Earlier this semester, 20 members of the Minnetonka High School Aviation Club visited Groveland Elementary School to connect with younger students about opportunities in aviation. The high students volunteered to create and present fun aviation lessons and activities explaining the basics of different aircrafts. 

“Each of the lessons had an interactive activity for everybody to participate in at the end, some of which included paper airplanes and matching picture cards,” explained Sean Rooke, a member of the MHS Aviation Club. “Our main goal was to get the students excited about aviation and to teach them something that they could go home and tell their friends and family about.”

“We wanted to get young kids engaged with and thinking about the subject of aviation, so that hopefully some of them will take an aviation class during their high school career at Minnetonka,” shared Svea Moberg, another MHS Aviation Club member. “We wanted to get students excited about the subject. Even if the younger ones might not remember a lot of information, we wanted them to remember having a positive experience with aviation here.” 

Moberg’s group connected with Kindergarteners, so club members tailored their lesson to the students’ learning level. “We focused on aviation topics regarding the phonetic alphabet, aircraft anatomy, and types of airplanes,” said Moberg. “We also had an activity including color-by-number coloring sheets with a few different kinds of planes.” 

The high schoolers felt the lessons went well and that they were able to forge positive connections during the visit. “Students were engaged in the classes I presented to, and they were very excited to do the activities that helped demonstrate what they had just learned in a hands-on way,” said Aviation Club member Bridger Goll. “They enjoyed the paper airplane contest where they were very competitive in a friendly way.”

“Kids were excited and asked us lots of questions,” reflected Moberg. “The best part of the morning was when kids were raising their hands and telling us about the times they’ve been on an airplane, because their faces lit up and they just seemed so excited.”

In the future, the Aviation Club hopes to visit more elementary schools to continue to connect with students and share about future opportunities.

To learn more about Aviation at Minnetonka High School, visit minnetonkaschools.org/aviation