STARBASE hosts Family STEM Night

Ashton Villarral (left), along with brother Rowan and mother Kiara, work together on a project at STARBASE Louisiana's Family STEM Night on Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, March 26, 2024. The event was designed to allow parents and children to explore STEM principles in a dynamic learning environment. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Master Sgt. Ted Daigle)

STARBASE hosts Family STEM Night

Students and parents create a top using Computer Aided Design software during Starbase Louisiana’s Family STEM Night at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, March 27, 2024. The tops were printed using a 3-D printer and tested in a spinning competition during the inaugural event designed to teach STEM principles in a family-friendly environment. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Master Sgt. Ted Daigle)

STARBASE hosts Family STEM Night

Sydelle Ball works on a chromatography project with her mother, Gladys Ball, during Starbase Louisiana’s Family STEM Night at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, March 27, 2024. Dozens of Barksdale families participated in the inaugural event. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Master Sgt. Ted Daigle)

STARBASE hosts Family STEM Night

Parents and children participate in a chromatography project during Starbase Louisiana’s Family STEM Night at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, March 27, 2024. The event allowed Barksdale families to study STEM principles together in a fun, hands-on environment. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Master Sgt. Ted Daigle)

STARBASE Louisiana holds first-ever Family STEM Night

Published March 28, 2024
By Senior Master Sgt. Ted Daigle
307th Bomb Wing

BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --

The halls of the STARBASE Louisiana echoed with joyful shouts of "Whoa!" and "Cool!" as Barksdale parents and children took part in the inaugural Family Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Night here last Tuesday.

The event allowed Barksdale families to learn STEM principles together using learning scenarios created by STARBASE Louisiana educators.

"It's our way of giving back to Barksdale," said Laurie Ilgenfritz, STARBASE Louisiana director. "We’ve always been able to reach the community at large during airshow years, but in a non-airshow year, we wanted to do something exclusively for Barksdale families.”

The program had three levels: 1^st through 3^rd grade, 4th through 5^th grade, and middle school through high school.

Each student and their parents participated in a 50-minute, hands-on STEM scenario.

The 1^st through 3^rd graders had to solve a light-hearted criminal investigation using chromatography, a process used to separate substances in a chemical mixture.

4^th and 5^th graders coded robotic arms, while middle and high school students created tops using Computer Aided Design software.

After each top was created on a 3-D printer, participants competed to see which one could spin the longest.

However, the event was popular even before the first project started.

STARBASE Louisiana filled all 128 seats available for the program within 24 hours after registration opened, said Ilgenfritz.

“That showed us there is a real desire for things like this in the Barksdale community,” she said. “It's really encouraging and something we want to continue to do.”

Children who couldn’t get into Family STEM Night can get an even deeper dive with the upcoming STARBASE, Louisiana summer camps.

Camp dates, themes, and age groups include:

May 14-17, a water-themed camp for homeschooled and Shreve Island intersession students ages 7-10.
May 28 – 31, a CSI camp for students ages 12-14.
June 10 – 14, a space-themed camp for students ages 9-11.
June 17 – 21, a space-themed camp for students ages 7-9.
June 17-21, a high school rocketry camp.

For more information or to register, visit https://www.facebook.com/StarbaseLA