Students build, race spectacular cars at EWEB EV Challenge
🏁AND they're off! 🏎
Students from across Lane County wrapped up the EWEB EV Challenge, competing to build and race the fastest battery-powered cars.
If speed's not their thing, students can compete to design the best art or scientific concept vehicles.
An erupting, volcanic "Prehistoric Pickup," a mouse-trap-powered car, and the gyroscopically-balanced, tight-rope-traversing vehicle of the "Gybros" vied for this year's best science concept car.
"Funny story - our idea actually came out of our math book," said Gybros team member Elliot from Coburg Community Charter School. "We saw a picture of a gyroscope and we were working on this unit in science, and so we put them together and made our car."
Splendid peacock feathers, the tentacles of a krakken, and a jellyfish made of recycled materials made up some of the artistic entrants to the competition.
"We wanted to do a jellyfish because we went to the beach and saw a jellyfish tangled up in plastic, so we decided to use recycled materials," said one of the jellyfish's creators.
The event is part of an in-depth science curriculum sponsored by EWEB and is managed by EWEB's fantastic education partners - Tana Sheperd of the Eugene 4J/EWEB Education Partnership, EWEB Bethel School District Education Grant Administrator Sharie Borneman, and Springfield Public School District Education Grant Administrator Dara Brennan.
Background:
• EWEB EV Challenge features student-built model cars powered by electric battery energy.
• Tuesday’s event was the culmination of an in-depth science project in local schools that is funded and sponsored by EWEB. Through the lessons middle school students learn about energy production, #electricvehicles, gearing, aerodynamics, and friction.
• The program promotes teamwork, creativity, physical activity and good sportsmanship as students work together to design their cars and then compete in elimination races leading up to the event.
• In addition to racing cars, students also can design and build concept cars. Students must use all their imagination, creativity, artistic sensibilities and engineering skills to design unique, fully functioning vehicles.
