STARBASE Academy blasts off in Winchester - July 23, 2012

The Virginia National Guard hosts a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Winchester STARBASE Academy July 23 at the Cherry-Beasley Readiness Center in Winchester. Science and Technology Academies Reinforcing Basic Aviation and Space Exploration, or 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. Students are immersed in a unique classroom experience for five days where all activities are student-centered, hands-on, encourage higher order thinking and incorporate STEM applications in the real world. The Winchester STARBASE Academy, sponsored by the Virginia National Guard and based in the Cherry-Beasley Readiness Center, will partner with public and private schools in the region with the goal of working with approximately 800 students in the first year. The Winchester STARBASE Academy’s first five-day program welcomed students from Frederick Douglass Elementary School of the Winchester Public Schools from July 23-27, 2012.