Science-Engineering Inquiry Collaborative In Rural Colorado (SCENIC) fills the need for ongoing CU Boulder engineering outreach in the area of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education in Colorado’s underserved rural K-12 schools.

This project connects CU Boulder faculty and students with rural high schools to develop student-driven, inquiry-based science projects.

Project Goals

• Prepare cutting-edge environmental engineering tools that can be applied to science inquiry for K-12 classrooms
• Deploy CU Boulder student mentors to support K-12 teachers and students in implementing project-based learning based on these tools
• Foster collaboration between CU Boulder’s College of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the School of Education, regional universities and rural public schools to develop, research and evaluate the initiative.

Teacher and superintendent assessments from partner school districts demonstrate the need for additional STEM education support in their districts and the further development of an academic pathway from their school districts to CU Boulder. Previous assessment results also indicate that the population SCENIC serves is underrepresented in university STEM majors–60% of participants are female, 37% are Hispanic, and 48%  are the first generation in their families to attend college.

CU Boulder partners include the College of Engineering and Applied Science, whose role is to design the educational technology employed in the program, and the CU Boulder School of Education, whose role is to research the impact of the program on participants. SCENIC has also expanded to include partners in the mechanical engineering programs at Colorado Mesa University and Western Colorado University who serve as local resources for schools in the Grand Junction and Gunnison, CO areas. The  program is in its eighth year of servings schools in rural Colorado and currently serves schools across seven school districts.

How it Works

CU Boulder students learn the SCENIC curriculum in Project-Based Learning in Rural Schools, an academic course offered in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The course prepares students to act as mentors to K-12 students and to travel and interact with rural schools. The CU mentors support K-12 students in developing engineering projects, which they then showcase in a poster session at a Science and Engineering Symposium. Symposia are hosted by one of the partner schools and are open to the broader community. Symposium winners are offered a trip to CU Boulder and tour of campus labs, facilities and events.

A similar program just completed its second year in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in partnership with Public Lab Mongolia. Six university students from the National University of Mongolia and regional partner universities taught students at five high schools in five rural provinces in the second year of the partnership.

In academic year 2022-2023, the program developed a  soil quality curriculum known as Soil Quality Inquiry (SQ-IQ). SQ-IQ tocomplement the Air Quality Inquiry Curriculum (AQ-IQ). SQ-IQ will be implemented in Palisade and Fruita High Schools next year.

• SCENIC: Lone Star Chapter

  Additional Info

  Lone Star High School

  ---

  Location

  in colorado

  Otis

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

  Program Fee

  No charge to attend/participate in activity or program

• SCENIC: Union Colony Chapter

  Additional Info

  Union Colony High School

  ---

  Location

  in colorado

  Evans

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

  Program Fee

  No charge to attend/participate in activity or program

• SCENIC: Palisade Chapter

  Additional Info

  Palisade High School

  ---

  Location

  in colorado

  Palisade

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

  Program Fee

  No charge to attend/participate in activity or program

• SCENIC: Northfork Chapter

  Additional Info

  Northfork High School

  ---

  Location

  in colorado

  Hotchkiss

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

  Program Fee

  No charge to attend/participate in activity or program

• SCENIC: Paonia Chapter

  Additional Info

  Paonia K-8

  ---

  Location

  in colorado

  Paonia

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

  Program Fee

  No charge to attend/participate in activity or program

• SCENIC: Delta Chapter

  Additional Info

  Delta High School

  ---

  Location

  in colorado

  Delta

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

  Program Fee

  No charge to attend/participate in activity or program

• SCENIC: Fruita Chapter

  Additional Info

  Fruita Monument High School

  ---

  Location

  in colorado

  Fruita

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

  Program Fee

  No charge to attend/participate in activity or program

• SCENIC: Mountain Valley Chapter

  Additional Info

  Mountain Valley School

  ---

  Location

  in colorado

  Saguache[5]

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

  Program Fee

  No charge to attend/participate in activity or program

• SCENIC: Pagosa Springs Chapter

  Additional Info

  Pagosa Springs High School

  ---

  Location

  in colorado

  Pagosa Springs

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

  Program Fee

  No charge to attend/participate in activity or program

• SCENIC: Greeley West Chapter

  Additional Info

  Greeley West High School

  ---

  Location

  in colorado

  Greeley

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

  Program Fee

  No charge to attend/participate in activity or program

• SCENIC: Ouray Chapter

  Additional Info

  Ouray School Chapter of SCENIC

  ---

  Location

  in colorado

  Ouray

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

  Program Fee

  No charge to attend/participate in activity or program

• SCENIC: Pueblo Chapter

  Additional Info

  Pueblo East Chapter of SCENIC

  ---

  Location

  in colorado

  Pueblo

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

  Program Fee

  No charge to attend/participate in activity or program