We was pleased to work with Wigan S.T.E.A.M once again who we previously worked with alongside the Music Matters event at Liverpool Central Library back in July.

For this project, we brought our Code-A-Drone workshop to Wigan S.T.E.A.M offices in Wigan Town Centre. Wigan S.T.E.A.M work as a project offering young people opportunities to access the latest in technology, arts and digital development.  Our partnered session was part of their “Tech Girl Bootcamp” running throughout autumn half term. Bringing opportunities for girls attending higher and further education within the Wigan borough to get engaged with STEM subjects. This is a particular demographic that is receiving a lot of attention as there is currently a gap of women entering STEM industries.

 

Getting Women in Tech

Only 7% of students taking computer science A-level courses are female. Just half of the girls that study IT & Tech subjects at school go into a job in the same field.  This is mainly due to IT and technology being deemed as a male dominated subject to study at school.
These figures and perceptions towards IT and technology are social and equality issues that many are pushing to change, our workshop helps girls exposed to technology and opportunities for them to learn and develop a future career.
 

CODE | FLY | NAVIGATE | WIN

Code-A-Drone to WIGAN S.T.E.A.M

 

We delivered our two hour taster session on how to Code-A-Drone using iPads and variety of commands.

During this activity, participants learn how to code a mini-drone to take off, fly, turn, do stunts and land safely. We then set out a range of coding challenges that will put these newfound skills to the test.

In the workshop, every participant is provided with an iPad to write their code and a mini-drone to fly by themselves. This is an introduction of physical coding in action. Leading to lots of testing on how to build a tailored set of commands turn each individual’s plan into a success.

Our team is always on hand to support to teach and check coding to make sure everybody is able to have fun flying and answer any questions along the way.

One of our goals for our pilots in training is getting the drone to fly through a hoop whilst being commanded to navigate towards specified areas. In some cases, we add lego people onto the drone to add extra difficulty. For our workshops, we always encourage building up some fun and competition during the day. Alongside, sharing methods of coding, and cheering for those people partaking in our challenges. The bigger the stunt, the bigger the win. So there’s a lot of points for people at stake!

 

Final Thoughts

We would like to thank Wigan S.T.E.A.M for inviting us to take part in “Tech Girl Bootcamp”. They did a terrific job making us feel welcome and providing lunch for everybody involved in the Code-A-Drone workshop. This was our first time hosting a girls only session and it’s always rewarding to have opportunities to showcase our drones to different audiences. The girls who took part showed a lot of creative thinking towards the challenges we set out which is always a delight to see in our workshops.