CSU Spur strives to accommodate as many on-site field trips as possible throughout the year. In addition, Spur collaborates with partners to create dynamic, engaging outreach opportunities that support the Spur community in meaningful ways. To learn more about available programs or to request programming for your classroom or school, please contact partners directly through their websites.
Denver 4-H offers fun, educational, and hands-on programming to youth ages 5-18 across a wide variety of topics, including health, science, engineering, and natural resources. Kids experience 4-H in every city and county in the state through in-school and after-school programs, school and community clubs, and 4‑H camps.
The Denver Water Youth Education Program is dedicated to inspiring the next generation of water-conscious citizens. Resources are designed to support students and educators in understanding their relationship to water and learning how to conserve and protect this resource. The Youth Ed team leads hands-on, free experiences in the classroom and provides resources to support your water education journey.
The Colorado GROW Youth Institute empowers high school students across the state to be hunger heroes. The program hosts an annual event each spring at CSU Spur where high school students connect with peers and leaders to explore, research, and propose solutions to solve food insecurity and hunger at home and around the world. Resources are available to educators who would like to incorporate global food security topics in their curriculum. Scholarships, internships, and fellowships are available to participating students.
Little Shop of Physics focuses the creativity of Colorado State University’s diverse community of learners to ignite curiosity and inspire a lifelong love for science through engaging, hands-on experiences for learners of all ages and backgrounds. We hit the road, bringing hands-on science fun and 100+ interactive science experiments to schools all over Colorado and beyond!
The We Don’t Waste vision is that food goes to people, not landfills, and is accessible to all. The education team provides learning opportunities for students of all ages on topics including the environmental impact of food waste, food insecurity, nutrition, and what we can all do to help reduce our waste. We Don’t Waste offers in-person and virtual presentations, field trips to its facility in Denver, food waste audits to measure plate waste, compost lessons, cooking classes, and more!
Stem kits
CSU Spur collaborates with the Natural Sciences Education & Outreach Center in Fort Collins to host unique STEM experiences for students. CSU faculty, national parks, citizen science programs, and other research projects collaborate with the NSEOC team to design these experiences in ways that put real science in the hands of students, based on current scientific research projects.
A STEM kit is a box of activities and experiments designed to teach scientific inquiry and the nature of science. Each kit is designed to be a guided inquiry and is paired with current research that is happening at CSU or around the world!
A classroom set is composed of 15 identical kits designed to be student-centered, guided inquiry explorations. Each kit is meant to be used by two students, for a total of 30 students at a time.
Paired students work at their own pace, while the teacher takes on the role of facilitator and guide. The students act as scientists, focusing on the scientific process, scientific illustration, data collection and analysis, and communication of results.
Each kit contains just about all of the materials needed (minus common things like water and paper towels) to explore some interesting scientific research topics.
At CSU Spur, we have two kits that are available to classrooms in the Denver Metro areas with more in development. More information about each kit, including applicable Next Generation Science Standards and disciplinary core ideas, is available at the links below. These kits require minor student-teacher interaction and can be checked out by any educator. Both are available in Spanish.
- Going Viral STEM Kit (6th-12th grades): Explore how a community can protect itself from a viral outbreak!
- Soils of Fire STEM Kit (5th-12th grades): Explore how the intensity of a wildfire affects where a tree’s carbon goes!
If you are looking for other topics, the NSEOC STEM Kit Library has 14 other kits available for check-out.
Other kits coming soon!
- From Forests to Faucets STEM Kit (6th-12th grades): Explore the factors that affect the quality and quantity of water we drink in Colorado!
- GetWET Water Education (9th-12th grades)**: Explore surface and groundwater outdoors and check for quality and quantity on CSU Spur property along South Platte River!
**This kit is currently available at CSU Spur for use with field trip programs, but a checkout version is coming soon!
Kits are available for teachers and informal educators in Colorado to check out for one-two weeks. Please fill out a local pick-up loan application to request use of a kit.
The CSU Spur water education coordinator will review your request and any questions you have. You should also get a copy of the form for your records via email. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Stefan Karg at [email protected].
No! Thanks to funding from the National Science Foundation and generous donations from individuals and foundations, these resources are available to educators at no cost.
Bring CSU Spur to your school or event
The mobile outreach education lab, Sci on the Fly, delivers programming inspired by actual CSU research in partnership with CSU Spur. High-end gaming computers run advanced team-based programs focused on teaching youth across Colorado about the deep connections between humans, animals, and the environment. Digital microscopes are also available, as well as additional programming that highlights career opportunities in virology and anesthesiology.
