​Recently, Marathon Petroleum employees joined over 500 middle school students from Detroit, Michigan, attending the Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program (DAPCEP) STEM Day held at the Michigan Science Center. The Tech Service Group of the Detroit Refinery served as chaperones, guided hands-on activities and talked with students about MPC’s role in the community.

Throughout the day, Detroit Tech Service personnel shared their passion for the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) that they use every day in their careers. MPC assisted the students in a lava lamp demonstration by mixing vegetable oil, water, food coloring and an effervescent antacid. The experiment helped demonstrate phase separation, buoyancy and chemical reactions. The MPC team also answered the students’ questions such as, “Will food coloring mix with oil or water?”

“We hope that we were able to encourage the students to consider careers in STEM fields and appeal to their curiosity with a hands-on activity,” shared refining engineer Dan Putt. “Being involved in our community is important to us, and this was a great opportunity to help inspire students to pursue studies that can lead to rewarding careers.”​