Seated aside a mini-bike, NYPUM creator Martin Kimeldorf gives the youngsters a lesson in interior decorating during a lab.
|
The mysteries of mufflers and carburetors aren't quite
so mysterious anymore. Neither is the problem of how
to fill some of those free hours of adolescence.
The Y Round Table, a service program at Oregon
State University, is using mini-bikes as a vehicle for
giving youngsters an experience that's fun, educational
and positive. In the program, a selected group
of youngsters spends spare hours riding mini-bikes
and learning all the mechanical intricacies that make
them purr.
But there's more to it than mini-bikes. Now the
program has shifted gears.
Started in the fall of 1973 as a riding activity, the
program this school year has headed off into new directions--career education, culture, athletics, field
trips in the community. It's called NYPUM (National
Youth Project Using Mini-Bikes): Alternative Education
Project.
The program was created "for kids who don't
have all the advantages and opportunities that some
other kids have," said Martin Kimeldorf, creator of
the expanded program. "It gives the youngsters an
opportunity to explore the world about them in exciting ways," he said.
Financed by the Y Round Table, the program is
staffed by OSU students who earn academic credit
for their work. Most of the students, including
Kimeldorf, are Industrial Education majors.
|
