Students energized by learning lab

Fifth and sixth grade students took an up-close look at the energy industry last week at Lathrop Street Elementary with the 24 lab stations on the Mobile Oilfield Learning Unit. STAFF PHOTO/STACI WILSON

Montrose Area fifth- and sixth-graders took an up close look at the energy industry last week during some hands on learning with the Mobile Oilfield Learning Unit (MOLU).
Bill desRosiers, of Cabot Oil & Gas, said bringing the energy learning unit stations to Susquehanna County from its base in Texas was the culmination of about two years worth of work. Students from both Lathrop Street and Choconut Valley elementary schools participated in the Wednesday learning experience.
“It offers a unique learning experience,” desRosiers said. The MOLU debuted about 10 years ago in Texas with so much success, a second lab was established, he said. “Fifth and sixth graders learn energy STEM-related concepts in a hands-on environment.”
There are six stations in the lab, each with four activities for a total of 24 lessons. Lessons cover everything from possible careers in the energy field, to history, to scientific concepts including physics and geology. The students also get to explore everyday products that come from the energy industry.
In addition to the Montrose Area visit, the lab was also set up at Elk Lake last week, and visits to Blue Ridge and Mountain View school districts are also planned; as are stops in Tunkhannock and Wyalusing area schools in the northern tier; as well as Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Allentown and Harrisburg.
On Monday, the MOLU was scheduled to be at the Capitol Building in Harrisburg.
Rep. Jonathan Fritz, who attended the set-up at Lathrop Street, said he would with the mobile lab in the state capitol and hoped it would help broaden the basic understanding of the industry of other state legislators. “The information is very important,” he said. “I’m pleased Cabot, Southwestern, and Williams worked together to bring this impressive display to the capitol.”
Fritz said that in the state, misinformation and inaccuracies about the natural gas industry has “in a sense, worked to demonize the industry. The actuality is the industry is a blessing not only to the Commonwealth but to the country.”
MOLU facilitator Steven Vance, of the Offshore Energy Center, said the lab stations cover a vast array of subjects and give students a taste of the different careers that are available in the oil and gas industry other than that of a rig worker. “There’s so much more to it than that,” he said.
Vance added that the students won’t remember everything they learned, “but they will remember what they liked the most”
Lathrop Street Principal Greg Adams said that because the oil and gas industry is active in the community, it’s important the kids understand what it is.
He said the MOLU was a terrific STEM application and ties into the curriculum.
Adams said that from an educator’s perspective, the students can learn information about the industry, look at the pros and cons, and develop their own opinions, as well as think about career options.
“There are career opportunities for kids in science and engineering that are a viable option in this area,” he said, “But for me, it’s about the students understanding the information.”