Photo By Sgt. Chasity Williams | Students from the Peach State STARBASE program launch model rockets in front of the...... read more read more
Subscribe
MARIETTA, Ga. (June 13, 2025) – The Georgia Department of Defense’s Peach State STARBASE program hosted a summer camp 9-12 June at the Clay National Guard Center in Marietta, Ga., providing 9-11-year-old military dependents hands-on training and activities focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art/Design, and Mathematics (STEAM).
Tonya Pirlot, Director of Peach State STARBASE, discussed the program's goal on the first day of camp. “We will be introducing them to different types of careers in the military, and careers that involve coding, CAD, 3D printing, anything aviation-related,” said Pirlot.
In Pirlot’s definition of STEAM, the “A” stands for aviation.
“They'll be talking to pilots, they'll be going to the aviation museum. We will be doing fun science experiments. We will be building, launching rockets; anything that is hands-on that gives them a taste of STEAM”, said Pirlot. She noted the importance of introducing these subjects to their students, who might not otherwise encounter them in traditional school settings.
For one of their first day activities, the students visited the air traffic control tower and operations center on the Dobbins Air Reserve Base, where they received an informational tour about the facility and watched a plane take off. Greg Bates, an air traffic controller who guided the tour, always volunteers his time when children come to see the facility.
“[STEAM] is super important because tomorrow's air traffic controllers, pilots, and engineers...all of those will come from the crop of children today,” said Bates. "And a lot of children are inspired by these programs that otherwise may not even know that these careers exist”.
Pirlot expressed gratitude for the community's support, particularly for providing transportation and access to various facilities like the air traffic control tower, the Army gym, and the aviation museum. This support has been crucial in making the camp accessible, especially this year, as it's the first time the program is free of charge to military dependents.
“So this is the first year we've been able to do it, and we have more campers this year than we have had in the seven years I've been here.”, said Pirlot. She noted that the program will host another summer camp late in the month, open to the public, focused specifically on aviation.
Outside of summer camps, the Peach State STARBASE provides programs in three Georgia locations (Marietta, Savannah, and Warner Robbins) throughout the regular school year. These efforts serve 5th-grade students, mainly focused on Title 1 schools, or those that receive additional government funding due to a higher risk of falling behind academically, due to economic shortfalls.
In addition, the STARBASE team travels into the communities, bringing equipment and hands-on experiences to kids who couldn’t attend the camps or school-year programs.
Peach State STARBASE is part of the U.S. Department of Defense’s more than 80 STARBASE programs across 40 states and two territories and is sponsored by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs.
The program receives federal funding through a cooperative agreement with the state. This funding has enabled STARBASE to provide STEM education to over 20,000 local students since the program began in 2001. Due to federal budget considerations, the program was briefly suspended earlier this year, but reopened after funding was authorized for the remainder of the fiscal year.
“We've established wonderful partnerships with the schools in our area,” said Pirlot. “The shutdown was tough, but it didn't stop us, and our academic partners stuck with us. So, we're excited about that.”
| Date Taken: | 06.13.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.16.2025 10:02 |
| Story ID: | 500574 |
| Location: | MARIETTA, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 33 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Peach State STARBASE Camp Ignites STEAM Curiosity in Youth, by Charles Emmons, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
