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Fueling Students’ Futures: STEM Education Activities at Oil & Natural Gas Industry Day

Fueling Students’ Futures: STEM Education Activities at Oil & Natural Gas Industry Day


The Louisiana energy industry is committed to investing in our future leaders. This is evident through the countless STEM education initiatives fueled by the industry every year. To showcase this commitment, a group of nearly 40 middle school students from Baton Rouge Lutheran School came out to 2018 Oil & Natural Gas Industry Day on Tuesday, April 24 to test their Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) skills. The students experimented with robotics, used creative problem solving with an assembly challenge and tested the properties of flight with an aerodynamics competition all lead by Project Lead the Way. 

To add to their experience, the students were also able to engage in all of the exciting activities taking place throughout Industry Day including:

  • Virtual Reality Simulators – Provided by Chevron and Shell, this advanced equipment gives the user a life-like view of what it is like to be on an offshore oil rig.
  • Mobil Offshore Learning Units (MOLU) – Six self-contained learning centers with curriculum-based, hands-on activities about energy and the technologies and sciences involved in the oil and natural gas industry. The students were challenged to complete the activities at each station while answering a series of questions.
  • Shell Distillation Training Unit – A visual representation of how oil distillation occurs.
  • Chevron Energy Innovation Timeline – Students were able to learn the history of the oil and natural gas industry through this interactive activity.
  • Special meet and greets with Kid Energy Mascots, Burnie and Earl!

In addition to these middle school students, the Destrehan High School Robotics Team was on-site to showcase their work. These young innovators not only operate complex robotics but also assemble them for peak performance. This award-winning team was a huge hit among industry leaders, legislators and all who attended the event.

As a tie-in to the importance of supporting education, St. Charles Parish Superintendent Felicia Gomez-Walker spoke about how productive changes can happen when communities and the industry work together. In her speech, Gomez-Walker stated, “Industry leaders, parish government and the school system work together supporting each other and knowing that what benefits the school system benefits our entire community.”

Thank you to all who participated! We look forward to future partnerships to engage our next generation in STEM education.

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