Wicomico Public Library operates drone obstacle course as part of MD STEM Festival

SALISBURY, Md. – Tuesday, the Wicomico Public Library taught people how to fly a drone through an obstacle course, as part of the Maryland STEM festival.

Free and open to the public– participants had the chance to put their pilot skills to the test.

“[It’s] for people to learn how to use these small drones, and then try to maneuver them through and around different things. Just to get the hang of how these how the drone works, said” Beth Jarvis, the Mobile Services Branch Manager for the Wicomico Public Library.

She said she got the idea for a drone obstacle course from the Library’s Mobile Learning Lab, which they try to keep stocked with cutting edge technology and STEM activities. “What we do is try to buy or get things for that bus, new things, things that people are interested in,” she said.

Jarvis said this “pilot program” could lead to more in-depth educational opportunities in the future. “In this particular event, there are they will just be learning how to fly them. In other events that we can have, if people are interested, there’s ways to learn how to code them to do different things.”

She added that if the public interest is there, the library might consider purchasing larger drones: “These are very small mini-drones. If people like these and they catch on, then we can think about investing in bigger ones that require probably a license.”