The Skybound Flight Festival is set to take off this weekend in east Winston-Salem. Part of its mission is to raise awareness among young people about careers in STEM and aviation.
The day-long festival is being presented by the Jim Shaw ACE Academy. There’ll be drone demonstrations, jets, and hot air balloons, as well as hands-on activities with flight simulators and other interactive exhibits.
Executive Director Alexandria Shaw says it’s important to foster connections between education and industry among the area’s youth, particularly in places like east Winston-Salem.
"The demographics here are the underserved, the under-resourced, the Black kid, the brown kids, the women who are also under-resourced in these industries when it comes to aviation, STEM, and aerospace," says Shaw. "So we really want to make sure that that is our priority population, although we are a nonprofit and open to all, that is why Jim Shaw Sr. started this."
Throughout the school year, the Academy hosts monthly STEM club sessions for middle and high school students, as well as week-long summer camps. The Skybound Flight Festival takes place on Saturday at the Forsyth Tech Aviation Lab in Winston-Salem.