Winchester STARBASE

STARBASE is a Department of Defense educational program, sponsored by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs where students participate in challenging activities in science, technology, engineering and math. The STARBASE mission is to expose our nation’s youth to the technological environments and positive civilian and military role models found on Active, Guard, and Reserve military bases and installations, nurture a winning network of collaborators, and build mutual loyalty within our communities, by providing 5 days, 25 hours of exemplary hands-on instruction and activities that meet or exceed the National Standards. The Winchester STARBASE Academy at the Winchester Readiness Center immerses students in a unique classroom experience where all activities are student-centered, hands-on, encourage higher order thinking, and incorporate STEM applications in the real world.

During the 2019 calendar year, STARBASE instructors provided an exciting science, technology, engineering and mathematics program to 57 classes, graduating 1,207 students from the five-day program. Out of these classes, 96% of the students were from Title I schools, serving low socioeconomic, at-risk students.

In addition to serving these 57 classes, the STARBASE staff also spent five days as guest instructors at the Clarke County summer STEM camp teaching robotics and computer-aided design programming, went to Virginia Beach to teach robotics to students at the National Guard Youth Camp and ChalleNGe program and provided activities at three local elementary school STEM nights. Instructors also ran a STARBASE 2.0 program, an after-school program for middle school students. The objective of STARBASE 2.0 is to serve students at other grade levels in STEM beyond their initial STARBASE experience in order to continue the impact of a positive STEM program. The Winchester STARBASE instructors trained the middle school students in robotics building and programming and took a team of students to the First Lego League Robotics Competition. (Updated Dec. 6, 2019)

Vist the STARBASE website:
https://www.starbasewinchester.com/