ELIZABETHTOWN, North Carolina USA — The students of East Arcadia Elementary School in Riegelwood thought they were learning how to make model rockets they could launch. What they didn't know was that they were also learning about Bernoulli's Principle and Newton's Laws of Motion.

Those complicated tenets of physics were cleverly tucked into a seemingly innocent rocketry project presented by the North Carolina Starbase Program at Fort Fisher. And last week, instructors for the Department of Defense-funded learning initiative spent several days with fourth- through eighth-graders, showing them practical applications of math and science.

"This is something these kids will never forget," East Arcadia Principal Margaret Moore said. "They are learning on so many different levels."

Tom Simmons, a former principal of West Bladen High School, oversees Starbase at Fort Fisher. Before he joined the program three years ago, he thought he would spend his retirement years doing next to nothing. But Starbase gave him the opportunity to get back to what he does best: teaching.

“All of us are former teachers with 30 years experience,” Simmons said, speaking of his staff. “The kids really enjoy it, and they have no idea how much they're learning.”

Simmons said most of the children who go through the program express some disdain for math and science. But he and his colleagues typically point to the fact that many of the “cool” things that interest kids, such as space or air travel, rely heavily on math and science.

“We were going to fly in here on a Blackhawk helicopter,” Simmons said. “We let them see it, climb all over it. Then we ask them if they like math and science. ‘Oh, no, I don't like math.’

“We tell them they won't get anywhere near one of these things if they don't like math or science.”

Part of the Starbase program is spending time doing lab experiments at Fort Fisher. Students did that last Wednesday, getting to see some practical applications of physics. Those principles are the same ones in the building and launching of their rockets.

“They're seeing how math and science are put to use in everyday life,” Moore said. “Most of them don't understand that the sciences and math can be used in that way.”

On Friday, students took their finished rockets and launched them one by one. After the rockets shot into the air, a parachute deployed, landing them safely on the ground.

“Hopefully, we can inspire kids to see what they can do with an education,” Simmons said. “The program really helps them see the possibilities.”