Last week, on October 11 and 12, 2023, Culpeper County Public Schools (CCPS) 5th grade students had an opportunity to go on a field trip to the Culpeper Airport for a day of STEM activities. This opportunity is possible through our partnership with the Culpeper Air Fest and their goal to provide educational opportunities to the community. Culpeper private school and homeschool students are also invited and attended the STEM program. The well-organized event takes students through seven zones of hands-on science, math, engineering and technology activities.
CCPS Career and Technical Education Director Randi Richards-Lutz organizes the program as a part of the Culpeper Air Fest STEM Committee. Planning and preparation are ongoing throughout the year to provide this exciting opportunity to our students. She said, “We are so grateful to our airport, hangar owners, Career Partners, students, staff and presenters for making our seventh year of STEM days such a success. Over 600 Culpeper County, Virginia 5th graders were treated to an incredible array of STEM activities.”
Mike Dale, a pioneer of the Culpeper Air Fest and community volunteer has been involved with the STEM program from the beginning 2017. Dale hosts the students in his airport hangar where he leads them through zone one, which covers historical aircraft preservation and reconstruction. Students have the opportunity to view his Nieuport, a WWI aircraft, that Dale is reconstructing. When asked about the program, he said, "The Air Fest STEM program gives fifth graders a unique opportunity to see an operating airport and their excitement motivates everyone involved in the program.” While they are visiting Dale’s hangar, students also have an opportunity to make rivets that they can take with them.
The STEM experience is broken into seven zones packed with activities for the students. The objectives for this experience include exposure to STEM, airport connections to STEM, and career exploration. Students rotate through zones in the airport hangars that include:
- Zone 1: STEM in the Airport Historical Aircraft Preservation and Reconstruction
- Zone 2: STEM in Industry, Manufacturing, Construction and Infrastructure
- Zone 3: STEM in Education, Math, Coding and Robotics
- Zones 4 - 7: STEM in Flight, Model planes, Aircraft, Helicopters and Go Kart
The event is successful due to the participation of our community partners and approximately 70 volunteers. Volunteers serve as hosts in each zone, lead students from one zone to the next, and lead students through some of the activities. Business partners provide activities and demonstrations, including a Carter CAT Caterpillar station, a Rappahannock Electric Cooperative Electricity station, an asphalt demo from Chemung and forging with Bingham & Taylor, and Euro-Composites show students the honeycomb-like material that is in the inside of planes. The Culpeper Technical Education Center (CTEC) students participated in several zones, included sharing their electrical go kart with the 5th graders. CCPS Division Superintendent Tony Brads had an opportunity to drive the go cart during his visit. Germanna Community College students led 5th graders through a drone obstacle course and Eastern View High School students lead a paper airplane activity. Students also had an opportunity to tour an ambulance and sit in a PHI Air Medical helicopter.
Mike Dale applauded the Culpeper community for making the event a success, “It's another successful example of the Culpeper volunteer spirit bringing the business community and the schools into warm, cooperative action," he said.
Richards-Lutz concluded, “It’s a joy and pleasure to plan throughout the year and then watch it all come to action. Field trips like this are a true extension of the classroom and the atmosphere and activities cannot be replicated in a school building. These experiences are truly enriching and allow for hands-on learning that I believe will leave a lasting impact on the students - maybe even helping to mold their future career!”