Welcome To
STARBASE OKC
Welcome to STARBASE OKC, where curiosity thrives, challenges inspire, and students discover just how exciting learning can be. Located on the Oklahoma City Military Complex, we offer a unique, hands-on STEAM experience that puts real-world problem-solving front and center. By partnering with local schools and military leaders, we create an environment where students build skills, explore new technologies, and discover their strengths.
Through our 25-hour program, 5th graders dive into hands-on STEAM learning that sparks imagination and builds confidence. At STARBASE OKC, students step into the roles of engineers, scientists, and designers. Through robotics, engineering challenges, applied science labs, and computer-aided design (CAD), our cadets learn to test ideas, work together, and push their creativity further than they thought possible.
Our mission is simple: Ignite a passion for learning and open doors to future opportunities. With a dedicated team guiding and supporting every activity, we ensure each lesson is engaging, every challenge is meaningful, and every student feels encouraged to explore their potential and new possibilities.
At STARBASE OKC, we do more than teach STEAM, we bring learning to life!
Contact
Mike Baarlaer
6500 N. Kelley Ave
BLDG MAO80 EDU Center
Oklahoma City, OK 73111
Testimonials
Meet the Staff
Mike Baarlaer
Director
Mike Baarlaer brings three decades of educational experience to his role as Director for StarBase OKC, following a distinguished career teaching 5th grade in Michigan. He is dedicated to shaping engaging, inquiry-driven learning experiences at STARBASE and is committed to fostering an environment where students reach their “ah-ha” moments through meaningful, hands-on exploration. Why does Mike love STARBASE?
“I love watching the students see that ‘ah-ha’ moment when they are learning and having fun understanding scientific principles.”
When he’s not inspiring the next generation of scientists, you’ll find him spending time outdoors with his family, kayaking, hiking, playing tennis or pickle ball, and reading.
Brian Reed
Deputy Director
Brian Reed serves as Deputy Director at STARBASE OKC and has been part of the program for seven years. He began his career at STARBASE as a Program Assistant, advanced to Program Instructor, and now supports the organization through his experience and long-standing involvement in STEAM education.
Throughout his time at STARBASE, Brian has contributed to engaging, hands-on learning experiences that spark curiosity and creativity in students. His background in classroom instruction provides valuable insight into the program’s educational approach and day-to-day operations.
Brian’s passion for learning is reflected in a haiku he wrote about the STARBASE experience:
Knowledge fills young minds
Humanity’s vow renewed
Circle is complete
Olivia Hernandez
Program Instructor
Meet Instructor Olivia Hernandez, call sign “Proton.” Known for bringing energy, joy, and positivity into every STARBASE classroom, Olivia is passionate about creating learning environments where curiosity thrives and students feel empowered.
Outside of work, Olivia finds joy in photography, a passion she’s nurtured for years, and she currently manages the STARBASE OKC Facebook page. She treasures time with her family and friends, loves being outdoors, and often recharges by taking in the beauty of God’s creation. She’s also a proud dog mom and a lover of all fur babies.
At the heart of everything she does is her belief in lifelong learning. Olivia loves showing students that they can achieve anything, that STEAM is for everyone, and that discovering new things should always feel fun, inspiring, and full of wonder.
Michelle Swedlow
Program Instructor
Meet Instructor Michelle Swedlow! Call sign “Photon” a passionate educator who brings science to life with energy, creativity, and real-world experience. Blending her love of physics with hands-on learning and Army-honed discipline, she sparks curiosity and inspires the next generation of critical thinkers. What she loves most about teaching STARBASE:
“Teaching science lets me do what I love most: to excite electrons and young minds. I fuse Physics education, creativity, and Army-honed discipline to make science real and hands-on, to ignite a lifelong love of science, mathematics, exploration, and critical thinking for our next gen kids.”
Dominique Phillips
Program Instructor
With 15 years of experience and a heart fully in it, our newest program instructor Dominique Call sign: Quanta is here to back the education system and help people grow into their best selves. Quanta is deeply committed to supporting the Department of Defense’s mission to ignite a love for STEAM and expand access to opportunities for marginalized communities, ensuring no talent goes untapped.
Her life motto— “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care” sums up the way she lives life with emotional connection and empathy preceding knowledge and achievement in building relationships with the students, families and communities around the world.
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A special piece of StarBase Oklahoma City history has found its way home. ✈️💙
Recently, we were gifted a historic plaque commemorating the longstanding partnership between StarBase Oklahoma City and the Will Rogers Air National Guard Base. This plaque represents an important chapter in our program’s history and serves as a reminder of the partnerships that have helped shape our mission through the years.
Before StarBase Oklahoma City had a permanent home, our team traveled between locations, bringing hands-on STEAM education to students across our community. Today, as we continue that mission in our own dedicated facility, we are honored to display this plaque as a symbol of our history, growth, and commitment to inspiring future generations.
We are grateful for the support, partnerships, and people who have helped make StarBase Oklahoma City what it is today. Here’s to celebrating our past while continuing to build an exciting future. 🚀✨
#starbaseokc #STARBASE #STEMEducation #WillRogersAirNationalGuardBase #OklahomaSTEM #STEMLearning #MilitaryPartnership #InspiringTheFuture #FutureInnovators #OklahomaEducation #HonoringOurHistory
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🎓 Congratulations to our STARBASE Summer Camp Graduates! 🚀
What an incredible week of learning, creativity, teamwork, and discovery. From hands-on STEM activities and engineering challenges to new friendships and unforgettable memories, these students embraced every opportunity to learn and grow.
We are so proud of each and every one of you for stepping outside your comfort zones, asking questions, solving problems, and showing what it means to think like future innovators.
To our campers: thank you for bringing your curiosity, energy, and enthusiasm each day. You made this camp truly special, and we hope you leave with new knowledge, great memories, and confidence in your ability to achieve amazing things.
To our families: thank you for sharing your children with us and for supporting their STEAM journey. It has been a privilege to watch them learn, explore, and shine throughout the week.
We hope everyone has a safe, fun, and memorable summer. We can’t wait to see many of these bright young minds back with us next year for even more STEM adventures!
Keep dreaming big, keep asking questions, and keep reaching for the stars. ⭐✨
#STARBASEOK #STARBASEOKC #STEMEducation #FutureInnovators
#SummerCamp2026 #DreamBig #FutureLeaders #OklahomaSTEM #LearningThroughDiscovery
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Round Three of Camp Highlights at Will Rogers Air National Guard Base ✈️🔬
We’re back with Round Three and this one is packed with some of the most hands-on STEAM moments of the entire camp.
From ELEPHANT TOOTHPASTE erupting with excitement 🧪 to students bringing their creativity to life through line art that evolved into coding, this camp has been all about turning ideas into real-world discovery. We also watched our cadets design and build solar cars ☀️🚗 and then take them outside to test, refine, and see their engineering in action.
This is the part we love most, seeing concepts move from “I think I can” to “I just did that.”
And we’re still not done.
Graduation photos from the final day of camp are coming soon, along with a full video compilation of our time together. So while this is another highlight drop, it’s definitely not the final one, there’s still so much more fun, growth, and chaos (the good kind) to share.
Stay tuned 🚀
#STARBASEOKC #WillRogersAirNationalGuard #STEAMEducation #STEMCamp #ElephantToothpaste #SolarCars #CodingForKids #HandsOnLearning #FutureEngineers #AviationInspiration #YouthInSTEM #LearningByDoing #CampHighlights #TeacherLife #OKC #MoreToCome
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Round Two of Camp Highlights at Will Rogers Air National Guard Base ✈️
What. A. WEEK.
STARBASE OKC is back with Round Two of camp highlights and this one came in HOT with STEAM energy, curiosity, and nonstop hands-on learning. From the moment the kids stepped onto base, they were in full mission mode designing, building, testing, and discovering like real engineers and scientists in training.
We’re talking drone flights, robotics challenges, explosive (safe 😄) STEAM experiments, and problem-solving that had students thinking bigger than ever. Watching them collaborate, fail forward, and then try again is exactly what STEAM is all about real learning in real time.
The energy was high, the questions were nonstop, and the creativity? Unmatched.
And honestly… we had to cool our jets before posting because this week was a LOT in the best and most exhausting way. But these moments deserve their spotlight.
More camp highlights coming soon because this is just Round Two. 🚀
#STARBASEOKC #WillRogersAirNationalGuard #STEAMEducation #STEMLearning #FutureEngineers #HandsOnLearning #DroneFlight #RoboticsInEducation #ScienceInAction #AviationInspiration #YouthInSTEM #TeacherLife #CampHighlights #LearningByDoing #OKCEducation #STEAMCamp
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