Kelsey Mulac
Cabot Oil & Gas
External Affairs, Pittsburgh

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Energy industry employees, teachers and legislators learn more about the many benefits of the STEM mobile learning lab.

On Monday, September 9, 2019, energy industry employees, local legislators, teachers and school administrators attended an event where they could ‘Meet the MOLU’ and learn about the many benefits that the STEM-based mobile learning lab has to offer students across the Appalachian basin. The “Meet the MOLU” event was held outside of Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation’s office location at 2000 Park Lane in Pittsburgh, PA from 11:30 am until 1:30 pm.

Cabot employees, elected officials, and other industry members gathered to enjoy bbq, ice cream, and to learn more about the MOLU’s hands-on educational offerings, funded by the Energy Education Fund.

The Energy Education Fund helps bring the traveling exhibition that teaches students about STEM topics related to the oil and natural gas industry, to schools across the Appalachian basin. While walking through the hands-on learning lab, students learn about geology, engineering, physics, chemistry, history, environmental studies, and more.

The Energy Education Fund is administered by Commonwealth Charitable Management. All donations are tax-deductible.

Melissa Turlip, program manager at Commonwealth Charitable Management, explained, “Commonwealth Charitable Management is pleased to work with companies to provide educational opportunities to students that help them explore STEM concepts in a meaningful, hands-on environment,”

The MOLU’s six mobile units are comprised of four stations each, making 24 educational activities available for students. Students travel around in pairs, spending a few minutes at each station learning, filling out accompanying worksheets, and exploring the hands-on materials – like a robotic arm and a microscope. Each session is around 90 minutes long, with pre- and post- visit materials provided.

“When students are actively engaged in the learning process, it creates a deeper understanding of the material, and helps promote higher level thinking.  The MOLU is a revolutionary program that ignites students learning about the energy industry,” Turlip adds.

George Stark, director of external affairs at Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation, one of the largest sponsors of the MOLU, said, “We are happy to be able to showcase the MOLU today and introduce it to elected officials and school administrators who may be interested in bringing it to local students. The Energy Education Fund will help to bring these opportunities to students so that the next generation will be ready to step into well-paying jobs in this industry and beyond.”

Representative Anita Kulik, of the 44th Legislative District in Pennsylvania, was in attendance and commented on the importance of educational initiatives such as the MOLU, saying “STEM education is a high priority for me. It prepares students from an early age for the jobs most needed in Western Pennsylvania. It puts them in a position to be employed in good paying, life sustaining jobs.”

The Energy Education Fund provides all of the tools needed to have a seamless MOLU experience, including transportation of equipment to and from venue, complete set up and tear down of equipment, program scheduling, management and facilitation, coordination with teachers on lesson prep before the program, handouts and materials for program execution and evaluation, and promotion of the event to local media outlets.

Along with the MOLU, the Energy Education Fund offers STEM Teacher Workshops to schools across Pennsylvania, free of cost.

With the help of energy industry supporters, the Energy Education Fund will offer unique and engaging educational programs to students, and the teachers that support them, to grow the new wave of workers across Pennsylvania. We hope that attendees from the events of this week will consider sponsoring a MOLU trip to a school that’s important to them.

Reposted, with permission, from Well Said Cabot.