A perfect Girls-Boys Place world

On an overcast and rainy morning Tuesday, the skies cleared and the clouds parted long enough for the members of the Ville Platte Girls-Boys Place to be treated to an outdoor drone presentation and to have their picture taken from high in the Ville Platte sky.
Doing the presentation was Cliff Palmer from the Louisiana Municipal Association. As the morning session shifted into the activity room, Palmer explained about his drone to the club members. “It’s got a camera attached to it, and it takes really unbelievable pictures and video,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
Palmer compared his drone to toy drones which the children are more familiar. He said the toy drones “might have wires connected to them or may be battery operated. They are fun and really easy to fly. You can fly them in the house, or you can fly them outside.”
The difference between toy drones and the one that Palmer uses is that his is used to take photographs. “You have guys like me who love to take pictures,” he said. “I take a camera with me everywhere I go, but I can only get so high on a ladder or a roof. So, I decided to buy this drone.”
Palmer explained to the children that his drone cost about one thousand dollars and that he had to save for about six months before he was able to buy it. He also explained, because it can be dangerous, people have to be at least 17-years-old to fly a drone like his.
According to Palmer, a gimbal, which rests at the bottom center of the drone, allows the drone to “float around and not look crazy and shaky.” He added, “The gimbal makes it all smooth” while it is flying in the air.
Another part of the drone is the battery. He said that the drone “has a lot of energy and takes a lot of energy to spin the engines. The battery will let it fly for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, you have to change the battery and charge it. It takes about another 20 minutes to charge it up, so I have a couple extras.”
Besides the gimbal, and the battery, Palmer told the Girls-Boys Place members about another piece to the drone, which he called “the most unbelievable” part to the flying object. “I take all of these pictures and all these videos, and it all goes on a microchip,” he said. “The microchip is so small that you can barely see it, but it holds three thousand pictures.”
Optional equipment for the drone include the blade protectors. “When you’re outside flying and not too worried about birds or people jumping up and grabbing it, then you don’t have to fly the drone with these blade protectors,” said Palmer. “But, when you’re inside, you should put on these blade protectors.”
Palmer ended his presentation by letting the children view the drone’s camera footage through virtual reality equipment.
While Tuesday was about exposing the children to drones and virtual reality, the Girls-Boys Place is typically known for exposing the children to the world around them on a day-to-day basis besides the usual fun and games of backgammon, chess, checkers, and basketball.
As Ville Platte Mayor Jennifer Vidrine said, “This club is a place to expose them to things that they otherwise would not be exposed to.” She added, “We have stations where they do zumba, yoga, meditation, arts and crafts, and mosaic art.”
“We have a computer room where they are learning videography and all the other computer skills,” the mayor continued. “We also have a music room where they are learning music and how to play an instrument for the first time. We also have a culinary academy where they are learning how to cook.”
The Girls-Boys Place is in its third year of existence, and, according to Mayor Vidrine, is looking to expand next year by offering instruction in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics which is known as STEM. “We’re going to teach them about STEM here at the club, and it will transition to the schools because we want to get especially our girls more involved in technology and engineering,” said the mayor.
Tuesday’s drone presentation offered a glimpse of what is to come in the coming years for the youth of Ville Platte. It was also another chance for Palmer to share what he loves.
“I just love showing kids fun things,” he expressed. “I love being with them and exposing them to different things that will hopefully pique their interest and make them curious. It’s as much fun for me as it is for them.”
Palmer concluded, “Droning is new to me and is still unique, and kids will want to explore it. I’m a 25-year Air Force veteran officer, so I love flying. When you combine flight with photography, it’s a perfect world for me.”