Published: June 15, 2003

Some of the University of Colorado at Boulder's engineering outreach programs will be leaving campus this summer to provide better access for K-12 students and teachers across the state.

Presented by the acclaimed Integrated Teaching and Learning Program, the weeklong "Kids Invent Toys" workshop will be offered at Alicia Sanchez Elementary in Lafayette today through June 20, and then at the Western Colorado Math and Science Center in Grand Junction July 14-18.

One of three professional development workshops for K-12 teachers, "Mechanics Mania," also will be held July 7-8 at the Western Colorado Math and Science Center in Grand Junction.

The workshops in each location are fully enrolled.

At the same time, the ITL's Girls Embrace Technology internship for high school girls also is drawing participants from a wide geographical area due to alliances built with various community organizations after its first successful year. Thirty-six girls from Longmont to Aurora will participate in the six-week internship, which runs from June 16 to July 24 at the ITL Laboratory on the CU-Boulder campus.

"These hands-on engineering workshops introduce children and their parents to the excitement and opportunities of a career in engineering, and we want to make sure youngsters from across the state get the opportunity to participate," said Jackie Sullivan, co-director of the Integrated Teaching and Learning Program.

The ITL has been named a "Program of Excellence" by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education and its outreach programs also are supported by Sun Microsystems, the Daniels Fund, the Dorr Foundation, the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Education, many College of Engineering alumni and two CU-Boulder programs: the Alliance for Technology, Learning and Society, and the CU-Boulder Outreach Committee.

An overview of this summer's workshops includes:

- Girls Embrace Technology - Six-week internship program for 36 high school girls focusing on creative applications of technology to biophysics, June 16-July 24 (Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m.). Girls work in teams to design a multimedia educational product while developing technical skills in graphic and user interface design and visual programming.

- Kids Classes - Hands-on engineering workshops offered to elementary and middle school students, including a June 16-20 class at Alicia Sanchez Elementary in Lafayette, a July 14-18 class at the Western Colorado Math and Science Center in Grand Junction, and two classes June 16-27 at the ITL Laboratory on the CU-Boulder campus.

- Professional Development Workshops for Teachers - Workshops for teachers present a 10-week engineering curriculum, with accompanying hands-on activities, for use in elementary classrooms. Workshops will be held June 30-July 1 at the ITL Laboratory, July 7-8 at the Western Colorado Math and Science Center in Grand Junction, and July 9-10 at the ITL Laboratory.

For more information contact Janet Yowell at (303) 492-5230.

Note to Editors: The following workshops are fully enrolled; media reporters and photographers are welcome to visit. Please call Carol Rowe at (303) 492-7426 for schedule information and directions.