Subsequent up in our “Ask Drone Woman” collection is about getting younger youngsters — significantly younger women — fascinated with drones. You probably have a query for Drone Woman, contact her right here.
I’m writing is due to a latest submit you made in regards to the demographics of drone pilots – one thing like solely 8% are girls. Curiously, my two women (7 and 9) are fascinated with studying methods to fly drones, and so forth.
Have you learnt of any drone curricula or applications for elementary-school aged women to introduce them to drones, flight, and so forth and get them flying with primary drones? Are there organizations on the market who you would possibly advocate who deal with getting women into drones?
-Rakesh
Hey Rakesh,
Nice query! Sure, the most recent FAA information reveals that girls make up 7.9% of all licensed distant pilots. The weblog submit you talked about, which digs deeper into that information, lives right here.
Fortunately, it seems like your women are fascinated with drones and that they’ll contribute to bucking that pattern!
To reply your query, I’ve a number of guides that may hopefully level you in the fitting route and that include suggestions that your women would possibly love:
The very best STEM drones, lesson plans and books about drones for youths
First off is my information to drone-related STEM lesson plans for youths (and adults). Among the suggestions are geared towards older youngsters, just like the ready-to-build Raspberry Pi drone equipment, however others, just like the kits from SheMaps, are excellent for grade faculty.
Should you’re searching for to purchase an precise drone on your youngsters to get their palms on, I’ve a information for that too on this breakdown of the finest instructional drones for STEM applications. Spoiler: by far the very best instructional drones for youths is the Tello drone a $99, kid-friendly drone that mixes DJI flight know-how and an Intel processor to create a price range digital camera drone that additionally can be utilized to show newbies the fundamentals of programming.
And eventually, I urge you to take a look at these drone kids’s books, as they’re nice straightforward studying, particularly for the age group you’re asking about. One is written by the aforementioned SheMaps, whereas one other comes from Ladies and Drones, the group that places in monumental efforts to advertise and elevate up girls within the trade.
The way to discover native drone teams for youths
So far as native drone golf equipment and organizations, it is dependent upon your space, however one thing could exist already. Drone soccer is popping up in additional colleges, the place youngsters learn to construct after which really fly small drones. Drone soccer is the one aggressive scholar robotics program additionally acknowledged as a world sport by FAI. Many Woman Scout troops additionally incorporate drones into their programming. In 2021, Google-sister firm Wing partnered with a Virginia Woman Scout troop to assist ship cookies by way of drone. Even earlier than that, different Woman Scout troops have constructed their very own cookie supply drones.
Hopefully that gives loads of choices — whereas nonetheless giving some kind of route — for the place to go to get your youngsters concerned in drones. And going again to that authentic statistic you introduced up, there’s hope. Whereas girls drone pilots are nonetheless a small minority at simply 7.9% of total pilots, that quantity has elevated each single 12 months for the reason that information has been tracked. In 2016, simply 3.9% of all drone pilots have been girls. Since 2016, the variety of feminine drone pilots has elevated by 30x, far greater than the general 15x price of improve for the broader drone trade.
