DORGAN HELPS BRING 'STARBASE' MATH AND SCIENCE EDUCATION PROGRAM TO MINOT FIFTH-GRADERS
Monday, November 3, 2008
CONTACT: Justin Kitsch
or Brenden Timpe
PHONE: 202-224-2551
(MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D.) – U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) helped cut the ribbon on the new Starbase program here Monday, saying the initiative will help boost science and math education for students in the Minot region.
The new Starbase program will bring about 675 fifth-graders to the Minot Air Force Base each year for five days of science and technology educational activities. Activities will include learning training in a flight simulator, meeting military personnel, and learning about goal-setting and teamwork.
Similar programs around the country have proven very successful in improving students’ science and math skills and promoting community-base relations. The program’s expansion to Minot was made possible by $300,000 in federal funding that Senator Dorgan, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, secured in last year’s Defense Appropriations bill.
“Minot Air Force Base has always enjoyed strong support from the community, and this new program will help us capitalize further on that relationship,” Dorgan said. “Starbase will give young students from the Minot region a great opportunity to interact with some top-notch Air Force personnel who can teach them not just about science and technology, but about setting goals and working toward them, as well.”
More than 350,000 students have participated in the Starbase program in more than 30 states since its creation in 1992.
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