Students taking part in a National Summer Transportation Institute at SUNYIT launched some of their class projects outside Donovan Hall July 16.

Nineteen students who will be in grades 9-12 in area high schools this fall are taking part in two weeks of workshops covering a variety of transportation-related careers. The focus on day two of week two of the Institute was rocketry and aviation. After a morning spent studying the principles involved, guided by SUNYIT faculty, students launched model rockets and evaluated the results.

"The National Summer Transportation Institute offers unique opportunities to participants, such as today's hands-on examination of rockets," said Elizabeth Rossi, K-12 outreach coordinator. "Students are excited by the chance to learn more about their areas of interest, many of which are tied directly to future career possibilities."

In other NSTI workshops, participants have explored alternative fuel vehicles, computer-aided design and other transportation-related topics. They also took field trips to the U.S. Air Force Eastern Air Defense Sector unit at Griffiss Business and Technology Park, two locks on the Erie Canal, the Port of Albany, and Utica's Union Station.

The Federal Highway Administration sponsors NSTI programs around the country to introduce young people to transportation careers. More than 8,000 students have participated in NSTI since 1991. At SUNYIT, NSTI is being offered as part of summerITeens, an annual series of academic day camps that continues through early August.