CISTAR Students Join Outreach to Homeless Project
Attendees to a summer Homeless Project program at an Albuquerque elementary school enjoyed games and toys brought by students from the University of New Mexico, a partner in the Center for Innovative and Strategic Transformation of Alkane Resources (CISTAR), an NSF-funded Engineering Research Center (ERC) based at Purdue University.
The participation by a UNM undergraduate student and Young Scholar, alongside students from other ERCs, helped the Homeless Project to provide high-quality enriching experiences. Research shows that such experiences can be especially beneficial for homeless children, as they provide a sense of stability in the daily routines that may be missing in these children’s lives.
New Mexico consistently ranks last in child wellbeing surveys and has the highest childhood-poverty rates in the nation. Besides interacting during their visit with the children, the UNM students donated STEM toys to encourage their continuing engagement with scientific concepts.
