Rail-themed outreach to K-12 students is one approach to introducing students to the railroad industry and directing more rail-aware students into engineering and transportation programs. In partnership with Michigan Technological University, TRAIN researchers recently completed a project sponsored by the US Federal Railroad Administration to develop a “Guidebook for Railway-themed K-12 STEM Distance Learning Activities”. This education project developed new rail-themed K-12 STEM distance learning activities, adapted current in-person activities to remote use, enhanced activities with 3-D printing and computer “gamification” code, and documented existing online activities in a rail-themed K-12 STEM distance learning activity guidebook.
The project team developed 14 different activities for inclusion in the guidebook. The activities cover different facets of railway transportation and include a mixture of digital activities and hands-on desktop activities that can be conducted synchronously or asynchronously. The activity descriptions are modeled after formats used by websites that are popular with educators for sharing STEM activity and curriculum components. Given this educator focus, each activity description includes a summary of necessary prerequisite knowledge, connections to STEM learning points, lesson closure questions, and a link to an interactive online quiz to assess student learning.
The guidebook and activity descriptions can be accessed on the Michigan Tech Rail Learning System.
Play the Train Shunting Puzzle that was redeveloped and enhanced through this project!
The final project report can be cited as follows:
Dick, C.T., and P.T. Lautala. 2025. Development of the Guidebook for Railway-themed K-12 STEM Distance Learning Activities. US Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, Final Report DOT/FRA/ORD-XX/XX. Washington, DC, USA. (In Press).