All Pawtucket All The Time

Malia Erickson of Wakefield learns how to steer a boat in Narragansett Bay. The activity was one of the hand-on learning opportunities at the Summer Transportation Institute.

Kingston, R.I. – Nineteen middle school students from all over Rhode Island recently completed the Summer Transportation Institute (STI), a two-week program run by the University of Rhode Island Transportation Center (URITC) at which the students learned about various modes of transportation and transportation-related careers.

The program was based at URI’s Kingston Campus. Thanks to the sponsorship of the URITC, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration, all students received scholarships to attend the program, which also included lunch and transportation for students coming from the northern part of the state.

During the two weeks, the students went on many site visits, which included a train trip to Boston, a narrated trolley tour of Boston, a marine tour of Narragansett Bay, the Kingston Train Station, T.F. Green Airport and RIDOT’s maintenance headquarters.

Brendan Thornton of Portsmouth learns how to operate a driving simulator at URI. The activity was one of the hand-on learning opportunities at the Summer Transportation Institute.

Judging by the response from the parents and students, the field trips made a lasting impression.

“Whether it was the detailed description of his trip to Boston, the bridges, the highways, the airport, the boats, trains or buses, our son couldn’t utter the words fast enough to let us know about his day,” said one parent.

When the students weren’t on field trips, they were learning about transportation in the classroom. Topics included map reading, safety and bridge design, which the students put into practice.

The students were split into six groups. Each group had to design and construct a model bridge out of balsa wood and glue. After “purchasing” their materials with imaginary money, the teams had to build the strongest and most efficient bridge they could, while meeting the required specifications.

Demetrius Fennell of East Providence learns how to steer a boat in Narragansett Bay. The activity was one of the hand-on learning opportunities at the Summer Transportation Institute.

The project culminated with a strength test, when weights were hung from each bridge to measure their breaking point. The students calculated the efficiency of their bridges by dividing how much they spent on their materials by the amount of weight their bridge held.

The group that constructed the most efficient bridge included Noah Loewenstein of West Kingston, Matthew Cook of Charlestown and Zachary Smith of North Kingstown. Their bridge weighed the most (47.5 grams) and cost the most ($212,500), but it held by far the most weight (21 pounds), giving it the best cost efficiency ($13,214 per pound held).

The goal of the STI program is to introduce transportation careers to students before they start choosing a career path in high school. While the success rate is difficult to quantify, feedback indicates that the program is making a difference.

“The most amazing part of this program is that it allows the students to learn about all kinds of careers in transportation,” stated a parent. “In doing so, our son is convinced that this is a career path for him.”

To further illustrate the program’s success, a former participant of the STI program is a sophomore civil engineering student at URI and is completing an internship at RIDOT. Other past attendees are spending part of the summer at URI in the URITC-sponsored business, construction and engineering academies for high school students.

A second two-week session of STI will be held from Aug. 3 – 14. To learn more about the URITC’s STI program, call (401) 874-7075 or go to www.uri.edu/uritc/workforce_development.shtml.