Hands-on Minds-on STEM

STARBASE Academy is a federally funded STEM program located in Charlotte North Carolina. This program works with fifth grade elementary students, in week-long courses, to encourage them to think about STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) as a possible pathway to future careers. We work mostly with students who are historically underrepresented in STEM fields. These students include those who live in inner city or rural locations and are socioeconomically disadvantaged. Our goal as teachers is to create excitement and interest in these fields by giving students hands-on and / minds-on lessons in science (Motion & Force, Fluid Mechanics), technology (navigation & mapping, nanotechnology), engineering (working with CAD program to create a space station module, investigating the engineering design process), and math (which is intertwined in all of the above). We also stress teamwork as the students work together to explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate concepts.