Students at FAME, the Forum to Advance Minorities in Engineering, got to watch drones fly with Senator Chris Coons at A.I. Dupont High School in Wilmington on Monday.
At FAME, students learn robotics, coding and math skills to enter the job market with a leg up.
The program’s target audience is women and kids of color - a demographic not well represented in STEM careers. The 40 year old nonprofit serves 250 kids in its core program.
Earlier in the summer, FAME reached out to Senator Chris Coons, a well-known science and tech education advocate, so he could see the work students were doing. The Senator spoke to the summer program’s entire student body in A.I. Dupont’s auditorium, and told kids that although tomorrow’s technology will shift and change, the point is to start engaging with core principals now.
"You’re learning how to learn, you’re learning how to measure. You’re learning how to study. You’re learning how to work as teams. And you’re learning some of the most important lessons life has to give you... You’re doing the right thing. You’re investing in yourself," he said.
Afterward, Senator Coons competed against student Alani Lawrence in a coding competition and lost, although not by much.
Senator Coons invited two engineers from Boeing to speak to students about their careers designing drones and fighter jets. Kids got to watch those scientists fly their small drones. Some children got to watch a live video feed recorded on a GoPro with special goggles.
"It was great, like I could see all the trees, then he turned it around and I could see myself," said FAME student Korri Banks. She says studying drones has been her favorite part of this year’s summer enrichment program.
When the program is over, students will have piloted their own drones, and replaced battery power with an alternative energy source.
In the coming year, FAME hopes to reach an additional 1200 students with its STEM curricula.
