The Texas Association of Minority Engineers Trailblazer  was overrun with kids on July 23 when it stopped at the Salado Public Library.

The TAME Trailblazer is a 40-foot exhibit trailer that houses a variety of engineering and science exhibits targeted at students in grades 3-8. It is the only interactive science and engineering museum on wheels in Texas.

Exhibits are mapped to science TEKS for grades 3-8, and teachers receive pre-visit activities and follow-up materials to sustain student interest long after the Trailblazer drives off campus. The Trailblazer can accommodate 30 students at a time. Each group takes between 35 and 45 minutes to go through the trailer.

Concepts emphasized through the Trailblazer include energy concepts such as conservation, transformation and transmission of energy, power generation and alternative energy sources; space concepts such as space flight, gravity, working in space, impact of solar activity on earth, NASA products in everyday life, medicine concepts such as pathogens, bones, body temperature, x-rays, robotics and surgery;  weather concepts such as forecasting, predictive technology and the science of tornadoes and aerodynamic concepts such as Bernoulli’s principle, aerodynamic shapes and civil engineering.

(Photos by Royce Wiggin)