado School of Mines.
  • The CMI museum exhibit was featured at the Society of Mining Engineers student and professional gathering at the end of April, continuing to take advantage of the museum exhibit assets. More than 50 undergrad and grad mining students and industry partners attended the evening event featuring the CMI exhibit.
  • Colorado School of Mines delivered a successful National Engineers Week on Feb. 22 that brought more than 60 high school students and and their parents to campus for mentoring and tours of the CMI exhibit at the geology museum. The high school seniors represented more than 38 schools from the Denver Metro area. The event was sponsored by Lockheed Martin and the Critical Materials Institute. Students were engaged in engineering feats, ideas and dialog. They enjoyed a close-up look at the Center for Space Resources, the Geology Museum and the Critical Materials Institute, with hands-on activities and interactive exhibits. During a specially designed mentoring luncheon, Mines President Paul Johnson welcomed the students and parents, then the Lockheed Martin engineers and Mines seniors and graduate students shared their engineering experiences.
  • To train and prepare professionals in the field, CMI offered a post doctoral/graduate student professional meeting at Colorado School of Mines, with grad/postdoc presenters from national laboratories and universities, Feb. 9-10

Examples of other youth education and outreach at CMI partners:

CMI Outreach 2016

For further information please contact:
Cynthia Howell
Research Faculty, Education, Training and Outreach
Phone: 303-273-3651