By Gina Lanaux 

When Grandchildren visit during their summer vacation, besides swimming in pools, the bay, and the Gulf, an educational activity is a good balance. (This also gives grandmother 3 hours to catch her breath!) My 6-year-old grandson spent a week with Ashton Crist, owner of Kids Stem for Kids Mobile Bay.  For the unfamiliar, STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. The camp he attended in Fairhope had a Minecraft theme which means it is based on a top-rated video game that every kid I know is obsessed with. Needless to say, he was psyched to go! 

Ashton Crist bought the franchise business in 2021, after teaching school for many years. She graduated from Theodore High School and got her degree in Elementary Education from Troy University. After a few years teaching in Atlanta, she moved to Daphne and taught at Gulf Shores Elementary for 2 years and then another 5 years at Bayside Academy. While at Bayside, she got her Masters degree and became STEAM certified ( A is arts, added to the STEM curriculum) from Clemson University. She was so excited about the learning opportunities that STEM subjects offered, she knew that this was what she wanted her career to be going forward. Stem for Kids Mobile Bay is housed in a lovely cottage at 5906 Sweetwater Circle in Fairhope and the space looks like a classroom, complete with laptops and a plethora of hands-on learning tools. 

Ashton explains the learning process, “ I incorporate STEM Challenges inside the Minecraft theme. The children work collaboratively to create and solve problems. They learn how to fail, redesign, and figure out what went wrong. These skills are important in all facets of life.” With legos, blocks, paper tubes, paint, balls, and more, the students have fun while creating and improving ways to think and look at the world through an inquiry, problem-based, project-based, and engineering design process. My grandson had a blast and when I asked him why it was so much fun, he said, “We got to play Minecraft !” 

When school is in session, Ashton and her associate, Telea Cobb, take their STEM curriculum to schools in the area.” Schools book us to come for specific hours or a whole day. We do STEM for Tots, which reaches the Pre-K classes in Alabama. We also partner with Covenant Academy of Mobile, a charter school, and spend 5 days a week teaching there.” During school holidays such as Christmas, Spring Break, or Summer, Ashton runs camps in Fairhope. She also offers STEM-based birthday parties. Camps during the rest of the summer will feature more Minecraft themes, as well as AeroSpace engineering and a Taste of Stem, an introduction to the content of STEM. 

The franchise has been in business for 10 years and has branches all over the US and in 5 countries. Its curriculum is written by industry professionals and is tied to real careers. It's hard to think of the future and what the workforce will look like in 20 years, but the skills learned in STEM will enable these kids to adapt to new technology in a fast-changing workplace and be able to use curiosity and critical thinking to succeed.

 I am so happy that my grandson got to participate in this highly innovative and educational experience. We both learned a lot and had fun too!!