DOD STARBASE

DOD STARBASE

"DOD STARBASE is a great program. It makes math and science exciting and those are the jobs of the future. I did not meet a kid who wasn't just totally fascinated and completely engaged in what they were learning."

Margaret Spellilngs, Secretary of Education

DOD STARBASE focuses on elementary students, primarily fifth graders, to interest as many students as possible. The goal is to motivate them to explore these subjects as they continue their education. The academies serve students that are historically under-represented in STEM. Students who live in inner cities or rural locations, those who are socio-economically disadvantaged, low in academic performance or have a disability are in the target group. The program encourages them to set goals and achieve dreams using the motto that "dreams + action=Reality"®.

The program engages students through the inquiry-based curriculum with its "hands-on, mind-on" experiential activities. They study Newton's Laws and Bernoulli's principals and learn about the wonders of space and the properties of matter. Technology captivates the children as they use the computer to design space stations, all-terrain vehicles, and submersibles. Math is embedded throughout the curriculum and students use metric measurement, estimation, calculation and geometry to solve questions. Teamwork is stressed as they work together to explore, explain, elaborate and evaluate concepts.

The military volunteers apply abstract principles to real world situations by leading tours and giving lections on the use of STEM in different settings and careers. Since the academies are located in different branches of the military, this experience is highly varied. Students may discuss how chemical fires are extinguished, learn how injured are transported, explore the cockpit of an F-18 or the interior of a C-130, or glimpse what life is like in a submarine.