(GARLAND ISD-December 27, 2012) What does car racing have to do with education? That’s what students find out in Ronnie Tiemann’s classes at Coyle Middle School. They recently designed and constructed derby cars, operated by either aerodynamics or CO2. Students then competed against one another for the title of school champion.
“Last semester was my first year to do the races, but we didn’t have a big school tournament,” explained Tiemann. “I was hoping to get the kids excited about what they were learning. I also knew that they would push themselves more with their designs and take time in prepping the cars if they had the chance to win a schoolwide tournament.”
For two weeks, students in Tiemann’s principals of manufacturing, transportation and logistics, and architecture/construction classes created and decorated downhill derby cars then raced them in either Coyle’s King of the Hill Championship or CO2 Dragster Showdown. King of the Hill is a downhill race that depends on aerodynamics, with heavier cars typically building up more speed. Students competing in this race must adhere to a maximum weight requirement of 170 grams. The Dragster Showdown uses CO2 cartridges to push cars down a 60-foot track. Lighter cars tend to complete the race faster, but students must adhere to a minimum weight requirement of 80 grams.
Coyle’s fall 2012 winner of the King of the Hill Championship was seventh grader Krew Smith. Eighth grader Brandon Campos won the CO2 Dragster Showdown. Tiemann says he plans to offer these tournaments every semester.
“I hope that by doing this project, it will encourage other students to take one of the shop classes. I also have pictures of the winners on my wall, so that new students will hopefully be motivated to work harder.”
Submitted by Tiffany Graber, Communications Specialist, Garland ISD.
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