Ohio Natural Energy Institute Hosts STEM & Geology Teacher Workshops

Providing Ohio’s educators with knowledge and materials on the natural gas and oil industry

August 2025

PATASKALA, OH - This summer, the Ohio Natural Energy Institute hosted their STEM & Geology Teacher Workshops for Ohio educators. Both of these professional development programs focused on the history, science, geology, and careers behind the natural gas and oil industry for teachers to take back to their classrooms and share with students this school year.

“ONEi is proud to offer Ohio’s educators a free and immersive workshop to connect natural gas and oil to science in the classroom,” said Bruce Tague, Executive Director of the Ohio Natural Energy Institute. “Creating these connections and providing materials to our educators is critical to ensuring the next generation is educated on our essential industry.” 

This year’s STEM Workshop, held at Ohio FFA Camp Muskingum, consisted of a state-aligned curriculum, hands-on lessons, networking, and a dinner to hear from industry professionals. The teachers also took part in a field trip, hosted by EOG Resources, touring production and transmission sites to connect learning in the classroom to real life technology, processes, and careers. 

"The ONEi Teacher Workshop reignited my passion for innovative education and STEM.” said Lisa Burleson-Longino from the East Cleveland City School District. “The hands-on STEM strategies and real-world energy applications are exactly what our students need to connect learning with their future. This experience empowers educators to lead with purpose and prepare the next generation of changemakers.”

This year’s Geology Workshop, held at Kimble Companies, celebrated Ohio’s rich geological history, including a ‘digging for fossils’ activity for the teachers to see how geological formations and science connect to natural gas and oil. Teachers also had the unique opportunity to see how Kimble

Companies partners with Belden Brick Company to share resources and keep processes efficient and

environmentally friendly. This included a tour of the Belden Brick’s production locations where they learned how minerals are used to make bricks and the combination of old and new technologies used in the age-old process of brickmaking.

“Nothing can replicate getting a field experience to build teacher efficacy and deepen the application of learning standards in a way that lifts the learning off the page of a textbook,” said Anne Hribar from Incarnate Word Academy. “Bringing theories to practice is priceless in its impact.”

Ohio’s natural gas and oil producers are vital sponsors to these workshops, field trips, and boxes of classroom materials that are provided free of charge. The meals sponsors this year include the American Petroleum Institute and Encino Energy. Teachers also left the workshops with a “Fueling Your Future” gift card, courtesy of Expand Energy.