A College Lead Informal Learning Engineering Education Program for School Aged Youth

Minority students and those of low socioeconomic status are underrepresented in the engineering field. Early exposure to the engineering field may improve the chances that these types of students will consider pursuing academic studies and career placements in this field. Now in its fourth year, Drexel University, College of Engineering hosts elementary through high school aged students in the gifted program at the Southeast Delco School District (DELCO). Students tour engineering labs, hear from current college students, watch demonstrations, and engage in small group activities that focus on engineering concepts like robotics, circuits, and human centered design. This example of an informal learning program between a college, spearheaded by the IEEE Student Chapter at Drexel University, and four area DELCO schools, has allowed grade school students to begin thinking about college, have informal college mentors, and learn the basics of engineering. Through mostly qualitative and some quantitative data, the outcomes of this mutually beneficial relationship between a college and local public schools, especially targeting underrepresented minority students, indicate that pre-college students have benefited from these visits in a multitude of ways. Often these visits reinforce concepts the students have already learned and expand their perception of engineering.