Local kids get taste of airline travel

Bob Madigan, wtop.com

WASHINGTON – Forty kids from the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington spent Tuesday evening at Dulles International Airport getting a taste of what it’s like to get ready to fly in a Qatar Airways 777.

The field trip was to learn about aviation, travel and the miracle of flight as part of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) program to help prepare youngsters for their futures.

It’s been projected that by 2018 in the U.S., STEM jobs will account for nearly 2.8 million new jobs.

DeAndre Charlton and Cory Mason of Alexandria, Va., both 7th graders, were fans of reclining seats in the business class section of the plane. It was the first time they had been on an airplane.

Eighth grade student India, 13, says the plane looks different from what she expected.

“The ones on TV are so huge. This is smaller but it’s comfortable.”

Qatar Airways, in a statement, hopes this once in a lifetime experience will inspire a lifelong curiosity for science and technology.

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