Off to the Races
Last month seven Mount Prospect Students from Ashuelot Valley Academy in Keene applied their classroom instruction in an innovative and enjoyable way. The challenge over a three (3) week instructional period was to successfully construct a solar car and be able to enter the car in a performance race. It was a chance for students to exhibit both their mastery of the technical and construction skills they acquired as well as to showcase their weeks of hard work and determination.
The applied science project focusses on building real-world STEM skills.
The lesson and the project create opportunities for problem solving, creativity, and critical analysis.
Students first built their models and ran battery packs in class. They analyzed the data derived from the tests and troubleshot all kinds of problems including why several cars turned drastically, the varying speeds of the runs, the physical dimensions and environment factors that may have affected the results. Chassis needed to be rebuilt due to alignment or friction on the wheels. Data from trial runs were compared and design decisions were made. This required some coaching for the students to use their observation skills. The races were held on a smooth, flat basketball court in town, a straight-line course of 56 total feet. The fastest time came in at 5.19 seconds.
“I was very impressed with the fact that no one gave up and there was minimal frustration,” stated MPA Faculty member Chris Flood. Flood was very proud of the students for persevering [through a lengthy project] and plans to continue to develop lessons and instruction that will encourage the students’ success in the STEM field.