On the evening of Tuesday, December 3rd, 2024, STARBASE Arkansas unveiled an immersive display as the latest addition to their Jacksonville facility. The Emerging Analytics Center (EAC) designed and built the lab in collaboration with the STARBASE Arkansas, Little Rock Air Force Base, and the Forge Institute. Thanks to funding from the Department of Defense, students now have access to the lab at no cost through the organization’s educational programs.
STARBASE Arkansas is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to providing hands-on STEAM education – Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math– to students across the state. Since its inception in 2022, they have worked with nearly 3,500 students.
The unveiling was open to the public and drew students, their families, educators, and local industry leaders. Attendees previewed the lab’s virtual capabilities through applications such as the EAC’s CrimeScene 360, where students can work through a crime scene. The Planet Mars Landscape Environment, an immersive exploration of the Mars environment as well as interacting with STARBASE’s eight mascots through an augmented reality app were also available. Participation in hands-on experiments rounded out the evening for participating students and their visitors.
The significance of the lab and its potential to shape future STEAM education and careers was reiterated by several speakers. Dr. Jan Springer remarked, “Let’s face it, we still need to maintain our aircrafts. We still need to maintain our moon bases, I hope they come at some point, and those kids will maybe have a chance to be there so we have to give them the tools to actually grow and be able to do that.”
Read the original announcement here: https://katv.com/news/local/starbase-arkansas-unveils-new-virtual-reality-lab-for-students-steam-education-resources-immersive-no-cost-crime-scene-nonprofit
