Thirty middle-school students, plus two science teachers, and two chaperones from Brimley Area Schools visited Michigan Tech and the Keweenaw Peninsula from Sept. 28-30, hosted by Ted Bornhorst, executive director, A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum and Joan Chadde, Director of the Center for Science & Environmental Outreach. The Brimley Area Schools student population is 54% Native American and 51% low income. Students participated in a half-day of STEM activities on campus with Brian Barkdoll and “Kiko” de Melo e Silva, faculty and research scientist, respectively, in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Dr. Sarah Sun in Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics.
“We were pleased to provide this unique opportunity for the Brimley students that may spark their interest to pursue a STEM degree at Michigan Tech,” explained Bornhorst.
“This was a great group of students,” observed Chadde. “We plan to work with them to make this an annual visit.”