Concord students show off Starbase STEM kits at Edina school board meeting

At the June 8 Edina School Board meeting, fifth-grade students from Concord Elementary described activities from Starbase, a no-cost STEM program that uses classroom kits and video vignettes to immerse students in hands-on projects and simulated missions.

The teacher accompanying the students said the kit-based approach packages materials (from markers to sensors) and video interviews with real scientists, allowing students to own every step of experiments rather than performing a single assigned task. "It's student-driven inquiry," she said, and noted the program had been sustained through legislative and private funding after a threatened cut in the previous year.

Students described experiments and simulations they enjoyed. "One of my favorites was simulating a rocket ship getting out over to Mars," said student Owen. Other students described mixing powders that behaved unpredictably and fingerprint-sensor activities; several said the program made certain parts of school feel like recess and increased their curiosity about how materials reacted.

Board members asked whether the program had sparked interest in STEM pathways. Students answered that the exposure to career cards and local company vignettes made some of them consider science or related careers, while others said they remained undecided but intrigued. Director Allenberg and colleagues thanked the students and teacher for appearing and encouraged continued outreach to families about successful classroom programs.

The meeting briefly recessed for technical difficulties following the presentation.