Camp Makes Math, Science and Engineering Fun for Kids

by Sgt. 1st Class Gerard Brown, Public Affairs Office, Georgia Department of Defense

Children of the Georgia Army and Air Guard as well as those of Reservists and active duty members will be participating in a program known as STARBASE from July 23, 2012 through July 27. STARBASE, which stands for Science and Technology Academics Reinforcing Basic Aviation and Space Education, is conducted at Dobbins Air Reserve Base and sponsored by the Georgia National Guard.

“The program shows our young participants how math, engineering and science are useful in the real world,” Said Bill Wells, Director of STARBASE.

STARBASE is a premier program dedicated to give its students true “hands on, minds on learning.” The program provides the 10-11 year-old participants practical applications of the same science and math courses that they currently learn in schools. Certified instructors demonstrate the uses of science, math and engineering through such classes as, Forces of Flight, Rocket Construction, and Engineering Design. 

“Understanding how what they learn in school contributes to everyday use, students are separated into teams, where they work together as a team as well as learning individual life lessons,” said Wells. “Students are able to see how the entire process works from the team’s developmental ideas to the prototype that they develop.”                 

During the summer months, parent’s have an opportunity to sign their kids up for this exciting camp. During the course of the regular school year, the principals of each school have to sign their schools up for attendance. STARBASE’s intent is that, after the schools that sign up have been approved, they bring in the 5th grade class from that school.  Instead of attending five days in their local school, they are bused to Dobbins ARB, where they are able to get detailed, hands-on learning on the same subjects they would usually study during a normal school day.

STARBASE, which initially only had one classroom located in Michigan, now has classrooms in over 40 states nationwide.  Founded in 1990, the program has branched out to over 76 locations. Georgia has been involved with the STARBASE program for 10 years and during that period more than 7,000 students have had the opportunity to experience the uses of science, math and engineering. The camp’s curriculum is established by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs and is then coordinated with 4th and 5th grade Georgia performance standards.  

Jim Jackson, a retired Air Force chief master sgt., is the lead instructor at STARBASE.

“We teach the importance of engineering by showing them everything they have, everything they wear, everything they ride in, had to be designed at some point,” said Jackson.

Both Bill Wells and Jim Jackson note that the Georgia National Guard’s STARBASE Program is reaching out to communities and is helping provide a very interesting learning experience for our future mathematicians, scientist and engineers.