Scientists share their expertise at a variety of career fairs and science nights in Grand Junction, Colorado.
June 24, 2022
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U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM) staff had a busy start to 2022, representing LM at career fairs, science nights, and in the classrooms in Grand Junction, Colorado.
Site Manager Sara Woods represented LM and the Atomic Legacy Cabin (ALC) with a presentation about the Grand Junction Disposal Site and her work for LM at a Feb. 10 event at Central High School.
With the school year wrapping up, here’s a look at some outreach events staffed by LM:
- Feb. 10 – Career Fair at Central High School supported by Site Manager Sara Woods. Woods represented LM and the Atomic Legacy Cabin (ALC) with a presentation about the Grand Junction Disposal Site and her work for LM. The event was a huge success, with about 100 students stopping by her booth to ask questions.
- April 2 – FIRST Lego League Explore Festival supported by Site Manager Meghann Hurt. Hurt participated as a reviewer of students’ Lego robotic projects. The event drew about 400 students to show off their engineering and coding skills. The event’s sponsor, FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Lego League, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to designing innovative team-based robotic programs to inspire students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
- April 18 – All Eighth-grade Middle School Career Fair at Colorado Mesa University (CMU) was also attended by Site Manager Meghann Hurt. Hurt told students about her career as a geologist, and her work as a site manager for LM.
Site Manager Meghann Hurt represented LM and the Atomic Legacy Cabin with a booth about geology and her work for LM. The event was a big success, drawing more than 800 eighth-grade students.
This large annual event is an opportunity for about 800 eighth-grade students in Mesa County Valley School District 51 to learn about many different types of careers, including those in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
“My presentation included a brief discussion on what LM does and then I focused in on my background as a geologist,” Hurt said. “I discussed the various career paths available for those interested in pursuing geology in college. There were rock samples for the students to pick up and look at, a graphic of the stratigraphy of the Colorado Plateau and plenty of STEM with LM swag.”
- April 18 – CMU Natural Resources Seminar attended by Site Manager Charlee Boger and Site Manager David Holbrook. Students were interested in disposal cells and asked questions about regenerative grazing. A total of 28 students were in attendance.
Site Manager Mary Young represented LM and the Atomic Legacy Cabin with an ecology program at Pomona Elementary School in which K-5 students learned about birding, native plants, and pollinators and how they all work together in the ecosystem.
The discussion started with an overview/background of LM and continued with details of how and why LM considers sites for beneficial reuse such as grazing, Holbrook said.
“Specifically, we discussed the process of identifying a site as suitable for agricultural reuse and how the site is then monitored for rangeland and ecological health to ensure regulations, mission, and goals are maintained and carried out,” he said.
- April 28 – Pomona Elementary’s Exploratory Learning Day supported by Site Manager Mary Young. Young represented LM and the Atomic Legacy Cabin with an ecology program in which K-5 students learned about birding, native plants, and pollinators and how they all work together in the ecosystem.
Students enjoyed receiving magnifiers, which encouraged them to do their own exploring outdoors. A total of 72 were in attendance.