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Take to the Skies with Air Rockets and Drones

This hands-on class introduces students to the foundational principles of flight through two dynamic activities. Students will learn the engineering design process by creating, modifying, and launching paper air rockets. They will also learn the science of flight as they safely pilot pro DJI mini drones. Give your student a high-flying advantage this summer by transforming their curiosity into concrete technical skills!

Grades: 5-8

Tech Needs: A projector will be needed to show information. For the air rockets, students will use an air compressor, so I will need access to an outlet near the back of the building so we can launch toward the fields.

iPads: No

Food Products: No

Monday

1. Safety - Learn about types of drones and the FAA regulations for recreational pilots. I will lead students through some of the important safety rules we must all follow

2. Basic Flight Operations - Taking off, landing, hovering, and basic flight path on the field

3. Rubber band rockets to set the stage for rocket ideas.

Tuesday

1. Flight Science - what exactly is happening to the propellers to cause the drone to perform different maneuvers

2. Practice a basic drone flight path

3. Show a SpaceX video that shows a failed launch to emphasize failure is okay and it’s all about the process

4. Design first paper air rocket

Wednesday

1. Test Air rockets from yesterday

2. Learn from failure and redesign rockets.

3. Drone Communication Systems - how the drone (receiver) communicates with controller (transmitter)

4. More advanced Flight Operations - More practice flying drones to complete a more challenging flight path

5. How to take take aerial photos and videos

Thursday

1. Share photos and videos from yesterday.

2. Test revised paper rockets.

3. Real world use of drones - exploring different industries and how drones are beneficial

4. Final drone flight and "Intelligent" flight modes

Additional Info

I need to teach the first week. Morning is preferred so it's not too hot outside while flying. I could do the afternoon that week, but it wouldn't be ideal. I mentioned this on the other page, but it would be great to have access to the computers for students to edit.

Students can fly the drones anywhere over the Sherwood or Oak school grounds, but it would be helpful to have either the Sherwood field, Oak field, or Oak front lawn for a wide open area. Lastly, I plan to have students use Canva to edit photos and videos. I will need to check if Sherwood students have access to that app.