Beginning July 24, nearly 40 middle school students participating in the week-long Virginia Tech Innovation Campus Drone Summer Camp built drones and earned their FAA Safety and Trust Operators certification before flying them in Blacksburg. The students, who are enrolled in schools across the City of Alexandria, also traveled to Aurora Flight Sciences in Manassas, Va., to learn more about cutting-edge drone technology. Staff from the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP) and K-8 educators from the City of Alexandria and District of Columbia Public Schools provided guided instruction throughout the week.

This program, made possible by Boeing, is a part of Innovation Campus K-12 Initiatives. 

See the highlight video and photo gallery from the week-long camp below.

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classroom of students building drones student builds a drone student builds a drone teacher helps students build drones teacher helps students build drones classroom of students work on computers classroom of students and teachers work on computers middle school student flies a drone people flying drones students flying drones student flying drone President Tim Sands, Laura Sands, and Pamela Gilchrist four people talking robin jones speaks to middle schoolers President Tim Sands, Laura Sands, and students people flying drones