Math and Science ... at Fairyland!

By C.J. Hirschfield

This Friday, Children’s Fairyland will partner with local businesses to promote STEM learning (science, technology, engineering and math) to our community’s youngest kids: the pre-K crowd.

No, we won’t be waving math flashcards or displaying charts of the periodic table. Because this is Fairyland, and we’re all about fun, we’ll be doing things a little differently. 

We do recognize that there are fabulous STEM careers out there, however. And turning kids on to STEM in middle school is just too late to get them hooked on these subjects.

East Bay EDA works with kids at our 2016 MATH AND SCIENCE FAIRyland

We and our partner, the East Bay Economic Development Alliance (East Bay EDA), and 16 of their member companies and organizations will offer MATH & SCIENCE FAIRyland, an amazing day of play and learning. We hope parents will see their kids engaging with our activities and be inspired to try some of them at home. We’re guessing that their interest in STEM will spark and grow.

“Research tells us of the importance of early STEM learning and re-enforcement at home,” said Darien Louie, East Bay EDA’s executive director. “Our businesses are sending a message that our local workforce needs a foundation of STEM skills to fill jobs, and learning needs to start as early as possible.”

When they arrive at Fairyland on Friday, each kid will receive a “passport” in the shape of a ruler. Each child who fills in the ruler by engaging in all the activities will win four Oakland A’s tickets. There will be tons of other giveaways and activity books, too.

An experiment at the Aduro Biotech table

Check out just some of the cool experiments we have planned for the day, in addition to visits by Smokey the Bear and the Oakland Athletics’ Stomper mascot:

·       Berkeley-based Aduro Biotech (“Engineered Immunotherapy for Cancer”) will encourage kids to create an ocean-like scene in a bottle using water, cooking oil and food coloring.

·       Pharmaceutical company Bayer will offer “butterfly chromatography,” teaching kids that different colored inks in markers are soluble and dissolve in water, and that black is a combination of colors.

·       The Port of Oakland will present kids with a challenge to design an aluminum boat and see how much weight it can support.

·       Clorox will help kids create coffee-filter butterflies, and interact with bubbles formed by carbon dioxide gas to see the three phases of matter (solid, liquid, gas).

·       UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland will challenge kids to sort a variety of fruits and vegetables by color.

·       The East Bay Regional Park District will bring its Mobile Visitor Center with hands-on exhibits of local wildlife skulls and animal skins.

·       And the Oakland A’s will get kids figuring out how the density of different sports balls affects how they bounce.

Smokey the Bear greets kids at MATH AND SCIENCE FAIRyland

Other participating EDA members include Alameda County’s Information & Technology Department, Alameda County Office of Education, AT&T, Institute for STEM Education at Cal State University East Bay, Peralta Community College District, University of Phoenix – Bay Area Campus, and the YMCA of the East Bay. First 5 Alameda County and Community Resources for Science partnered with East Bay EDA to provide expertise and resources on early childhood learning.

We’re grateful for to the following companies for grants that cover the cost of Fairyland admission on this special day for more than 400 underserved Alameda County kids and their family members: Aduro Biotech, AT&T, Bayer, First 5 Alameda County, Oakland Athletics,UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, and University of Phoenix – Bay Area Campus.

Fremont Bank will provide a recyclable bag for kids to take home their goodies.

Scientists from Bayer show kids how real-world science is done

Although the MATH & SCIENCE FAIRyland is for our littlest kids, the impact is big.

Darien told me that this event is supporting the “Innovation 2.0 Regional STEM Action Plan,” prepared by East Bay EDA as a guide for East Bay members of the United States Congress – Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Congressman Eric Swalwell and Congressman Mark DeSaulnier – when they develop STEM-focused legislation.

The event represents the third year of great partnership, and Fairyland couldn’t be more pleased. We especially loved hearing that the participating companies’ employees had so much fun last year playing with kids that they couldn’t wait to come back. (Shhhh … they’re supposed to be at work!) Maybe it takes them back to the day that they themselves were first turned on to STEM.

Join us for MATH & SCIENCE FAIRyland: A Day to Learn & Play on Friday, Sept. 14, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Fairyland’s Teddy Bear Picnic Area.

__

C.J. Hirschfield has served for 16 years as executive director of Children’s Fairyland, where she is  charged with the overall operation of the nation’s  oldest storybook theme park.