Emeryville Center of Community Life to Debut CIRCLe Lab Pilot

On Thursday, January 12 from 6-8:00pm, The Emeryville Center of Community Life will be

celebrating the launch of their CIRCLe Lab, bringing 'real-life STEM' to the Emeryville Community

(located at 4727 San Pablo Avenue- community room A). Honorable guests will include State

Senator Nancy Skinner, Bayer, California State University, East Bay, Rich Robbins of Wareham

Development & many other community partners that have helped bring this CIRCLe Lab to life.

Exhibitors include HOST Labs, Scientific Adventures for Girls, the Port of Oakland, All Power Labs,

CSUEB's Solar Suitcase Project, Emeryville's Environmental Services team,Community Energy

Services Corporation (CESC), and Local Clean Energy Alliance. Exhibitors will be doing hands-on

demonstrations for students and will have informational tables focusing on climate change.

Media are invited to attend.

What is a CIRCLe Lab?

CIRCLe Labs are an innovative effort to bring STEM education into low-income neighborhoods

outside of the school day. The CIRCLe Labs pilot project is an initiative of the Institute for STEM

Education, founded in 2011 at California State University, East Bay, to serve as a 'backbone

institution' that leverages the Bay Area's existing strengths in STEM education, reduces costs, and

builds new collaborations.

CIRCLe Labs are the fruition of years of research about roadblocks minorities and women face in

pursuing STEM education. They are also the result of important leadership from East Bay industry

and policy leaders. Wareham Development provided the crucial first funding to develop the

CIRCLe Lab concept. Wareham has been an active part of a network that has supported the

Institute since its founding in 2011 as a way to build a STEM-competent population in the East

Bay and throughout California.

Another key partner has been the East Bay Economic Development Alliance, which has brought

the resources of local governments and businesses into STEM education outreach. East Bay EDA

members are some of the key suppliers of the STEM volunteers who will fuel CIRCLe Lab

presentations. Other funders of the CIRCLe Lab pilot include Bayer Corporation, Hellman

Foundation, and the Tesoro Foundation.

For more information on this CIRCLe Lab or the additional CIRCLe Lab at the YMCA in East

Oakland, contact: Nancy Amaral, Gallen.Neilly.Amaral (925) 930-9848, nancy@gallen.com or Trina Ostrander at the Institute for STEM Education (510) 495-5294, trina.ostrander@csueastbay.edu