Flight Lab: Drone Dynamics in Action
Summer camp for high schoolers
Flight Lab: Drone Dynamics in Action
Dates: July 21-25, 2025
Time: 8:30 am to 4 pm
Registration Fee: $800
No of Students: 30
Location: Virginia Tech Academic Building One in Alexandria
Grade Range: 9-12
Mandatory Virtual Orientation: June 17, 2025, 6:30 p.m.
Program fees cover meals, materials, staff, travel, t-shirts, lanyards, and programming costs. Program fees are nonrefundable and transferable for up to 12 months of the program date.
Program Overview:
Get ready to lift off with Flight Lab: Drone Dynamics in Action, a high-energy, hands-on summer program designed for high school students excited by flight, coding, and innovation. Hosted at the Virginia Tech Academic Building One in Alexandria, this immersive week-long camp introduces students to the world of aerial robotics through daily challenges, guided learning, and collaborative exploration.
What to Expect:
Participants will learn the principles of drone flight and aviation dynamics, dive into block-based coding, and put their new skills to the test through manual flight drills and autonomous missions. The program features a blend of real-world FAA drone safety training, engaging icebreakers, and team-based activities like Drone Soccer scrimmages where students design, build, and pilot their drones through goal-oriented gameplay and CoDrone Challenges, where students demonstrate their flight mastery, programming skills, and problem-solving abilities in an aerial obstacle course. Industry based field trips and guest speaker engagement activities to introduce students to the world of work and innovation.
Core Activities:
- FAA TRUST safety certification
- Manual flight skills and coding missions
- Drone Soccer design, build, and flight
- Team-based engineering and troubleshooting
- CoDrone flight challenges and competitions
- College and career-based tours and guest speakers
Skills Gained:
- Drone piloting (manual and coded flight)
- Engineering and design thinking
- Team collaboration and communication
- Foundational coding concepts
- Real-world problem-solving using STEM
Whether you're a curious beginner or a future aerospace engineer, this camp provides a launchpad to explore careers in uncrewed systems, robotics, and beyond. Join us for a week where drones aren’t just toys—they’re tools for the future.