The Black & Veatch Mentoring Program pairs engineers from Black & Veatch with students in Kansas City schools to increase awareness of STEM careers and engineering concepts. The engineers present hands-on workshops with the students. During the classroom workshops, the visiting Black & Veatch mentors give an overview of each topic and guide the students in activities to reinforce the concepts for that session. Students work in teams of five on three different timed projects.
Kansas City PBS has partnered with Black & Veatch to expand the number of schools involved and to give teachers access to KCPBS LearningMedia before the in-class workshops, allowing them to prepare with the help of thousands of digital resources. The program has now been in 95 elementary schools and mentored over 5,610 fifth graders in structural, electrical and water engineering.
Showcase
Engineering mentors worked with teams of students during two-hour sessions at participating schools. Activities ranged from building a bridge with toothpicks and marshmallows, learning how to filter dirty water and a basic overview of electricity and circuits.
2021 Participating Schools:
Kansas City Kansas School District North Kansas City School District Independence School District Lee’s Summit School District Resurrection Catholic School Blue Valley School District Grandview School District Our Lady of Hope
