Project LEAPES
Project LEAPES made a lasting difference for rural students and teachers across Kansas.
Made possible by a three-year, $2.7 million U.S. Department of Defense grant, Project LEAPES (Learning, Exploration, and Application for Prospective Engineering Students) brought together the Rural Education Center and the Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CRESIS) at the University of Kansas to spark interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers among 7th–12th grade students statewide.
The primary goal of Project LEAPES was to engage students in awareness, exploration, and preparation activities related to careers in aerospace engineering, artificial intelligence, and computer science, all of which are critically important areas to national security.
Over four years, Project LEAPES equipped 120 teachers through professional development and welcomed an average of 400 middle school students each summer to its STEM camps taught by K-State professors of Robotic, Computer Science, and Aerospace Engineering. Students reported leaving camp with greater enthusiasm for STEM topics and a stronger belief that they could succeed in STEM fields. Teachers gained tools to keep the momentum going in their classrooms, and students left inspired to imagine themselves as the next generation of scientists, engineers, and innovators.
The primary goal of Project LEAPES is to engage students in awareness, exploration and preparation activities related to careers in aerospace engineering, artificial intelligence and computer science, all of which are critically important areas to national security.
The Rural Education Center is seeking grant and/ or philanthropic support so that future summer STEM camps can continue to build on this proven success—empowering students, strengthening schools, and ensuring that Kansas remains a place where young people dream big and achieve even bigger.