Pueblo Community College is gearing up to host its first Drone Day on Thursday, Dec. 8, which will spotlight the school’s drone program at PCC and Mancos High School, while allowing the community to learn about drones and what they offer in various fields.
PCC’s Agriculture Program Coordinator Heather Houk said they are teaming up with Colorado State University’s drone center to make Drone Day possible.
CSU’s drone program has been collaborating with PCC all semester to help with PCC and Mancos High School’s drone courses. Drones that are used in both PCC’s and CSU’s programs will be at the event.
“Those instructors from CSU are going to come down here and the whole day of the 8th we’re going to try to do community activities,” Houk said.
Drone Day will be done in stages, with the event moving to different locations in the area for various demonstrations and educational talks.
The first part of the event will take place in Durango from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the PCC campus area at Durango High School. This portion of the day will be open to the community and all Durango High School students who wish to participate.
“That would be open to the community to come out, see what they’re doing, and we can talk about the PCC drone program and give some information and let people see what this is all about,” she said. “It’s an amazing career opportunity whether someone wants to be a drone pilot or engineer.”
Next, Drone Day will migrate to Mancos, where instructors will host drone activities with Mancos High School students who have been part of the drone course from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
“It’ll be like a big, fun reward for them,” Houk said.
Last, CSU Drone Center Assistant Director Adam Smith, who is also former law enforcement and military, will be hosting a drone event for all law enforcement in the Four Corners area from 5-6:30 p.m. at 33057 U.S. Highway 160 in Mancos at the PCC-SW Main Campus, room 208. All law enforcement are invited to attend. Smith will be presenting how drone technology can be used in law enforcement along with other topics and activities.
The event is free and open to the public. Any changes or updates will be posted on PCC’s Instagram and Facebook pages.
