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Expo participants safely view the sun with a telescope from the Department of Physics.
Students learn about the importance of water quality by viewing how water impacts organisms at the Alabama Water Watch exhibit.
Students view microorganisms on the mobile Geo Explorer Auburn mobile lab.
Exhibitors showcase physics principles with their Fun with Plasma Guns table.
The Auburn University Natural History Museum (AUNHM) teaches students about butterflies.
Students learn how to make paper at the Smurfit Westrock Mahrt Mill table.
An excited student gives Aubie a high five at the end of the day.
Did you know that there are more than 400 species of bees is Alabama? More than 1,000 middle school students learned this fact at the sixth annual Destination STEM Expo on October 15. Auburn University’s College of Sciences and Mathematics (COSAM) Outreach Office hosted 19 Alabama schools at the Neville Arena to learn about dozens of STEM fields by offering more demonstrations than ever before.
The event featured more than 80 interactive exhibits led by 220 Auburn faculty, students and volunteers, offering hands-on experiences from all of the departments within the College of Sciences and Mathematics — biology, chemistry, physics, geology, mathematics, plus other campus and external organizations. Students explored topics ranging from the fourth state of matter, plasma, to how airplanes fly. They even held sea urchins, explored anatomy with medical experts and coded robots.
The Expo is designed specifically for students during a pivotal stage in their academic development when many begin to consider their future careers. Educators in attendance emphasized the value of early exposure to STEM.
“This kind of experience is crucial for students, especially in communities with limited access to STEM opportunities,” said Robert Harlan, a science teacher at Sanford Middle School. “They’re discovering careers they may have never considered and doing and seeing things they would not have otherwise.”
The event also showcased Auburn’s land grant mission to community and educational outreach, made possible in part by 146 donors who contributed over $15,000 during Tiger Giving Day — funding that helped bring the Expo to Neville Arena for the first time. This support funds not only the Expo but also the Destination STEM Summit, a more focused STEM conference experience for students in grades eight through ten that includes hands-on workshops, STEM speakers and speed networking.
“Being in a space like this shows students that STEM is important and isn’t just something in a textbook — it’s something they can do,” said Jessica Gilpin, assistant director of COSAM Outreach and Destination STEM Expo co-coordinator. “They’re examining fossils, creating polymers, and learning about complex new math theories such as triangulation.”
A student from Baldwin Arts and Academic Magnet School, Madison Benson, said her favorite part of the day was the biology and chemistry exhibits.
“I really liked the fruit flies because we got to see how they’re used in research. It was weird but cool,” she said.
Another student, Mallory Bishop, a seventh grader from Beauregard, shared her excitement about meeting some of the animals.
“I got to hold Blue the snake!” she said “I’ve never done anything like that before.”
Exhibits ranged from water quality testing with Alabama Water Watch to learning about soil health and sustainable agriculture. Auburn’s Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences showcased the importance of soil health and demonstrated how different soil types affect nutrient absorption.
As students departed with a high five from Aubie, they left not just with new knowledge, but with inspiration.
“We want every student to feel like they belong in STEM,” said Gilpin. “This is about planting seeds and building STEM confidence.”
To learn more about Destination STEM and other COSAM Outreach programs, visit https://aub.ie/cosamoutreach.
