The 5th Annual Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics (STEM) Exploration Community Event hosted by the Coastal Virginia STEM Hub and the NASA eClips Education Team from the National Institute of Aerospace Center for Integrative STEM Education (NIA-CISE) lit up the Professional Workforce Development Center at Virginia Peninsula Community College on Saturday, November 8, 2025. The hard work of 12 NASA eClips STEM Student Ambassadors brought extraordinary energy, expertise, and heart to the more than 1,000 attendees on National STEM Day.

The STEM Student Ambassador Program was initiated to help grow the STEM ecosystem in coastal Virginia by extending the reach of the NASA eClips Education Team. The Ambassadors are high school students selected through a highly competitive regional recruiting process who undergo a rigorous training with the NASA eClips Education Team and NASA Science Communication interns.

At the STEM Exploration Community Event, the NASA eClips exhibit quickly became a hub of excitement as the Ambassadors used art as a launchpad to explore heliophysics concepts, guiding visitors from preK-adult in creating chalk coronas and pastel auroras. The enthusiasm was contagious: children leaned in, families asked questions, and even adults rediscovered a sense of wonder as the Ambassadors connected hands-on creativity to the science of the Sun. The Ambassadors shared their personal STEM journeys, encouraged younger learners to pursue curiosity, and modeled what it looks like to be confident, informed science communicators.

The Ambassadors worked behind the scenes to support event logistics, networked with STEM leaders, and even represented the high-school perspective on a STEM panel. Ambassador Layla Criner offered practical advice on how students can get involved, and stay involved, in STEM. The powerful impact of the Ambassadors underscored why this NASA eClips program matters: it empowers students not only to communicate NASA
science, but to lead it.

NASA eClips, led by the NIA-CISE, is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number NNX16AB91A and is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. The mission of NASA eClips is to engage and inspire students in STEM through the lens of NASA by delivering standards-aligned, web-based resources that support learning both in and out of the classroom. The STEM Student Ambassador Program is funded by a grant from the Virginia Coastal STEM Hub through the Virginia General Assembly. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn/about-science-activation/

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