Photo By Capt. Emerson Marcus | Boys and Girls Club of the Truckee Meadows members sit through a STARBASE camp at the...... read more read more
Talking to a class of about a dozen Boys and Girls Club of Truckee Meadows 10-12-year-old members, Keyana Bunting dropped two bowling balls in a water tank.
The first bowling ball weighed 11 pounds and floated to the top of the tank.
The second bowling ball weight 13 pounds.
“Will it sink or float?” asked Bunting, a STARBASE teacher, before dropping the second bowling ball into the water tank.
“Sink!” the children exclaimed in unison — and they were correct. The 13-pound ball sank to the bottom of the tank.
The children, attending the Nevada National Guard’s STARBASE educational science, technology, engineer and mathematics (STEM) program, knew the answer because of the course they took earlier that day that calculated mass divided by volume equals density, a simple equation to determine whether an object would sink or float in water. They knew two pounds would make the difference because of that simple equation, one of many the students learned that day during STARBASE camp.
Nevada’s first Department of Defense STARBASE program welcomed its first class of students in March at the Nevada Air National Guard Base in Reno, and at the Henderson Armory in Clark County. The two locations continued to house science camps for kids throughout this summer with courses also set for the 2022-2023 school year.
“The goal (of STARBASE) is to drive and foster more historically underserved demographics with a love of learning and engagement early in their lives,” said Tiffany Young, northern Nevada’s STARBASE program director. “Hopefully this guides them into wanting careers in STEM.”
Created in 1991, STARBASE’s primary focus is to foster a passion of learning in STEM fields in fifth graders attending Title 1 schools. For those attending during the school year, students participate in a five-day curriculum that includes 25 hours of academic instruction and multiple “hands-on, minds-on” STEM activities. The students also interact with military personnel to explore different career paths and observe STEM being applied first-hand.
Nevada’s STARBASE locations in southern and northern Nevada are overseen and managed by the State of Nevada Office of the Military and use civilian educators who lead the weeklong courses.
The Nevada Guard’s STARBASE rollout is nearly two years in the making since the Nevada Guard was selected to begin its first-ever STARBASE in 2021.
Additionally, Nevada’s STARBASE has also held camps in rural Nevada, including Winnemucca, with plans for more spring and summer camps in 2023.
The program directors come with a wealth of experience in Nevada K-12 education.
Traci Davis, a former principal of the year for the state of Nevada, academic manager in Clark County and Washoe County School District superintendent, was hired to lead the program in southern Nevada. Tiffany Young, who previously served as the equity and diversity director in Washoe County School District and is as an adjunct professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, leads the Nevada STARBASE program in northern Nevada.
“Every kid should have an opportunity for these experiences,” Davis said.
STARBASE in Reno was initially housed in the finance building at the Nevada Air National Guard Base, but work is underway for renovation of a new building at the base. In southern Nevada, construction at the temporary location at the Henderson Armory is almost complete with plans to expand and renovate that location as well.
“Between STARBASE and our Battle Born Youth Challenge Academy, the Nevada National Guard has taken several strides in the past few years to show its support of our communities through expanding locations here in Nevada and building on federally-funded and recognized educational programs we’ve lacked here in the Silver State,” said Maj. Gen. Ondra Berry, Nevada’s adjutant general. “Capitalizing on these programs in order to bring them here to Nevada has long been one of my highest priorities since becoming adjutant general. I’m beyond excited to see these young residents of our state grow and learn through these programs.”
| Date Taken: | 08.02.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 08.02.2022 14:05 |
| Story ID: | 426339 |
| Location: | CARSON CITY, NEVADA, US |
| Web Views: | 197 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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