Retreat Details

 You'll tour active drilling operations with full safety briefings and PPE, operate real pumping units and wireline controls, and explore compressor systems alongside the technicians who run them. From precision drilling technology to refineries and field service facilities, you'll see the modern energy industry from the inside out. 

 Climb onto working drilling rigs and experience the rig floor, doghouse, and backyard operations firsthand. Handle real drill bits, mud motors, and casing systems. Work alongside industry professionals to understand how sites are constructed, how environmental protection is integrated at every stage, and what modern drilling techniques actually look like in practice. 

 Your students ask where these jobs can take them. Now you'll have answers. You'll meet landmen, field engineers, geoscientists, and technical professionals who will walk you through what their careers actually look like and what it takes to get there. Leave with a clear understanding of certification pathways, dual enrollment options, two-year degree programs, and how to connect regional job opportunities to your students' real interests. 

 Experiences are only as valuable as what you do with them. That's why we build in dedicated time to help you translate what you've seen into classroom-ready tools aligned to state standards, grounded in real-world data, and built for student engagement. You'll develop project-based learning opportunities, create authentic assessments, and build the industry partnerships to sustain it all long after the retreat ends. 

Energy didn't happen overnight. At the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum and similar regional sites, you'll trace more than a century of innovation from early drilling techniques to the technologies driving American energy independence today. Understanding where this industry came from makes it easier to help students see where it's going, and why their generation's role in that story matters.