Southern Miss Center to Participate in Family Transportation Activity Night
Mon, 02/17/2014 - 02:20pm | By: Tara Burcham
The Center for Logistics, Trade and Transportation (CLTT) at The University of Southern Mississippi with the leadership of Michigan Technology University and Ocean Springs Upper Elementary is hosting the first Family Transportation Activity Night from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at Ocean Springs Upper Elementary School.
The event is supported by sponsorship from National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education (CFIRE).
The program includes building boats, packaging bananas, taking depth soundings, and designing a safe intersection. In addition, there will be more than a dozen hands-on short activities that relate to transportation and engineering that parents and children can explore on their own.
CLTT Director Dr. Tulio Sulbaran, USM's CLTT director, said students will compare the aerodynamic characteristics of various vehicles, try out the use of a traffic counter and speed monitoring device, make their own original traffic signs, compare packaging shapes and sizes, match up cargo with products, consider what ship captains need at sea, and much more.
“Who would have thought that transportation could be so interesting?” said Sulbaran.
Students and their parents are invited to investigate many aspects of transportation, learning from university students and professors from eight universities across the Midwest.
Ocean Springs Upper Elementary Assistant Principal Mary Rodgers added, “We want to get the students excited about learning.”
According to Sulbaran, the goals of the event are to introduce students and parents to the variety of careers in the transportation sector and the role of transportation in our daily lives and provide college and transportation career role models for younger students.
“Parents have a big influence on their children's future career choices,” explained event coordinator, Joan Chadde from Michigan Technological University. “These events help inform parents, too.”
The event is designed to serve as a prototype for outreach events and showcase sample logistics, trade and transportation activities that can be used to engage and increase awareness amongst K-12 students and their parents anywhere.
“It's really great for the college students because they get experience presenting to the public. It's also great for the elementary students who come,” said Sulbaran. “They get a hands-on learning experience with their parents.”
To learn more about the Family Transportation Night, visit: http://www.usm.edu/logistics-trade-transportation/family-transportation-activity-night or contact Ocean Springs Upper Elementary Assistant Principal, Mary Rodgers at mrodgers@ossdms.org or call (228) 875-4367.