On Saturday, August 23, the Opelika Public Library hosted “Family STEM Career Connect Day,” organized by the East Alabama STEM Ecosystem (EASE), with the mission to promote interest and passion in the STEM industry.
Family STEM Career Connect Day allowed students of all ages to participate in various interactive activities. These programs, run by partnered organizations, student groups and Auburn colleges, were all aimed at highlighting the importance of science, technology, engineering and math.
Although each partnering organization presented unique demonstrations, all were united through their STEM-focused missions. These organizations included the water quality monitoring program Alabama Water Watch, sustainable packaging company Smurfit Westrock and Davis Arboretum, Auburn University's garden for native Alabama fauna.
Founded in 2024, the event organizer EASE is a collection of different organizations participating in outreach efforts to boost excitement for STEM in classrooms around the area. EASE encompasses 13 counties with a close relationship to I-STEM Connectory, Auburn University’s anchor organization focused on STEM education through informal K-12 programs.
EASE is one of seven STEM Learning Ecosystems spanning across the state of Alabama. These programs aim to increase the number of informal learning opportunities for students and families while promoting Alabama’s STEM career options.
“We are here to help support our Alabama students and parents [in finding future careers]. We don’t want these [STEM] companies to leave [Alabama]. We want them to stay,” said Veronique Zimmerman-Brown, the K-12 outreach manager for QuantHub.
QuantHub, an AI data literacy company focused on teaching students foundational skills, is an EASE partner and was one of the many organizations present at the Career Connect Day.
“Our objective for the ecosystems is to spread them throughout the state and leverage our seven regional areas to make sure that everyone has access to STEM [educational opportunities], Zimmerman-Brown said.
The ATTA, a STEM-focused learning facility in Abbeville, Alabama, presented at the Family STEM Career Connect Day. Its table at the event focused on teaching guests about the Bernoulli Principle, a physics-based rule centering around fluid and gas dynamics.
Auburn’s College of Agriculture also showcased agricultural research drones, emphasizing their ability to spread liquid fertilizer and seeds, while also promoting STEM applications in seemingly unconventional fields.
“Technologies are integrated into pieces of [agriculture] equipment to help the producer, and we need engineers with understandings of technologies to make these systems better each year,” said Jacob Sizemore, a master's student in biosystems engineering.
Attendees were able to participate in numerous educational demonstrations and activities, learning more about potential careers post-graduation and further invoking a love for STEM.
Jessica Gilpin, the EASE lead, will continue to host outreach events to encourage children and students to appreciate STEM education and concepts at an early age.
“I would hope that an event like this can boost excitement [for STEM] in our K-12 students and their families, so that kids can say, ‘this is for me,’ and then can show some dedication to some of their school work that they weren’t so enthusiastic about,” Gilpin said.
More information about EASE and their outreach events can be found on their website.
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Sam Bainter, freshman in English language arts education, is a culture writer for The Auburn Plainsman.
