By

[caption id="attachment_6101" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Avery Masters receives her Starbase certificate of achievement from Samuel Murray, Port Royal mayor, during the graduation ceremony at Starbase aboard the Air Station March 2. The graduates received hands on experience with science, mathematics and engineering by learing how to use a 3-D printer and by building and firing rockets."]<a href="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Starbase1.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-6101" title="Starbase1" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Starbase1-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" /></a>[/caption]

Lance Cpl. R.J. Driver
Samuel Murray, Port Royal mayor, was the guest speaker for the Starbase graduation on the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort for Port Royal Elementary School students.
During his speech on Friday, March 2, he congratulated the students for all their hard work throughout the week and explained the importance of having a strong math and science background, “Because we will always need engineers, scientists and mathematicians.”
The students were fresh off of a weeklong course during which they learned core scientific principles such as Newton’s Three Laws of Motion, Bernoulli’s Principle and more. They even used a 3-D printer to print their designs from Computer Aided Design software.
“What they learned at Starbase directly correlates with what we are teaching our students at the fifth grade level,” explained Jo Shirley, Port Royal Elementary School principal. “It is important for them to get hands-on learning experience here at Starbase.”
According to  www.starbasedod.com, Starbase is a free-of-charge program which offers a positive, proven approach to engendering excitement and interest in science, technology, engineering and math to schools and is funded by the Department of Defense. It opens its doors to schools outside Beaufort County during the summer and is one of 80 programs across 34 states.
“The skills they learn here are very important and are the subjects many students shy away from as they get older and into college,” Murray said. “If they learn these skills now, it may lead to them taking an interest in the subjects and excelling. Who knows? Maybe a student from Beaufort County will build a rocket one day.”