They named their company "Fire Tires" because their cars are 'so fast they burn rubber'
http://www.mlive.com/news/bay-city/index.ssf/2014/02/fifth_graders_at_st_james_appl.html Fifth-graders at St. James Elementary School apply math, science skills with electric car designs By Danielle McGrew | MLive.com February 26, 2014 [images / Danielle McGrew | The Bay City Times http://imgick.mlive.com/home/mlive-media/pgmain/img/baycitytimes/photo/2014/02/-392b5a9ca52eeb7e.JPG Leah Bonnell, Ondrea Dorion and their classmates react as they continue to take their battery-powered cars on test runs at St. James Elementary School on Tuesday, Feb. 25 http://imgick.mlive.com/home/mlive-media/pgmain/img/baycitytimes/photo/2014/02/-b53a6eb2830d4d40.JPG Each battery-powered car runs on a series of gears, teaching students about forces and simple machines http://imgick.mlive.com/home/mlive-media/pgmain/img/baycitytimes/photo/2014/02/-74443a9503369ae3.JPG Alex Criste prepares to run his team's car through a series of chairs http://imgick.mlive.com/home/mlive-media/pgmain/img/baycitytimes/photo/2014/02/-0043db48f4f02bab.JPG Students and parents watch a battery-powered car drive towards Tyler Ducolon http://imgick.mlive.com/home/mlive-media/pgmain/img/baycitytimes/photo/2014/02/-56a855f4ae7976a2.JPG Ondrea Dorion and Leah Bonnell grin as they carry their teams' cars back to the classroom after a demonstration http://imgick.mlive.com/home/mlive-media/pgmain/img/baycitytimes/photo/2014/02/-68bfb0621c0e51ec.JPG Max Lopez explains the four-wheel drive design of his team's car http://imgick.mlive.com/home/mlive-media/pgmain/img/baycitytimes/photo/2014/02/-e2035379ed228f06.JPG Rameer Pearson, Nick Ehrhart, Leah Bonnell and Amelia Kochany presented their car design for Fire Tires, Inc., Their company name was decided, they said, because their cars are "so fast it burns rubber." ] BAY CITY, MI — Instead of their typical uniforms of khakis and polos, fifth-graders at St. James Elementary School in Bay City donned suits, ties and dress shirts on Tuesday, Feb. 25. They love not using books. Are they learning science? You bet." – Judith Meier It was appropriate, given the students' positions for the day. "They asked if they could dress up, because they're the heads of their company," explained Sister Julie Gatza, principal at the school, 715 14th St. on Bay City's East Side. Students, who had formed fictional engineering companies, presented their battery-powered toy car designs as the culmination of about two-and-a-half months of work. The audience: their parents and the fourth grade class at St. James. Judith Meier, a long-term substitute teacher for math and science at St. James, had originally received the kit for the project from the Society of Automobile Engineers six or seven years ago while working in the Vassar Public Schools district. Meier said that the project, which fifth-graders at St. James began in December, teaches students about forces, simple machines, and how to make calculations related to such things — all of which are key objectives of the fifth-grade science and math curriculum. Through the project, students then learn how to apply such concepts. "They learn to work together and apply what they learn in the classroom to real-world situations," Meier said. When the students returned from winter break in January, they began designing and building their cars in teams. In some instances, team members had different ideas about about their primary goal. Should they focus on speed, or power? Some were forced to dissolve their fictional companies to begin anew. The students built multiple designs using rods, gears and wheels to determine which worked best. They also developed a company name, car name and slogan. Their PowerPoint presentations were an attempt to convince a toy company to select their design for production. "They kept saying, 'Can we keep working with them?'" chuckled Meier as she described the enthusiasm shown by students. Max Lopez and his teammate Alex Criste built the only four-wheel drive car in the class. "I feel awesome because we were the only one," he said. "I was determined to get a four-wheel drive." Max said their car, which they dubbed "Thunder," has seven gears, which gave it significant power, but also added weight and made the vehicle slower than others. Max said he may want to be a designer when he grows up. "We're proud of getting done with all our tests and passing them," said Ondrea Dorion, who created a fictional company called A&O Toys Inc., with her partner Adiana Moreno. Adiana said her favorite part was figuring out the gear ratio, which was done through trial and error. "(That was the best) because we got to mess around with the car," she said. That's exactly what Meier likes about the project. "This is the incorporation of critical thinking skills," she said. "They have shown tremendous growth." After each of the four groups gave their PowerPoint presentation on Tuesday, they and their guests went to the hallway for a demonstration. As each small car rolled down the hallway, parents smiled and took photos, and the students eagerly watched to see if they would make it all the way to the finish line 5 meters away. Even after the official demonstration was over, students continued testing their cars, driving them over carpet, across a line of desks and through chair legs. As one car swerved into a metal leg, a student noted it had too much deviation. "They love not using books," said Meier of the project. "Are they learning science? You bet." 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