“You know we are the last generation that will use landline phones. That’s the past. Technology is our future,” DeKalb County Commissioner Larry Johnson told a crowd who gathered for the  grand opening of DeKalb’s STEM Center.

The new computer lab, located inside the Exchange Park Intergenerational Center on Columbia Drive in Decatur, is a first in DeKalb. It was birthed as a partnership between DeKalb County, Microsoft, Georgia Tech, Kaiser Permanente and Neuroscience Foundation, Citizens Trust Bank, Georgia Community Affairs, CH2MHill, Marcell Wallace and Columbia High School. The lab costs an estimated $500,000, Johnson said.

“Technology is our future. It opens the world to everything we do. This STEM center will keep our community engaged and up with the times,” Johnson said.

STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics. The center offers the latest in technology and resources for those subject areas. There are 10 computers and Microsoft programs featuring tutorials, and access to the National Science Digital Library (NSDL). The center also features federal resources to more than 1,600 subjects including art, history, language arts, math and science. People who are looking for a job, planning to start a business or even those who want to create their on App also will find resources at the new center.

The STEM center is located at the Exchange Park Intergenerational Center, 2771 Columbia Drive, Decatur. It is open Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m., and Saturday, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. All programs are available to the public free of charge. 404-371-2425.

A celebration for Commissioner Johnson’s 10-year anniversary will be held Oct. 19, 7 p.m., at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel, 130 Clairmont Ave., Decatur. For ticket information, visit www.reelectlarryjohnson.com.