A new Guidebook for Railway-themed K-12 STEM Outreach Activities is now available. It contains descriptions of educational activities designed to introduce students to the railroad transportation mode through the lens of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) concepts. The activities in the guidebook cover a wide variety of railroad topics and the hands-on activities are intended to provide students with knowledge through experiential learning that also increases their awareness of railway transportation technology. The guidebook has chapters which provide a step‐by‐step guide to each activity, however teachers are encouraged to experiment with modifications to each activity and create their own activities on other facets of the railroad industry and STEM topics.
Guidebook activities include:
1) Railcar Puzzle and Commodity Matching Game (3.2 MB)
2) Railcar Size and Weight for Different Freight Shipment Density (1.4 MB)
3) Wheel-Rail Dynamics: How Railcars Travel Around Curves (2.2 MB)
4) Train Rolling Resistance (3.1 MB)
5) Locomotive and Train Simulators (1.2 MB)
6) Railroad Track Construction (1.8 MB)
7) Edible Railroad Track Construction (1.0 MB)
8) Single-Track Railway Operations Simulation Game (2.5 MB)
9) Classification Yards and Railcar Sorting (4.1 MB)
10) Intermodal Transportation Game (2.1 MB)
11) Railroad Safety, and Potential Collaborators, Educational Opportunities and Resources for Additional Learning (1.1 MB)
This guidebook was funded by the National University Rail (NURail) Center, a Tier-1 USDOT University Transportation Center, and the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association.
