HUNTSVILLE – Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, in partnership with the Southern Automotive Women’s Forum, hosted “All Girls Auto Know” with 54 Madison City Schools’ eighth- grade students.
This event, held at the MTM/AIDT Training and Assessment Center on MTM’s campus, took students through STEM activities that directly connected them to careers in manufacturing.
The Halloween-themed event was titled “STEM isn’t Spooky,” and rotated students through three hands-on programs: the Haunted House 5S Challenge, where they learned the basics of keeping a clean and organized workspace with a relay race of sorting, cleaning, and sweeping; the Creepy Cauldrons Science in Manufacturing activity, where the MTM Paint team had them test viscosity and titration; and the Frankenstein’s Factory assembly line, where they built 3D-printed Mazda CX-50s, checked for quality defects, and totaled the dollar amount from cars that they “sold.”
“Our MTM team put their all into developing fun and informative lessons that allowed these students to have true-to-life manufacturing experiences,” said Vice President of Administration Rhonda Gilyard. “We love the chance to show that automotive manufacturing and STEM careers are exciting, innovative, and creative.”
After the activities, the students had lunch and listened as a panel of MTM team members described their career trajectories, answered questions, and shared experiences.
The students left with a goodie bag of MTM swag, including customized friendship bracelets, and inspiring stories of success in STEM-related careers.
“We appreciate that Mazda Toyota planned this event with our students in mind, and have provided this opportunity to expose them to what manufacturing looks like today,” said Lee Shaw, director of development for Madison City Schools. “Our students love participating in this kind of hands-on event, and they won’t forget that MTM invested in them in this way.”
MTM is a partner with the the Southern Automotive Women’s Forum and its signature All Girls Auto Know middle school outreach program. The program provided a platform for MTM and Madison City Schools to create a day customized for students that was fun and educational.
“We love our Madison City Schools partnership,” said MTM Education and Community Partnership Specialist Rylee Anderson. “This event is just one of many ways that we partner with our local school systems, because we know how important it is to model STEM careers early and often.
“I hope that the students and educators had as much fun participating as we did executing the event.”
MTM has plans to duplicate this event with other partners in education. For more information, visit www.MazdaToyota.com.
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