Savannah River Nuclear Solutions’ (SRNS) ongoing partnership with the Augusta GreenJackets recently created the perfect field trip experience - afternoon baseball and a stadium packed with educational opportunities from organizations across the Central Savannah River Area. 

Teachers and students gathered at SRP Park to partake in an out of class learning experience designed specifically for children. “We had an overwhelming sellout crowd of 5,763 cheering on the GreenJackets,” said Tom Denlinger, Vice President of Augusta GreenJackets Baseball. “Hearing the teachers and students explain just how much they enjoyed the game, plus all the educational vendors really made this day extra special.”

 SRNS Education Outreach Program Specialist Taylor Rice hoped to inspire students to pursue a career path in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). “Our goal for today was to expose students to a variety of careers at the Savannah River Site (SRS),” said Rice. “By participating in our booth activities, students were able to learn more about information technology, the Site’s fire department and a variety of STEM careers.”

Attending students were able to “step into jobs” at SRS. Job cutouts included careers in science, maintenance and engineering.

SRS education outreach provided microscopes for students to examine rocks, minerals, insects, seashells, snakeskin and butterfly wings. Students completed a bracelet building activity that taught the importance of a binary code and software engineering. The STEM “Step into my Job” cutouts displayed different career opportunities in science, maintenance and engineering.

Tyrone Williams, a captain with the SRS Fire Department, assisted with fire safety displays and felt honored to throw the first pitch during the game against the Columbia Fireflies. “We are here to educate the kids on fire safety and to make sure they have a plan in place if a fire were to occur,” said Williams. “We brought our fire gear and equipment to help ignite early interest in firefighting, and we hope to see these kids again in the future.”

The partnership between SRP Park and SRNS proved to be vital to the community. “Partnerships like this provide a way for us to connect to our future generation of employees and fill those gaps in our workforce,” said Rice.

Located at the entrance of the stadium, the SRS education outreach booth was a fan favorite. Students are captured identifying different organisms under a microscope.

Attendees received a game ticket, one of a kind Hot Prospect Photo, opportunity to participate in on-field promotions and hands-on activities. With a second “Education Day” quickly approaching on May 9, the Augusta GreenJackets partnership with SRS will continue to connect different businesses and the community to STEM-based education and careers.

“SRNS was a huge reason for today’s success by interacting directly with students as they entered the ballpark,” said Denlinger. “We hope to continue this partnership and increase the number of schools involved.”