Drone Academy Took off in Edwardville
The Chapter partnered with YMCA in Edwardsville, IL to host a summer camp this year. Ten youth aged around 10 years old attend the camp which spanned Monday to Thursday. Each session met from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Youth received an introduction to aviation concepts intertwined with a few life lessons. They flew 5 types of aerospace vehicles.
Each day was filled with a variety of hands-on activities. Students flew from CA to NY and back a few times to discover the difference between head, tail and cross wind. They learned that “that-a-way” does not provide the clarity they need for directional challenges. Each day was filled with fun, some art and activities.
Can you guess the aerospace vehicles? They built paper airplanes. They flew sling shot airplanes. They flew whirly birds. Those propellers on a straw are not as easy as it seems. They built a version of a balsam wood airplane whose instructions were in Chinese. And of course they flew drones. Each variety invited lessons on the forces of flight.
Students learned the value of clear and concise communication. They learned and applied teamwork. If you can find one who attended they now know “Mama’s Rules” the strength of “Watch Me” and that “If they are BEST they can be TODAY, TOMORROW they can be ANYTHING”