Most kids walk through museums as passive explorers, taking things in but not always diving deep. At the Kansas Aviation Museum’s Spring Break Camp, Director of Education Kaleigh Huxley is changing that—getting elementary students actively engaged, with both eyes and hands on the future.
STEM for Everyone
Imagination lets us dream, but confidence is what makes those dreams come true. As kids get older, their natural confidence can start to fade, and without chances to prove what they’re capable of, they miss out on opportunities to grow and succeed.
According to authors Katty Kay and Claire Shipman in The Confidence Code for Girls, girls’ confidence drops an average of 30% between ages 8 and 14. And for many young girls, the idea that they can’t do something—especially in STEM—has become the norm. Further research from social psychologist Claude Steele reveals that as kids grow, they become more aware of societal expectations, and will often internalize negative stereotypes. This reinforces the risk of girls moving away from pursuits such as STEM, which is a field whose highly mechanical, hands-on elements are associated with masculinity.
Even Kaleigh, with years of experience in museums and impressive credentials, has questioned herself. “A lot of kids think science is automatically hard,” she says. “I thought the same thing at times. Even though I had great grades, I didn’t think I was smart enough to work in a science museum.”
But once Kaleigh dove into the subjects that used to intimidate her, she realized STEM wasn’t as scary as it seemed—it just needed to be taught in a way that made sense. Now, she’s on a mission to show kids that what they’re capable of isn’t about gender—it’s about curiosity.
For one week in March, at the Kansas Aviation Museum, kids ages seven through ten are discovering how hands-on creativity changes the bounds of both personal possibility and global exploration. They’re identifying different types of aircrafts, learning how engines work, and experiencing the forces of flight. Not shying away from challenges, Kaleigh uses one of STEM’s most exciting tools to get her students building bigger and believing in themselves: drones.
Building Confidence Sky-High
Drones are often seen as complex and mechanical, leaving people in awe of how they work and the mystery behind them. For Kaleigh, this was an opportunity. She needed an experience that would stimulate kids’ imaginations, but challenge their understanding of real-world STEM. With the ability to ideate their own drone designs, then iterate them to solve the engineering process, Pitsco’s Drone Maker Kits were just what Kaleigh needed. She took out the box—complete with instructions, motors, propellers, and gamepad controllers—and put the responsibility of building the drones into the kids’ hands.
When the kids learned they would be the ones building the drones, there was one question on everyone’s mind: How?
“We’ll do it together!” Kaleigh said, confidently. “I’ll walk you through it.”
With an experiential project like this, the kids were able to see how different parts connected and that, using critical thinking and an engineering mindset, they could be the ones getting real drones to fly! Still, like any activity that requires a bit of independence, there was a lot of troubleshooting—and a lot of failure.
“For many of these kids, their first instinct when something doesn’t work is to get frustrated and give up. This project showed them the value in persevering. When they tried again and succeeded, they saw they could problem solve, they could engineer.”
Soon, kids who before thought drones were a military mystery were clicking parts into place, trouble-shooting, and comparing their configurations with their friends’ to see whose would fly first.
To a few of the kids, the confidence this gave them went beyond that moment of achievement. “One of the fathers who works in aviation emailed me after his daughter came home proclaiming, ‘I’m going to be a pilot and see the world because I can control an airplane!’” Kaleigh recalls. “Before that, she thought she might be an actress or a singer, but the camp gave her new passions and the self-belief to pursue them.”
Hands-on STEM experiences like these change student horizons because they challenge kids to explore what’s really possible. STEM doesn’t belong to boys or girls, it belongs to everyone—and so does the future.
More Than Complex Terms
Students are paying attention to their teachers—and how educators perceive what they’re teaching can matter as much as what’s being taught.
“Some kids see STEM as too advanced because of the technical language in textbooks,” Kaleigh explains. “Without resources to put these terms in context, teachers struggle to make them meaningful.”
With STEM careers growing nearly three times faster than other fields—and offering salaries more than twice the average—building literacy in these subjects is a pathway to economic mobility and new opportunities. Yet despite STEM’s growing importance, U.S. K–12 students are falling behind their global peers.
The data suggests that while students are exposed to more STEM, they often don't fully grasp what it entails. But when teachers understand that the complexity can be broken down, the abstract concepts tangibly replicated, and the big questions collaborated on to solve, educators can change that outcome for their students.
“It took me forever to understand how an engine worked,” Kaleigh admits. “As a visual and kinesthetic learner, the technical jargon didn’t help. But once I saw an airplane engine in action, it clicked: it sucks in air, squeezes it, sprays fuel, and blasts it out the back.”
The magic of STEM isn’t simplicity; between the laws of physics, energy conversions, and the math of engineering, it can certainly feel complicated at times. The excitement is about not having all the answers, but brainstorming solutions, turning theory into application, and being willing to adapt and try again. Project-based learning (PBL) helps Kaleigh turn this approach into practice for her students. As they follow directions, discuss challenges with their peers, and notice the patterns leading to success, the kids guide themselves towards more meaningful comprehension.
“It definitely helped having an activity with all the parts and instructions included,” Kaleigh says. “It gave me the confidence to get the kids thinking like engineers because the project got them invested, and the resources made it accessible.”
Access to these innovative programs opens doors to their futures. As technology evolves, students with a strong STEM foundation won’t just keep up—they’ll lead the way. Understanding the basics lets kids ask bigger questions, explore real-world connections, and become the next generation of problem-solvers.
Looking Up, and Ahead
Whether traveling, flying a kite, or just dreaming big, kids look to the skies—for thrills, answers, and inspiration. With educators like Kaleigh, challenges that promote discovery, and tools that keep kids inventing when the projects are over, kids imagine the skies as the place where their future begins.
Interested in Drones for Education? Explore these links to more resources:
AviNation Magazine: The official youth aviation publication highlighting the experiences of industry leaders, aerospace innovations, and real people’s inspiring aviation stories.
Black Girl Drone World: An online education company with literature, courses, and workshops designed to expand the reach of avionics, aerodynamics, and aviation education to underrepresented groups.
DroneBlocks: An online curriculum with a free app that helps students embrace the technology behind drones through a focus on real-world coding.
Drone Maker Kit: An award-winning, hands-on STEM kit created to get students in grades 3-8 designing, engineering, and flying their own drones. Comes complete with curriculum, instructions, and building parts.