Starbase Montana is a Department of Defense-run program that welcomes fourth and fifth grade classrooms from across the state.
Students learn about STEAM — an acronym for science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics — in a week of experiments, question games and hands-on play. STEAM is often focused on in school because it teaches problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
Starbase Montana has classrooms in Fort Harrison and Great Falls. On Wednesday, the program’s latest students gathered under jet posters to learn about chemistry and physics. Teams of students donned callsigns, or unique military code names, and tested powders with water.
Reaching 30,000 students is a big deal, state Starbase Director Kara Bates Tangedal said.
She’s run the program for four of its 18-year tenure. As a former high school science teacher and Montana State University 4-H professional, what stands out the most to her is how effective the program is at “sticking in kids’ heads.”
In a survey of 300 students, 32 percent of high schoolers reported pursuing a STEAM career directly because of the Starbase program. That doesn’t include the students who were already curious about science.
“That’s statistically significant. It’s unheard of,” Tangedal said.
Science is valuable because it teaches the value of failure, she said. Whether students are pursuing physics or philosophy, they are bound to stumble, but progress is made by dusting off their knees.
Students and teachers celebrated the 30,000-student milestone with cupcakes and certificates.
Olan Corley, a Clancy 11-year-old with the callsign “Darkwolf,” loved the program.
He’s passionate about chemistry and explosives, and he dreams of one day being a demolitions expert. Alas, his dad won’t let him use sodium for his experiments anymore, and so he sticks with adult-supervised fireworks when he needs his science kick.
For Corley, Starbase was “obviously cool.”
It was a week away from school learning about some of his favorite subjects. He thought it was cool to travel onto a military base.
Beyond the flashy lights of explosions and straw rockets they learned about in class, science fascinates Corley because it makes up all parts of life.
“Science is the process of understanding something,” Corley said. “Everything, I could figure it out, y’know?”
©2025 the Independent Record (Helena, Mont.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
