Inspired by the opportunity to learn to program a Parrot Quadcopter in Apple Swift language, more than a dozen aspiring programmers from both north and south shores of Lake Tahoe turned out for Lake Tahoe School’s recent Community Quadcopter Programming Challenge.

LTS MakerSpace Teacher and Technology Director Mr. Russ Bradford kicked off the evening with a brief projected lesson in the school MakerSpace on the fundamentals of Apple Swift and controlling the Quadcopter via pre-programmed commands.

Students were then able to try it themselves by measuring distances and trying to program their Quadcopter to navigate in a circle around a large wall, returning to touch down on a designated landing zone.

“Even though this event preceded the launch of SpaceX, the timing could not have been better to jump start kids’ excitement about such a momentous event. It really helps them think about the possibilities that can open up with these rapidly emerging technologies,” said Mr. Bradford, who was assisted by LTS teachers Ms. Diana Schlaff and Ms. Stephanie Mancuso.

“The students who turned out were really eager and bright. I really enjoyed working with them, and they seemed to have as much fun as my students at LTS have had with this particular MakerSpace programming lesson.”

Lake Tahoe School offers courses in Computer Aided Design (CAD), Java Programming, Digital Photography, Woodworking, and Swift Programming, among other offerings.