Middle Schoolers Learn About STEM Connection to Fire Careers Through Xplorlabs

On May 31, eighth grade STEM students became firefighters for a day thanks to a growing partnership between Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services, Cherokee County School District, and the Office of Research Experiences & Education (OREE). Cherokee County is one of four school districts in the Atlanta area that has implemented Xplorlabs in middle schools to help students understand real-world phenomena and the science of safety around them every day.

About a dozen students visited the Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services Training Center to learn what it takes to be a firefighter. They were able to use a fire hose, see a live fire demonstration on a burning doll house, and take part in hands-on activities that demonstrate the connection between STEM learning and fire and safety science-related careers, including firefighters with specialties like technical rescue or hazmat, fire safety educators, fire investigators, and fire protection engineers.

“Xplorlabs is all about showing students that science — and safety — are all around us,” said Megan O’Keeffe, senior education specialist with OREE. “By bringing real-world scenarios into the classroom, students can better understand the science around them. In turn, they make safer decisions and some even choose new education and career pathways. This partnership in Cherokee County is an incredible example of how we can work toward a safer world one student at a time.”

Students in the county who take part in the Science of Fire Forensics get to collaborate with fire service personnel and volunteers as they learn about fire dynamics, how to read a fire scene, work to build a claim about the fire’s origin and cause, and then defend that claim to a fire investigator.

Since the partnership was launched in Cherokee County nearly three years ago, eight schools have adopted Xplorlabs’ fire forensics content, reaching nearly 1,700 students countywide each academic year. The collaboration was also recognized for helping to meet the Center for Public Safety Excellence’s accreditation criteria for external agency partnerships and featured in Cherokee Fire’s certification process.

“The youth really embrace the opportunity for firefighters to come into the classroom,” Cherokee County Fire Chief Eddie Robinson said. “We hope that youth that don’t really have a career path that will take them through college will gain an interest in fire service. We think they can get a really good and productive job in fire service by getting them interested in middle school and high school.”

“The Fire Forensics program ignites a passion within our community to provide students with authentic, engaging STEM applications by showing how STEM is used daily in various fire professions,” said Erin Jacobs, K-12 curriculum coordinator of science, STEM, health and physical education for CCSD. “The invaluable partnerships between the organizations involved in this program exemplify a shared investment in equipping the emerging generation with the knowledge and skill set to connect with and understand the world around them.”

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Learn more about implementing the community model for Xplorlabs by contacting ULRI.Xplorlabs@ul.org.