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Explore UT: A Fun Look at College and Careers

What: "Explore UT: The Biggest Open House in Texas!"

When: Saturday, March 7, 2009, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Where: The University of Texas at Austin

Who's invited: Students K-12, teachers, and families. Everyone is welcome

Cost: Free, no sign-up for activities. You arrange your food and transportation.

Web site: http://www.utexas.edu/events/exploreut


Students can choose from more than 350 learning activities on campus. Plus, they can interact with University students to get “the real scoop” about college life and learn about careers in such fields as architecture, business, communication, law, pharmacy, computer science, engineering, and education.


Here are some of the most popular learning activities every year:

- watch robot dogs play soccer,

- participate in a trial of “Goldilocks” with a real judge presiding,

- assemble a miniature solar-powered car,

- deliver the TV news in a real TV studio,

- build a bridge with engineering software,

- march with the Longhorn Band,

- see some of the world’s finest Latin American art in the Blanton Art Museum.



Here are some new activities that we’re adding this year:

- What FDR Might Tell Obama: Watch a depression-era president offer his advice.

- Facebook - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Learn how to use it safely.

- Capture that Gas: Learn why carbon dioxide is increasing in the atmosphere.

- Computer Mapping: Find your way around the world using an advanced geographic information system.

- Paradox of the Hungry and Obese: Learn why many of the poor are often overweight and what can be done.

- Engineers for a Sustainable World: Explore projects such as sand filters and home-made windmills.

- Solarean: Check out this prototype of a solar-powered vehicle.

- Emotional Editing: Learn how editors use music and graphics to make films sing and dance.

- Lights! Camera! Action: Watch University students rehearse and film a TV drama.

- Student Rights: Learn why schools can prescribe a dress code without violating constitutional rights.


The goal is to get students excited about learning and see enormous possibilities for their lives. It offers enrichment in science, the arts, literature and language, and it’s a great motivator for students whose families have never been to college.

For a better picture of what Explore UT is like, request a printed program from last year. These 28 pages contain descriptions of lots of activities that will stimulate and challenge students. It also contains a map that shows how the campus will be divided into color-coded, Disneyland-type “realms of discovery.”

By the first of January, the Explore UT Web site will be updated with new activities. See www.utexas.edu/events/exploreut.

We’ve attached this year’s new Explore UT flyer. Feel free to print it out and distribute copies.

Questions? Contact Barbara Langham, 512-346-2261, or email blangham@austin.utexas.edu.
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In democratic countries knowledge of how to combine is the mother of all other forms of knowledge; on its progress depends that of all the others.
Alexis de Tocqueville quote