The Virginia Tech Roanoke Center welcomed rising eighth- through 12th-grade students for AgriCode Camp, a hands-on program that combines agricultural engineering, sustainability, and technology.

Led by Kimberly Mattson, program development and Thinkabit/STEAM instructional specialist, and Don Pizzullo, senior program support manager, participants spent the week using tools such as Tinkercad, MicroPython, and microprocessors to explore how technology can address real-world agricultural challenges. Campers also visited the Catawba Sustainability Center and heard from Virginia Tech faculty and local business leaders about topics including precision agriculture, entrepreneurship, and environmental monitoring.

“Students are using the engineering design process to build their own prototypes, asking their own questions related to sustainable agriculture, and creating models using both Tinkercad and real-world materials,” Mattson said.

Abhilash Chandel, an extension specialist and assistant professor of precision agriculture and data management in biological systems engineering, demonstrated how drone technology and data are used for crop development monitoring, plant disease management, fertilization, and water management.

Participants then applied what they learned throughout the week to design, build, and present their own prototype technologies aimed at solving real-world agricultural challenges.

Click on a small photo below to see a larger version.

Photos courtesy Kimberly Mattson.

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