Students Experience Drone Building & Piloting
The first EVO3 Foundation drone program engaged 7th – 12th grade (middle and high school) students in building, learning about, and completing challenges with drones. The students had a range of experience—some were new to drones and some had built and flown them before.
The students practiced soldering on Saturday morning. Later that afternoon they would be soldering tiny cameras to drones the size of their hands. A SHS senior, Cooper Hyland, was helping a younger student practice. He said, “Look at how steady his hand is. What grade are you in?”
“8th.”
“I wish I was that good at soldering when I was in 8th grade!”
Two Summit Middle School students became interested in the mini-camp when they heard about it from their STEM teacher. “We are in Mr. Subasi’s career technology class and we’re doing drones now. Last month we built rockets!”
When asked what part about the drone camp sounded fun, another student answered, “The part about building and flying drones.” Since building and flying drones was the program’s entire purpose, this kid was well-positioned for a good weekend.
Students learned from professional drone pilots that drones had many uses besides a hobby, for example, sports, construction, movies, and search & rescue.
The students were divided into teams and came up with a team name on the first day. Paul, a software developer, helped develop the drone program and volunteered for the weekend event. He worked till 1:30am designing and creating the badges that students wore the next day. He said it was important for kids to come to this program to learn more science. Overall there were 8 volunteers for 12 kids, several of whom are professional drone pilots.
Debriefing sessions led by EVO3 Foundation’s Aaron Landau and Peder Hansen were modeled after a practice in the U.S. Navy Blue Angels used for teamwork. They asked what worked, what didn’t, what mistakes were made, and how they could improve outcomes. Each person ended their comment with “Glad to be here.” Comments included:
“Being supervised on the soldering was helpful. Glad to be here.”
“Nobody got burned. Glad to be here.”
The camp ended with Flying Challenges (Search & Rescue) and Races at the middle school. Superintendent Tony Byrd made a visit and spoke with volunteers and students. He even gave drone piloting a try.
The next drone program will be later this winter and will be a special all-girls camp, with another program in the spring for all. The cost is $1,000 to attend, but students who attend all three days receive a scholarship and attend the camp for free. The program is sponsored by EVO3 Foundation, Freeport McMoRan, and Education Foundation of the Summit. The Summit School District provided a space for the final day challenge.