BASF, a leading global chemical company, and Charlotte Motor Speedway’s STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) program, the only year-round STEAM program within motorsports in the country, have announced a partnership to enhance and educate K-12 children about STEAM initiatives.
“Since our STEAM program’s inception in 2011, we have seen the power and the desire for this style of learning, growing from only 579 children in our first year to over 24,000 students in 2023,” said Babette Huitt, STEAM manager for Charlotte Motor Speedway. “Our program has not only educated our local children about what they can do within the themes of STEAM, we have hosted schools from Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia as well as a group of students from China.”
Through its newly established partnership with BASF Corporation, Charlotte Motor Speedway’s STEAM program will include BASF Kids’ Lab, offering hands-on science experiments and support from BASF volunteers to help connect the experiments to real-world applications during its year-round programming.
In addition to STEAM’s daily programs at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which focus on unique hands-on education experiences, students are able to engage through mobile visits to schools, and other special events, including the STEAM Expos. Held during both the spring and fall NASCAR weekends at America’s Home for Racing, STEAM Expos welcome nearly 4,000 children annually with a variety of educational booths highlighting a range of speedway partners such as the local colleges and branches of the United States Armed Forces.
BASF established Kids’ Lab globally in 1997 with the belief that today’s students have the potential to become tomorrow’s innovators and leaders. The program aims to foster children’s interest in chemistry and help them understand how chemistry can be used to protect the environment and create a sustainable future.
“BASF is dedicated to enhancing the pathway to STEAM careers by emphasizing science education from an early age,” said Denise Hartmann, BASF Senior Vice President – Dispersions & Resins Division, Americas. “We are excited to deepen our engagement with the Charlotte community by introducing young minds to the world of chemistry through our new partnership with the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Our interactive Kids’ Lab experiments and educational programs this collaboration provides aim to ignite a passion for scientific exploration and highlight the vast opportunities in STEAM-related fields.”
CMS PR
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