An Outreach Program for Introducing Nuclear Power through Training STEM Educators

This paper describes a collaborative outreach effort that involved developing and conducting a nuclear-themed workshop for STEM educators in North Texas.The goal of the workshop was to introduce nuclear power, emphasize related energy conversion process, and familiarize the participants on the instrumentation and control aspects that have broad applications including nuclear.The workshop featured carefully developed lectures, as well as lab/in-class demonstrations and a hands-on project involving parts integration, coding, and testing.Thus, besides disseminating the fundamental knowledge on nuclear power, the workshop had appealing and meaningful elements that educators can use to encourage students towards STEM field in general.Following the workshop, educators implemented the modular lessons into their curriculum, and reached out a diverse student population in North Texas at high, middle, and elementary school grades at their institutions.