Click here for more pictures of the work in-progress.
A group of engineers from Honeywell began the BEST (Bridging Engineers, Science, and Teaching) project last hear with five schools in the metro area, working with fourth through sixth grade classes. When I volunteered my class for the project this year, I was told a retired engineer from Honeywell, Clarence Ogborn, woudl work with my class. Honeywell provided small motors, batteries, and a battery recharger - enough for five small electric cars. The students were to design and build a tabletop-sized electric car while working in groups of five to six students. They had to decide what other materials they could use to build their car and bring in these materials from home.
Because I have no experience in this area, I was a little concerned as to how this would work. If the students couldn't figure out how to build their ECAR and get it running, how would I be able to assist them? I called a technology instructor from Minnetonka High School. Because his students build solar-powered and super mileage cars. I thought some of them would be willing to work as mentors with my students. Six students volunteered, and they came weekly to work with my class, along with the retired Honeywell engineer.
I have found that my students really look forward to the days we are working on the electric cars. After we finished the small cars, we had mini-trials in the gym to test how fast they would run, how straight they went, and if they held together! The students even figured out how fast their cars could go in miles per hour after they timed how fast the cars went 30 feet in seconds!
Most rewarding to me is seeing students shine - students who may have more difficulty in the academic areas are leaders for this project. The cooperative groups they are working in keep everyone involved. In the upcoming weeks, we will begin our design for the child-sized electric car. Students are bringing in materials from home and sketching designs from what they learned when making the small cars. Everyone is looking forward to May 16 at Armstrong High School - Race Day!