A Summer of STREAM: Campers Soar Through Pilot Training

A Drone and Aviation Camp was recently hosted at South Ripley High School.

Photo provided.

(Versailles, Ind.) - Genesis: Pathways to Success continued A Summer of STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) with Drone and Aviation Camp hosted at South Ripley High School. Over the course of three days, 21 students took on pilot training to understand the basics of aviation and drones.

Camp kicked off with campers understanding the logistics of aviation by creating paper airplanes and hand copters. They measured how far and how high their creations flew, then used that data to tweak their designs and improve each trial flight. After reviewing their results, they reflected on what worked and what didn’t. Using 9 inch styrofoam plates, campers engineered their own gliders, complete with homemade thrust systems and propellers. Then it was back to the skies for more test flights, adjustments, and data collection!

Day two launched with Basa Wood Gliders and experimenting with how to make it loop in a circle. Along with this, campers competed in fun challenges to see whose plane could make the full loop and go the furthest. They began creating bottle rockets using two liter bottles, duck tape, and playdough. Campers split into groups of two and worked together, using engineering to create an efficient bottle rocket. They finished off the day with a challenge of which bottle rocket would succeed and fly the farthest!

“I’m definitely coming back next year! The water bottle rockets reminded me of baseball and when we shot them, it felt like a home run. We ran all the way out there to see our accomplishments and we just kept improving each time,” Beau Bonelli.

Campers spent day three flying mini drones, flying them using both controllers and computer-based platforms. Five obstacles were set up, challenging each camper to complete them with specific instructions. Campers also learned the basics of block programming and applied it to their drone challenges. To wrap up camp, Xperience Ag brought farming drones to present to the campers. Campers asked questions and learned how the drones work, how aerial imaging helps farmers, and what it’s like to run a tech-focused agricultural business.

Genesis: Pathways to Success would like to thank the South Ripley School Corporation for welcoming us and for their continued support of A Summer of STREAM programming. We would like to give a special thanks to Dave Osborne, Julia Heidlage, and Xperience Ag for sharing their passion and expertise with campers!

To learn more information about this summer camp or have questions, please visit www.genesisp2s.org, or contact the Genesis office by emailing info@genesisp2s.org, calling 812-933-1098, or visiting 13 E. George Street, Suite B, Batesville, IN 47006.