Note: This article is courtesy of the NH Department of Education's Class Acts program, which highlights how New Hampshire schools and students are enhancing academic experiences.
PEMBROKE, N.H.- A unique program based in Pembroke is helping spark students’ interest in science through hands-on projects, interactive learning, and positive experiences in the STEM field.
Fifth-graders from across the state are invited to attend STARBASE New Hampshire, a program that began in 1991 in Michigan and now includes 82 locations across America, Puerto Rico, and Guam. Schools are encouraged to bring their fifth-grade students to STARBASE for a weeklong program designed to get students excited about learning science.
“We want to create the opportunity for as many students in New Hampshire to experience engaging, thought-provoking, and fun hands-on activities that will allow every student to be involved and excited about learning in a cooperative environment,” said Mark Campbell, Director of STARBASE NH, which operates at the NH National Guard Edward Cross Training Complex on Riverwood Drive. “We’re hopeful that this experience will excite students to learn more about STEM opportunities as a future career by using STEM activities as a catalyst for students to become future scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and technology specialists."
This week, students from Hillside Middle School in Manchester participated in STARBASE NH, and on Wednesday they were perfecting their straw rockets to see just how far they could soar.
Since opening STARBASE NH in November 2023, 87 academies have been offered to nearly 3,000 students across 20 schools. An academy consists of a group of students who attend the five-day program, which provides 25 hours of STEM learning each week. Summer camps are also available.
“The STARBASE program has developed lessons to address the standards of STEM, and we created a schedule of different lessons to ensure each standard is covered,” explained Campbell. “Each day the students will have a mini lesson based on the fifth-grade STEM standards, do a hands-on activity, and then have a wrap-up of the lesson.”
Some of the lessons include a variation of the egg-drop activity, Snap Circuits electrical circuit projects for kids, the Onshape CAD program with a scavenger hunt, creating 3D-printed dog tags, Lego Robotics, Happy Atoms, drones through coding, fluid mechanics, buoyancy activities, and more. The final day caps off with the use of virtual reality headsets and the SculptrVR app to create virtual rockets, as well as a visit from a military unit.
STARBASE NH is free for New Hampshire fifth-grade classrooms; however, schools are responsible for providing transportation to the Pembroke location. The program is fully funded by the U.S. Department of Defense. The New Hampshire National Guard contracts the program to a nonprofit organization, Hope Through Education.
“This program gets back to the basics of education and learning,” said Campbell, stressing the importance of interactive student participation for a deeper and longer-term understanding of concepts.
And the learning seems to be catching on, according to the state’s science assessment data. Students from Deerfield have attended STARBASE NH for two years, and science assessment scores improved from 46% to 56% proficiency from 2025 to 2026. A similar pattern has occurred at Strong Foundation Charter School, where students who attended STARBASE NH improved their science assessment scores from 32% to 62% proficiency from 2025 to 2026.
But more importantly, said Campbell, “We’ve had several students get emotional when leaving on the last day because they have expressed coming here was the best school they’ve had and don’t want to stop coming.”
For more information on the NH Department of Education, click here.