STARBASE Wilmington hosts rocket launch as program future remains uncertain

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The federally funded STEM program for fifth graders known as STARBASE Wilmington held a rocket launch at Legion Stadium on Friday that could be their last. 

The program is offered for free to all fifth graders in New Hanover County. The program has around 90 locations across the country and provides hands-on learning in the areas of science, technology, engineering, the arts and math. 

To make up for a $40 million budget cut by congress, the Department of Defense put STARBASE on the chopping block. The program is now set to run out of funds in the coming weeks. 

Instructor Emilia Boyette said she’s disappointed the department couldn’t make cuts elsewhere in its $850 billion budget. 

“It’s just a drop in the bucket I think of the big Department of Defense budget, so I’d like to think that somebody could find just a little bit of money to help educate kids in North Carolina about STEM and make them productive members of society,” Boyette said. 

The launch at Legion Stadium is the culmination of weeks of work by students to build their own rockets. The goal is to see how far their rockets can fly and if they can catch them on the way down.