Psalm 127:3
Children are a gift from the Lord;
they are a reward from him.
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Proverbs 22:6
“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
The Catalyst
It all started with a marble run, purchased secondhand by my wife because it looked like something fun for the kids. Dad likely loved it more than the kids. I would set up and build big sets late at night and watch my kids light up with joy at the new creation that they were happy to destroy, usually in no more than thirty minutes. They would often “help” when building a new run: “Look dad! I made a gun! Look! An alien! Isn’t this awesome, dad?” Many times I’ve been amazed at what their young minds can come up with, using only their imagination and trial and error. I enjoy spending time with them, just creating things. It has been rewarding for all of us.
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My growing “holy discontent” is seeing children who will struggle in life through no fault of their own, because of a lack of role models. My discontent is also in seeing fathers who simply don’t know “how to dad” or are so busy putting out their own fires that they neglect to fan the flames in their own children. Over and over, I heard three reasons from parents not spending quality play time with their children: no time, no room, and no toys. Through prayer and wrestling, a new thought emerged. What if there was a dedicated time and place where dads and kids can simply play together, encouraging one another, and getting to see how awesome their counterpart can be?
And from that prayer and passion, STEM Cell was born.
Fun with Focus
The primary focus of the STEM Cell family is to connect parents, guardians, and role models with children and other families through interactive, screen free fun and engagement using principles of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics along with Scriptural lessons and Biblical character development without forcing the Bible on people.
STEM Cell Family Goals
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Connect parents and children together through play, creativity, and fun through hands on, screen free activity
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Help parents and guardians to be positive influences and role models and to be involved with their children’s fun
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Create a safe and comfortable space for STEM and STEAM play, with an emphasis on teamwork
Vision
The vision for the STEM Cell family will be multiple groups around the area. There will be STEM Cell groups at libraries and schools. There will be STEAM Room groups at various publicly available places. STEM Cellebrations will be at public places as well as private parties and events.
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The STEM Cell family is at its core a building and creativity group where parents/guardians/role models come to interact and play alongside their children. There will be themed build/creativity days based on what inventory of toys are available at the time. The intent is that the adults will engage with their children in a screen free environment, collaborating to create something special for the day. At the end of each build day, there will be an opportunity for the parents and children to have their photos taken, either on their phones or printed out on site for take home.
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Fully fleshed out, the vision for the STEM Cell family is one where groups and one time events will exist throughout the area, each led by a competent, trustworthy, vetted and background checked volunteer. Each group should have 2 to 3 co-leaders who can float and give tips and advice to family groups who may be struggling. These leaders will also be mandatory reporters in any cases of suspected, confessed, or witnessed abuse or neglect.
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Each group will exist in some sort of franchise fashion, where the local leaders take ownership of the group but are expected to answer to a main authority within the STEM Cell leadership system. That way, should bad actors attempt to infiltrate a STEM Cell group, decisive actions can be taken to remove the problem.
STEM Cells are where the real bonds are formed and where the real connections are made. Creativity is celebrated, and negativity is specifically not allowed. Even though each build day has a theme and objective, ultimately it is up to the creativity of the family units. Even if we’re building skyrail marble runs for the day, perhaps one child just wants to make a bouquet of flowers out of the tracks and that’s okay. Friendly competition within the STEM Cell is permitted, but hostile competitive behaviors are not allowed.​
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STEM Cells, STEAM Rooms, and STEM Cellebration events will be the backbones and catalysts for awareness, interest, and ultimately the inception of the Huntsville Mechanical Garden.
Meet the
STEM Cell Family
Chris, Kim, Jesse, and Amaris Burnham want to help create communities and connect families in fun and in faith, all in Jesus' name to help people discover the faith and hope found in Christ, along with the certainty that God exists and that God has promised.
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Chris and Kim are high school sweethearts and were married the same year Kim graduated from Hazel Green High School, full of love and with all the youthful dreams of financial and family success. After three years of new marriage stumbling, struggling, and constant threats of divorce, they found themselves back at the church that had married them and in time accepted Jesus into their lives. Filled with the Holy Spirit and equipped with newfound Christ-following hearts they began to dream, listen, and lean on the promises and provision that can only come from Christ.
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One of those promises was the promise of children. Through provision and prayer Kim even found the name of a child that they would surely one day have: Amaris. A female derivative of the Old Testament priest Amariah, the name Amaris in Hebrew means "God has promised." Kim and Chris treasured the name and the promise of the little girl Amaris in their hearts as they faithfully waited through years of infertility.
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Several years after receiving the promise of Amaris, the struggles, doubts, and questions revealed a new question. What if Amaris is just a promise and not a name? What if we have a boy? After more prayers and listening, the name Jesse was presented, which was found to mean "a gift" as well as "God Exists." Armed with the reassurance that God really does exist and that he really did promise, Chris and Kim continued to pray, trust, and wait.
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After nearly nineteen years of praying, struggling, hoping, and trusting, the twins Jesse and Amaris became a reality. The evidence is here and the verdict is in.
God Exists.
And God Has Promised.