One drone launched, then another and another. 

Dozens of tiny remote-control planes without passengers raised from Butler Middle School’s playing field. 

Learning to maneuver drones were sixth graders who were in a college and career awareness class taught by Missy Hamilton.

“The point of the class is for students to learn about what kind of careers are available in many different career clusters I teach,” she said. “This one is agriculture and natural resources, so I taught high-tech farming and using drones to dial into agriculture. I asked them, ‘How would you use drones on a farm? What would that look like? And what kind of education do you need to have to fly a drone?’”

Sixth-grader Grant Mucha said they discussed how drones could help farmers.

“They could be programmed to fly over the crops and see which area may need more fertilizer or maybe they don’t need it and that would save them from wasting it,” he said. 

His classmate, Phineas Cottrell, said drones could also be used to check on livestock.

“If one of them was hurt or in distress, they could see on the drone what was happening, and then get all the materials for that situation to care for it and mend a broken fence, if that was the cause of the injury,” he said.

Hamilton designed an activity for students to fly drones around the field to take pictures of mock issues on the farm from irrigation to livestock. 

On their first attempt, “we got blown away,” said Hamilton about the shift and increase of wind speeds while students were first getting the drones off the ground. “We went out another day and they were all able to get up, maneuver and land. The next time, I hope we’ll have more drones so we’ll be able to fly and take the pictures and map the area.”

She wrote a Canyons Innovation Grant request for $5,000 to purchase more camera drones with GPS so there would be enough for each student to fly, driven with an iPad.

In the classroom, their discussion also extended to other uses of drones in careers.

“One student’s dad flies drones for the Department of Natural Resources, and another knows one who flies drones for a construction company. He flew it over the construction site, pinpointed several pieces of equipment that they missed, so they were able to recover it, saving them hundreds of thousands of dollars. The kids started brainstorming different ways that they could use drones such as soil scientists, genetic researchers, aviation pilots, chemists and biologists, and then we watched a video about careers in drones,” Hamilton said, adding that within the school district, four of the five high schools have an aviation pathway. 

Sixth-grader Lizzie Shaffer said after discussing using drone careers in agriculture, they further talked about how drones can be used in other careers.

“They could be used in many different forms of entertainment — taking photos of the mountains or overhead for shows or getting some cool angles at sporting events,” she said. “There also are drones shows and photos can be used for Google Earth.”

Phineas said he has seen a drone used to examine a vehicle accident.

“I’ve seen one used on a highway, scanning the area. It was there checking out an accident, seeing where it happened,” he said. “I watched this movie about surfers, and it showed them riding a wave from a bird’s eye view. It’s another way to film it besides getting in a helicopter; it’s easier with a drone, because you don’t have the hassle. Or if you were to climb a (utility) pole to check on something, using a drone would be safer.”

Phineas added it would be “amazing to use drones to film documentaries about animals.”

Lizzie has flown drones previously with her dad, who now only takes scenery photos, but also uses the drone to check out “if there’s stuff on our roof.”

Grant, who would like to work in the sports field, said he can see drones being helpful for football referees to have an angle on a play from the top-view.

“It would be great for sports journalism, too, to get a unique angle,” he said, adding that selling drone photos could help pay for college tuition. “Marching band directors could use it for their formations, too.”

The students already are excited for the next unit, architecture and construction, where they will use CAD software to draw blueprints of their home in 3D. 

“We also have an interior design piece,” Hamilton said. “So they’re going to redesign their house, put in new couches, new furniture, new lights. I’m going to teach them how to pool electricity through their house with light switches on a closed circuit, and then, I’ll teach them how to plumb it. It will all be hands-on. Again, it leads to career choices in architecture — CAD, designing, engineering, electrician, plumber, landscaping.”

Phineas is excited about it.

“It’s sounds super fun. My mom watches a lot of DIY house shows and it’s cool we get to do some of that,” he said. “Our teacher told us Brighton (High School) has this woodworking class and someone made an amazing chessboard. I bet he could start his own side business.”

Other upcoming units include manufacturing where she has a guest speaker planned; transportation, distribution and logistics where students will program Spheros to get a product from point A to point B as well as learn to change a tire and jump start a car “so they get in those life skills;” engineering and technology where they’ll take apart a Chromebook and learn how to repair it; cosmetology where they’ll learn from professionals about hair styles; tourism, arts, audiovisual tech and communication, where students will use podcasting equipment to create their own podcast and also make stop motion movies; business, finance and marketing, where students will learn how to do taxes; law, public safety, corrections and security, where she plans for students to become First Aid and CPR certified; and several other units, their teacher said.

“I’m hoping they gain awareness of all of the different things they can be when they grow up,” Hamilton said. “Most kids this age, they’re like, ‘I want to be a professional football player.’ The reality of this class is you can expose them to many fields and the training and education they need. It opens their eyes, helps them identify their interests, gets them thinking to their future.”