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The Sul Ross State University La Frontera Research Institute for STEM mobile lab is headed to the Alley Oop Festival in Iraan June 2-3. The Friends of the Pecos River, a non-profit organization dedicated to river stewardship, is sponsoring the lab at the event. Alley Oop, named for the comic strip created in Iraan by V.T. Hamlin while he was living and working as a map maker in the oil fields, was resurrected a couple of years ago after a decade-long hiatus. The festival promises a parade, pageant, tournament, dancing, fireworks, vendors and more. The mobile STEM lab delivers educational, hands-on, entertaining activities directly to students. The lab is the result of a collaboration between SRSU’s Noyce Scholars en la Frontera program and the Science Mill Museum in Johnson City. All components of the lab fit neatly in the van and allow for a few people to quickly set up the displays, most of which remain on carts that are wheeled into the van on its builtin ramp and are then strapped into place. The mobile program benefits future STEM teachers and others by introducing future careers and digital literacies to educators, parents, college students, K12 students and the public. The Friends of the Pecos River was formed in 2020 with a primary focus in Texas from Imperial to Sheffield. According to FPR, this section suffers from long-term proximity to the oil patch, regional groundwater depletion and persistent drought. The river’s health has consequences for people and wildlife around it and the waters downstream. Their mission is “to enhance water quality and quantity in this piece of the Pecos River through community engagement, educational programs, landowner outreach, collaborative research and restoration projects on public and private lands.” For more information or to book the mobile lab, email noyce@sulross. edu. For more information about Alley Oop, call 432-302-1429 or 432-302-1317. For more information about FPR, email info@friendsofthepecosriver. org.
