BILLINGS — MSU Billings City College instructors are hosting a drone camp for middle and high school students this week.
Heather Slezak, an instrumentation and electrical instructor, highlights the increasing popularity of drones.
Watch how these students build drones from scratch:
“Any event you go to, you're seeing drones,” Slezak said Tuesday.
This led to an opportunity for students to construct their own drones at this camp.
“It's just a fun way to do some of the things that we would do otherwise,” Slezak said.
Students like Alex Sopko engaged in hands-on learning.
“I haven't really done a lot of this stuff before, so it's good to have an opportunity,” Sopko said.
Some of the students at the camp had no prior experience.
Abby Nagel, who is an undergraduate assisting these students, highlighted their improved skills.
“Seeing the capacity that these kids have. I mean, they're really figuring this stuff out really quick,” Nagel said.
Nagel, who is also a volunteer firefighter in Laurel, explained the importance of drones and what they can be used for.
“We did a training over drones, and they showed us all the different capacities that drones can be used for. Tracking wildland fires, mapping things, tracking different, like, plant growths throughout Montana,” Nagel said.
Drones are used across multiple industries, including surveillance, agriculture and commercial use.
“The sooner we can introduce youth to this type of thing, the more prepared they will be for the workforce,” Slezak said.
For Sopko, this experience is particularly relevant.
“A lot of the stuff I'm learning about, I'll probably use,” Sopko said, adding he is an aspiring mechanical engineer.
Later this week, the students will get the chance to fly the drones that they have created.
