BranchOut! 2025 STEM Day and Picnic

This year, BranchOut! hosted both STEM Day, run by the Community Workshops team, and our annual end-of-year picnic on Saturday, August 9, 2025. STEM Day ran inside Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library, while the picnic took place at the Tysons Pimmit Park right behind the library.

STEM Day was a huge success, with over 30 elementary and middle school students stopping by to participate in our activities. Throughout the event, attendees participated in a variety of hands-on activities, from building and launching their own marshmallow catapults to creating colorful slime and exploring the structure of DNA with a candy DNA model. The event was designed to spark curiosity and inspire the next generation of innovators by showing them how exciting and accessible STEM can be.

After STEM Day concluded, we transitioned to the annual picnic, which was a celebration of the diverse achievements of our summer programs. It was truly heartwarming to see over 35 students, alums, guests, parents, mentors, and program leaders in attendance. 

We were excited to see so many BranchOut! mentors at the picnic, and it was wonderful for the mentors to meet their fellow students with whom they have worked with online this summer while meeting BranchOut! alums. Mentors kicked off the picnic chatting and getting to know one another. They then participated in an entertaining game of telephone where a secret phrase was passed around in a circle until it reached the final person and announced. Later, the adults even played a few rounds of telephone.

Attendees enjoyed a delightful lunch, feasting on a variety of homemade dishes, noodles, pizza, cupcakes, fruits, and more. Following this, team leaders from each project presented a summary of the accomplishments in each of the Community Workshops (hybrid), Innovator (virtual), The Explorer (virtual), Fairfax County Summer Credit Recovery tutoring (Virginia), Fairfax County STEAM Camp (Virginia), Howard County Public School Summer Program (HoCo Chapter, Maryland), and the Baltimore chapter (Maryland). It was a proud moment for all of us to witness how BranchOut! programs have expanded their reach since last year, thanks to the collective efforts of our growing community.

BranchOut! students also shared meaningful insights, including the importance of persevering through stalled projects and the crucial role of active communication, especially within our tech team. Their experiences highlighted the importance of proactive efforts, as BranchOut! allows students to try new projects and take initiative in making their projects a reality. This reflective experience not only marked a milestone but also deepened our understanding of teamwork and resilience in a dynamic environment.

The picnic was a great success as mentors, leaders, parents, guests, and alumni learned from one another and celebrated all that had been accomplished after a long summer of hard work. Here is what a few of our mentors had to say about their experiences with their programs and the picnic after spending over a month making memories and growing alongside one another.

“I thought BranchOut!‘s annual picnic was an incredibly eye-opening experience. It was one of the rare occasions where mentors from across all chapters get to meet each other, and hearing about all the things each chapter and each mentor did was fascinating.” - Ethan Gao, 12th Grade, River Hill High School

“It was really wonderful to finally meet in person many of the mentors at BranchOut! who I have spent countless hours working with online. Hearing how each program brought such meaningful change in their specialized areas was incredibly inspiring! This picnic was a wonderful wrap up to a summer at BranchOut! with all these people who have greatly shaped and helped me grow in just a few short months.” - Emily Qiu, 11th Grade, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology

We want to thank everyone who attended the picnic and recognize the student leaders who helped organize the event. 

2025 Summer Picnic Planning Committee:

Jennifer Zhang, 12th grade, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology

Caroline Li, 12th grade, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology

Alekhya Hota, 11th grade, Madison High School

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This post was written by Jennifer Zhang

Photo Credits: Yuhsien Wu and Jennifer Zhang