(Photo courtesy of Radioactive Productions, https://www.lasvegasvideoproductions.net/)

Tech Trekker is all about discovery.

Technically, this is a free educational program, with a mobile STEM lab at its core. But it’s so much more than that.

Staffed by a team of faculty and students from University of Nevada Las Vegas, the program’s goal is to make cutting-edge technology accessible to K-12 classrooms in the local area.

Educators can request that the mobile lab visit their classroom for a maximum of three days. During the visit, a program staffer guides the teacher and students through using technology, hands-on, to learn science principles.

And that technology could be a 3D printer. Or a mini landslide science kit. Or surveying equipment. Or…numerous other types of equipment that will get K-12 students exploring, asking questions and learning through doing.

In addition, Tech Trekker includes lesson plans, project media, and training events. But teachers are also encouraged to design their own lessons around the technology, prior to the visit.

Meanwhile, educators not in the Las Vegas area will find engineering design activities and a great “Building Your First Website” lesson guide among Tech Trekker’s online resources.

(Tech Trekker logo courtesy of Dr. Erica Marti, and used with permission.)

Where it all began

UNLV Environmental Engineering professor Dr. Erica Marti started the program in 2018, in response to the needs of K-12 educators in her area. Teachers, she explains, were telling her that they wanted to get their students involved in hands-on learning. But they lacked either the resources, the time or the knowledge.

Consequently, Tech Trekker provides them with all three.

Meanwhile, David Rouhani is a Master’s degree candidate in the area of environmental engineering. His work, like Erica’s, focuses on water research. David is a key member of the Tech Trekker staff. His role as a manager often sees him accompanying the lab to schools and walking students through hands-on activities.

Erica and David talked about their experiences with Tech Trekker, how the program works and what’s next!

On this edition of Over Coffee® we cover:

• What first inspired Erica and David to choose science and engineering as their career paths;
  

• The story of the Tech Trekker program;
  

• What an average day is like with the program;
  

• What a teacher can expect, when requesting a visit from the mobile lab;
  

• How Tech Trekker worked with one teacher to support her idea for a project;
  

• A closer look at the technology which Erica and David recommend for arts-oriented students;
  

• An exciting future degree that could result from this technology!;
  

• Activities which Tech Trekker has available online, for “anybody, anywhere”;
  

• A storytelling approach, to communicating concepts to a wide audience;
  

• How to support the program;
  

• Erica and David’s vision for the future of Tech Trekker;
  

• What teachers need to do, if they’re in the Las Vegas area and would like to schedule a visit from the mobile lab;
  

• Erica and David’s lessons and challenges from working with the program.