Before the checkered flag was waved at Bristol Motor Speedway last weekend, area students were treated to an unforgettable experience of their own.
History was made when the Braves and Reds took the field for the Speedway Classic, the first Major League Baseball game played in the state of Tennessee, as well as the first game to be played at a racetrack.
While the event was mostly about the Reds, Braves and a record crowd that showed up for the game, kids also had fun at a more intimate setting.
On the Friday before the Speedway Classic, MLB Together collaborated with Bristol Motor Speedway to invite boys and girls from Johnson City, Washington County and Kingsport, Tenn., to enjoy a STEM day.
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“It’s very amazing that MLB Together put this on for students to be able to experience it, and we are very proud to be part of it,” said Margaret Trent, a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and robotics teacher at Sullivan East Middle School.
This activation was one of two events highlighting MLB’s youth initiatives that took place during the weekend of the series, which saw the Braves secure the trophy. MLB also hosted a PLAY BALL event ahead of the big game.
Among the STEM activities planned for the attendees, kids had the opportunity to learn more about how technology is used in both baseball and car racing, including coding, controlling robots to traverse a baseball diamond, physics through drop-catching, tire changing and measuring pitching speed using formulas, among other uses.
“STEM is super important for our kids because most of the careers that they’re going to look at when they become adults fall into that STEM category,” Trent said.
For April Brown, MLB’s senior vice president of social responsibility, MLB Together pillars focused on education and workforce development will help the young generation prepare for “future opportunities in science, in baseball, or NASCAR.”
“It is incredibly important to bring our sport to markets where they don’t have a Major League team,” Brown said. “For MLB Together, it just provides us this wonderful opportunity to be in the community, so to be able to bring it here to the Speedway Classic, this is a historic event.”