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Our campus has taken advantage of the University of Texas' Explore UT Open House held every March. This event provides our 5th graders with a great experience, however I am wondering how others have partnered with local or major universities to provide more students and teachers with relevant strategies for teaching and learning.

Hi Joseph, I did a quick advanced search in our Learning Center and put in 'partnership' as the key word. Over 100 resources popped up. Here are a few that I thought might be of interest to you to peruse.
Small Things Draw Big Interest
and
Mighty Molecule Models

and
After the Bell: Amoebas and euglenas and paramecia ... Oh, My!
Each article shows ways universities and school districts have gotten together to help students learn.
Carolyn

We have a local university where the first year science majors create a Haunted Science Lab each year at Halloween time. Kids are invited to visit and see all the spooky science activities going on. The science majors create spooky displays and then explain the science behind them to the visiting kids.

Hi Joseph, I was thinking about a similar partnership with the Engineering School at the University of Hawaii. I teach 3rd grade and one of our science benchmarks are for students to compare how simple machines do work to make life easier. It got me to think about creating a STEM lesson and finding out what kinds of simple machines engineers use. And ideally, I’d love to find a way to have my students visit the university campus to learn more and see for themselves how the engineering students use simple machines in their work. I teach at a rural school, so the exposure to higher education will hopefully open some of my students’ eyes to their future. In the Open House that you described, is it an event that is organized by the University of Texas or have you had to make your own connections at the university? I did a quick google search and found some excellent lessons that tie together simple machines and engineering. http://www.teachengineering.org/view_lesson.php?url=collection/cub_/lessons/cub_simple/cub_simple_lesson01.xml

HI this is a shout out to any Hawaii teachers out there. When I was students teaching a while back my coordinating teacher signed up for a termite program with the University of Hawaii so I did the same last year for the first time with my fifth grade class. So the university bring down a couple jars of termites only workers and soldiers as well as power points and cool exhibits of dead queens and other termites. The students learned a lot and the hands on with the live termites was a first for me as i'm sure it was for the students as well. To top it off it was all free! Yea! Just look up termites and the University of Hawaii and you should find the link to the web site.