Virginia Tech hosts fifth annual Imagination Drone Camp

Virginia Tech hosts fifth annual Imagination Drone Camp BLACKSBURG, Va. (WDBJ) - School is out for summer, but some students are putting their critical-thinking skills to the test this week at Virginia Tech’s Imagination Drone Camp in Blacksburg. Nearly 40 rising seventh and eighth-grade students from across the commonwealth and beyond are learning about drone technology in a camp that mixes hands-on lessons with fun. “Drones are exciting, they’re loud, they’re fun to fly, right? So, it’s a good vehicle for getting the kids interested,” said Jonathan Keller, a strategic initiatives and engineering project manager with the university’s Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership. Students are spending the week building, testing and even coding drones, using a step-by-step guide from Virginia Tech’s Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership. Porter Duhadway, a second-year intern with the camp, said he enjoys working with the students and helping them access opportunities he did not have in middle school. “I haven’t had opportunities to work with drones at all until I got to college. And then even that was limited capacity,” Duhadway said. “So having this opportunity to work with them now and give them something that I never had before, that is a huge, honestly, blessing and opportunity. So I’ve loved it so far.” For students like Colby Hall, the camp is also a chance to meet new people while learning new technology. “It’s cool for you to meet new people,” Hall said. “Like, you can tell them how you’ve met new people and you learn new stuff about drones if you haven’t learned about it before.” The camp is set to end Friday with flying competitions; however, the memories and friends the students made will continue beyond the program. Copyright 2026 WDBJ. All rights reserved.