(542d) Chemical Engineering TIGERs – Practices at Auburn University

Auburn University's Samuel Ginn College of Engineering conducts a number of outreach programs designed to expose K-12 students to various aspects of engineering. Among these programs are the annual Teams and Individuals Guided by Engineering Resources (TIGERs) Camps. The TIGERs Camps are weeklong residential summer camps that immerse rising 8th - 11th graders in a number of different activities pertaining to the engineering disciplines. The typical structure of the camps includes campers spending half-day sessions with individual engineering departments. The Chemical Engineering Department has been involved with the TIGERs Camps since their inception. Over the years we have refined our sessions and attempted to continuously improve our offering to the TIGERs. We have succeeded in operating a program that is highly rated by the participants and stimulates their interest in engineering. In this work we describe the activities and examine what makes for a successful program. During the course of a given summer two camps are conducted: one for rising 8th and 9th graders and one for rising 10th and 11th graders. During the Chemical Engineering Department's session the campers are split up into teams and shuttle among 5 or so different activity stations. From the departmental perspective these activities involve chemical engineering topics such as transport phenomena and reaction engineering as well as more general engineering matters such as design of experiment methodologies and technical communications. The TIGERs Camper perspective of these activities, with names such as ?Water Challenge? and ?The Perfect Cookie?, is obviously a bit different. Many of the activities have some sort of inherent scoring element (e.g., make a cookie that's rated by outside tasters) and this naturally leads to a competitive aspect to the entire program. We have found that this competition enhances the TIGERs experience, stimulates the TIGERs Campers and helps them understand engineering principles.