Children build robots during one of the events at the Al Khor Fly-In
The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) joined forces at last week’s Al Khor Airfield Fly-In with the Museum of Flight (MOF) from Seattle, Washington, home of the world-renowned Boeing Company.
The Fly-In, that drew over 5,000 visitors, provided a window to the aviation industry - particularly in Qatar and the Gulf region, where the market for planes is growing -and offered a unique place for those with privately owned aircrafts to take part.
MOF’s director of education, Seth Margolis, spoke of being impressed with the response to some of its most popular aviation outreach programmes. “There is a great local hunger for more information about our industry, particularly concerning what exciting changes the future will bring.”
The Al Khor event, now in its fifth year, has grown rapidly in popularity, and the organisers aim to make it a permanent annual outreach educational programme.
It is hoped that the Fly-In will motivate young Qatari men and women to take up careers in science, engineering, and technology in the future, with a particular emphasis on aviation.
This year’s event highlighted many of the existing aviation activities in Qatar, including the Qatar Flying Club, the Qatar Aeronautical College and the Qatar Sports Aviation Authority.
The Qatar Civil Aviation Authority also provided a display focused on the science behind aviation technology.
Several educational programmes were continuously offered throughout each day, including the ‘Flying Gizmos Show’, which was designed to teach the entire history of flight using only toys.
The second programme, entitled ‘Robotics’, challenged participants to build their own unique ‘Mars Rover’ in less than 30 minutes with only a box of parts and very basic instructions. This workshop was intended to mimic future engineering projects.
The third educational programme involved constructing a flying toy out of paper, allowing only 15 minutes for participants to build and successfully fly their designs. The models included straw rockets and airships, among other creative flying objects.
More than 1,200 young people participated in making and testing their aircraft. Visitors also flew around the airfield as passengers and got to share the controls of the aircraft with the pilot.