PNNL is passionate about sharing its amazing science with the public to increase enthusiasm and understanding for STEM. But it’s a challenge to host large groups of visitors at the laboratory. So, the Office of STEM Education began to look for ways to bring the Lab to people, and the STEM Ambassador program was born.

What is a STEM Ambassador? It’s a PNNL staff member who has taken an eight-hour training course called Sharing the Science. In this course, STEM Ambassadors discover how people learn, how best to communicate with various audiences, and how to convey the impact and relevance of their work in a memorable way. STEM Ambassadors often volunteer at outreach events in the communities near PNNL’s Richland, Seattle, and Sequim campuses. Using interactive, hands-on displays, they showcase their work at PNNL and serve as role models to spark interest in STEM learning and careers. STEM Ambassadors are research scientists, engineers, skilled tradespeople, or operations staff members who represent the range of STEM career pathways available at national laboratories.

History and Growth

PNNL’s Office of STEM Education staff teamed up with the Pacific Science Center in Seattle to become a “Portal to the Public” site, which allowed us to use the center’s proven outreach approach to design our own Sharing the Science course. We developed a way for researchers and staff at PNNL to meaningfully share their often complex and difficult work. The STEM Ambassador program began with 10 staff in 2018 and has grown to over 100, with displays focused on an array of topics—artificial intelligence, energy resiliency, data science, chemistry, waste vitrification, and quantum computing, to name a few. PNNL’s STEM Ambassadors share their passion for discovery and engage students, teachers, and the public in the wonders of science. Their enthusiasm for sharing science allows the Office of STEM Education to authentically connect PNNL’s research with our local STEM education ecosystem as we partner with schools, nonprofit organizations, and other community organizations.

If you would like more information about the STEM Ambassador program, send us a message at stem.education@pnnl.gov.

“I am truly impressed by your STEM Ambassador program, it’s very insightful to assist researchers in methods to communicate their science in layman’s terms. Good job, your passion is rewarded by the exponential growth of your program.” – Mary Lou O’Donnell, high school research coordinator and teacher, and U.S. Department of Energy Albert Einstein Fellow