Elementary Students Experience STEM with Military at STARBASE Fort Drum
By Sgt. Josiah Jenkins
27th Public Affairs Detachment
FORT DRUM, N.Y. (March 8, 2024) -- Elementary students from Indian River and Sacketts Harbor Central School Districts enjoyed some hands-on learning related to the U.S. Army by Soldiers from 1st Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment, March 8, on Fort Drum, New York.
This was apart of the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) program that STARBASE Fort Drum offers to local schools. This allows students to see practical and realistic applications of these fields in real-world situations that they can get their hands on.
“This provides students one more avenue to see a career that you didn’t even know existed,” said Joanne Witt, director of STARBASE Fort Drum. “Kids see the Soldiers as like Marvel superheroes, and so they get a bit starstruck. So, it is wonderful for them to maybe see their own face in that uniform, doing that career or performing that task.”
Students learned the science behind how radio signals are transmitted from line of sight to around the globe, and then given a chance use radios to talk to each other. They also had a chance to go hands on with thermal scopes, night vision, body armor and a HMMWV (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle).
“I liked the gadgets, I think they were pretty cool,” said Lucas, a fifth-grade student from Indian River. “My favorite was probably the thermal vision.”
Opportunities like these give students a chance to see a glimpse inside the world of military service. Students were given an opportunity to ask questions about working in the U.S. Army and see how subjects they are learning in school have a practical application.
“Rather than thinking of the military as some fantastical thing that uses all this sci-fi stuff, they can look and see what we really do and use,” said Sgt. Michelle Joffrion, an instructor from 1-89 Cavalry.
The STARBASE Fort Drum program continues to provide an outstanding STEM program for local schools. It gives kids a chance to go hands-on and learn about careers and STEM in military service.
Date Taken: | 03.08.2024 |
Date Posted: | 03.08.2024 14:29 |
Story ID: | 465740 |
Location: | FORT DRUM, NEW YORK, US |
Web Views: | 142 |
Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Elementary Students Experience STEM with Military at STARBASE Fort Drum, by SSG Josiah Jenkins, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.