STANDARDS

NGSS: Practice: Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information

Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect

Core Idea: ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth’s Systems 

ETS1.A: Defining and Delimiting Engineering Problems

CCSS: READING INFORMATIONAL TEXT 5: Describe the overall structure (e.g., cause and effect/problem and solution) of ideas, concepts, or information in a text.

Robot Light Show!

This sparkly display is made with drones! Could high-tech drone shows be coming to a sky near you?

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The sun has set. A crowd has gathered. The show is about to begin.

A cloud of tiny, brightly lit robots rises into the night sky. As music plays, the drones move and change color. They transform into the American flag. Next, they form the shape of an eagle, then the Statue of Liberty. Finally, they spell out “Happy 4th of July!” The crowd cheers!

Every year, thousands of communities celebrate Independence Day by setting off fireworks. But recently, some towns have been using colorful drone displays instead. Read on to discover why!

Firework Cons

Fireworks are known for their bright colors and loud explosions. They are fueled by gunpowder. When this substance is lit on fire, tiny pellets full of chemicals burst, releasing colorful sparks. 

Fireworks can be beautiful, but they have downsides. Every year, their explosions cause thousands of injuries. They also spark about 20,000 fires per year. That’s a real problem during droughts, when plants are dry and catch fire easily.

The smoke that fireworks produce also pollutes the air and water. Plus, fireworks’ loud explosions can harm people’s hearing and cause animals stress. 

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OLD AND NEW
Some shows combine drones with traditional fireworks.  

Enter the Drones

That’s why in recent years, some communities have switched to drone shows. They have been especially popular in western cities, like Los Angeles and Salt Lake City. The high-tech performances have some advantages over fireworks, says engineer Christopher Franzwa. His company makes technology for drone shows.

Because drones aren’t meant to explode, they don’t typically cause fires. Drones also don’t pollute the air or water. And they don’t make loud sounds that disturb people and animals. “Drones are quiet,” says Franzwa. 

In addition, drones can do things that fireworks can’t. They can shift from one shape to another. They can even create messages like “Happy Birthday!” “Drones allow us to paint the night with things people haven’t seen before,” says Franzwa.

Designing a Drone Show

It takes a lot of planning to put on a drone show. Designers use computer programs to turn the pictures they want to form into a set of pixels. Each of these small, lighted dots represents one drone. This helps designers figure out how many drones they need for each image in the sky. Depending on the complexity of the image, it could take a dozen or hundreds!

During showtime, people control the drones from the ground. The drones contain Global Positioning System (GPS) devices. These help keep the drones in the right spot in the sky. 

Drone shows are not just for patriotic images on July 4th. They have been used at other celebrations, forming everything from astronauts to jellyfish. If you were to create a drone show, what would you make?

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