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Port Arthur and William B. Travis Elementary School welcomed numerous state and industry leaders to campus Friday morning to visit the Mobile Oilfield Learning Unit.

The guest list included Todd Staples, president of the Texas Oil & Gas Association; Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, educators, community leaders and oil and gas industry representatives.

Travis Elementary Principal Israel Taylor Jr. said exposure to hands-on learning opportunities are vital to the development and comprehension of local students.

The learning unit is a $1.2 million exhibit that features six self-contained learning stations with TEKS curriculum-based, hands-on activities about the energy, technologies and sciences involved with the oil and natural gas industry.

The Texas Oil & Gas Association has teamed up with the Oilfield Energy Center to bring the learning unit on a ten-week tour that is visiting 50 schools across Texas to promote STEM education and careers in the oil and natural gas industry.

“The oil and gas industry is instrumental to funding all aspects of public education in Texas,” Bush said. “From the billions generated through royalties on state lands to enhanced STEM-focused learning initiatives, academies and skilled trades programs, the industry is a strong investment partner in what matters most to Texas — our future leaders.”

Staples said unique learning opportunities bring high-quality, innovative, interactive, hands-on educational experiences directly to Texas’ next generation of innovators.

“It is encouraging to see students excited about the potential of working for an industry that is pioneering technologies, growing our economy, and securing a clean, affordable and reliable energy future here in Texas and across the world,” he said.