Students practice their drone piloting skills during EIPS Drone Camp 2022

Sherwood Park, AB. — On April 30 and May 1, the Bev Facey Community High gymnasium was buzzing as the school hosted the Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) Drone Camp 2022. The camp welcomed 20 grades 9-12 students from across the Division to learn more about piloting, regulations, safety and communication of drone technology.

Certified drone pilot instructors provided students with basic knowledge of drone operations, photography, videography principles and simple drone coding commands. Throughout the day, students learned how to fly a drone as well as learning and executing code commands into the drone. After learning the building blocks, students participated in a drone race against each other.

“Over the course of the weekend we learned how to pilot, operate and program the drones,” says Chloe Wagner, Grade 10 student at Bev Facey Community High. “It was an eye-opening experience to see all the real-world applications drones have.”

The camp included five modules:

• Drone industry introduction, safety, communications and regulatory background information;
• Drone piloting skills, mechanical functions and engineering applications;
• Drone racing experience;
• Drone photography, videography and an introduction to photogrammetry; and
• Drone coding.

“A key aspect of the Division’s Career Pathways program is to promote opportunities to establish career pathways camps, workshops and activities offered by community partners to engage students in career exploration,” says Barclay Spady, a Career Pathways Consultant at EIPS. “This drone camp is one example of a highly STEM-orientated program that engages students in engineering design processes.”

The EIPS event was organized through Youth Drone Camps, a program designed by Canadian educators in collaboration with Volatus Aerospace. The program offers camps across North America to students ages 12-17.

EIPS is one of Alberta’s largest school divisions, serving approximately 17,125 students in 43 schools. We’re proud to be an integral part of our communities, including Sherwood Park, Fort Saskatchewan, Vegreville, Strathcona and Lamont counties and the western portion of the County of Minburn.

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For more information contact:
Laura McNabb, director, Communication Services, EIPS 780-417-8204 cell 780-405-4902