UTICA, NY – CNY Drones, a Utica/Rome volunteer group, will introduce their STEM-based Team Drone Challenge, Rig Rescue, to attendees of Drone Info Day @The Parkway on Sunday, October 1, 2017. In cooperation with the City of Utica Youth Bureau, CNY Drones is hosting a free 4-hour event at the Utica Parkway Recreation Center from 12 noon – 4:00 pm with indoor, and weather permitting, outdoor demonstrations. The public is invited to an afternoon of learning, sharing and networking with local drone enthusiasts, engineers, and educators. The day features flight simulators, a hands-on first-time flyer zone, racing and freestyle drone demonstrations with First Person Viewing, Tiny Whoop Indoor Drones, Academy of Model Aeronautics and FAA safety information, a live build & repair station, 3D printing, MultiGP Drone Racing Chapter information, and local drone technology organization exhibits. The day’s activities will revolve around the introduction of a 30-foot by 60-foot netted drone competition arena created for presenting low cost, STEM-based competitions. This year’s challenge, called Rig Rescue, is a themed around a story of a malfunctioning off-shore oil platform. Teams are dispatched to navigate through shark infested waters to help secure the facility and retrieve platform workers and data. The competition follows the framework for Next Generation Science Standards using 9 challenging elements plus a safety video competition. CNY Drones will be working with community groups to assist in the development of teams to compete in April 2018. The competition will be open to teams of 2 to 5 members, ages 11 and up.
Drone Info Day @The Parkway and the Rig Rescue Challenge are part of CNY Drones’ efforts to promote science, technology, engineering and math, also known as STEM, provide awareness of drone technology education and employment opportunities and build a safe flying recreational drone community.
CNY Drones exists fiscally with gracious support from the Griffiss Institute, a 501(c)(3). For more information on CNY Drones’ events, visit www.CNYDrones.org, @CNYDrones on Twitter and Facebook, or email: CNYDrones@gmail.com.
