Welcome To
STARBASE Weatherford
The Stafford Air & Space Museum is the new home for Weatherford STARBASE, bringing this vital Department of Defense STEAM program to an exciting new location. Despite recent funding challenges, we remain committed to providing hands-on learning experiences in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math to fifth graders across western Oklahoma. Our partnership with the Stafford Air & Space Museum on historic Route 66 offers students access to world-class aerospace exhibits and family passes for Star students. We proudly continue serving schools throughout the region—launching Oklahoma's aerospace future from our new home.
Contact
Local Connections in STEAM
Learning Takes Flight
STARBASE Weatherford students get to explore science and space firsthand with visits to the Stafford Air & Space Museum.
Meet the Staff
Shannan Cloud
Director
I’m Shannan Cloud, and I’m the Director here at STARBASE. I joined STARBASE after teaching fourth grade at Merritt Elementary, as well as teaching in Oklahoma City, Guatemala, and Bolivia. I studied Child Development at Oklahoma State University and hold two master’s degrees—one in Education and one in Theology. I am a former United Methodist minister before stepping into the world of STEAM education. My favorite part of STARBASE is helping students problem solve and think outside of the box. One of my favorite activities is teaching a rap I wrote about endothermic and exothermic reactions, where I get to perform as “Inspector Spunky.”
Outside of STARBASE, I enjoy writing Bible studies, attending church with my family, watching my daughter compete in rodeo, and cheering on my son in college. I’m originally from Weatherford and graduated from Weatherford High School in 1988. I’m also bilingual in Spanish. If I could have any superpower, I’d choose the ability to travel anywhere instantly with the blink of an eye. My advice for future scientists and engineers: Learning is supposed to be challenging—and that’s a good thing! It’s how your brain grows. Embrace the process, enjoy discovering new things, and always remember that you can do hard things.
Heather Rutherford
Deputy Director
Hi! I’m Heather Rutherford, and I’m the Deputy Director here at STARBASE and have been here since January ‘23. I joined STARBASE after teaching for Epic, as well as teaching at Merritt, Elk City, and serving as an adjunct for SWOSU. I studied Natural Science at SWOSU.
My favorite part of STARBASE is watching students who may struggle with traditional classroom work have those lightbulb moments. I love helping students discover that they can do hard things and watching their confidence grow as they succeed.
When I’m not at STARBASE, I love spending time with my family. A fun fact about me is that I enjoy baking all the different flavors of sourdough bread. If I could have any superpower, I’d choose never having to remember a password again—because they would just autofill in my brain! My advice for future scientists and engineers: Dream big
Becki Hubin
Program Instructor
Hi! I’m Becki Hubin, and I’m one of the Program Instructors here at STARBASE. I joined STARBASE in July of 2025 after teaching 20 years at Weatherford Public Schools. My teaching experiences evolved into writing STEAM curriculum, serving as WPS 2nd-6th Grade STEAM Educator and developing STEAM camps.
I received my Elementary Education degree at Kansas State University. My favorite part of STARBASE is being encouraged to "just be me’ and letting my love for teaching pour out of me into our students. I love asking unsolved STEAM questions and encouraging "outside of the box" thinking. When I’m not at STARBASE, I love to craft.
A fun fact about me is that I am an entrepreneur. If I could have any superpower, it would be to "zip zap" around from state to state to see my family and friends any time I wanted. My advice for future scientists and engineers: reach beyond what you think is possible.
Testimonials
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Today at our STEM Academy, we took a little time to get creative with some of our Eggbert Day 5 materials—and let’s just say things got interesting! 😄
What started as a simple (and slightly silly) idea turned into a fun way to explore new possibilities, test out materials, and think about how we can turn everyday supplies into engaging science experiences for our students.
Sometimes the best ideas come from just jumping in, trying something new, and not being afraid to laugh along the way especially with our friends from the Stafford Air & Space Museum!
Today was a great reminder that learning—and planning—can be fun too!
We might just turn this into a future classroom experiment… stay tuned!
#aerospace
#STEM
#behindthescenes
#aviation
#STEMeducation
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Our 2.0 Advanced students graduated today. It was incredible watching the students confidently teach their families how to fly drones today!
We began our year together building Loomisville international space stations in honor of Jim Loomis. These projects were showcased at the STAFFORD Air and Space museum “State of the STAFFORD” event and our new classroom ribbon cutting ceremony. A highlight during our class time was meeting Cady Coleman, retired astronaut who lived on the ISS.
Throughout the rest of our time together; we learned to code sphero and lego spike prime robots, be pilots in flight simulators, fly drones, create in CAD, become strong team leaders and so much more. STARBASE; a career driven, STEM focused, hands-on program built to EMPOWER students with a desire to DREAM BEYOND.
Congrats to our Burns Flat 6th grade 2.0 Advanced graduates and their amazing teacher Sarah Bargis! Job well done!
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Just sharing this here from when the Premium Aerospace Center had their grand opening!
Thanks to Korbin at Perkey Productions for sharing this clip with me!
I gave a shout out in my talk to the Stafford Air & Space Museum for being our host site!
Teaching STEM because the sky is NOT the limit!
#aerospace
#aviation
#STEM
#starbase
#TheSkyIsNotTheLimit
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