PLTW students race to the finish

Posted on: Jun 3, 2022

After a full semester of learning about robotics, programming, motion, mechanisms and more, eighth-grade Project Lead The Way students enjoyed a dragster racing competition in the final week of the school year.
 

“This project basically brings together everything we’ve learned about in the class,” said instructor Tory Spanier. “This is about applying it all.”

Students used their new familiarity with mechanisms to create a vehicle designed specifically for speed, but to power it required a broader base of knowledge.
 

“We learned about increasing speed and increasing torque with a simple gear train,” said Spanier. “Some kids are using a chain drive. They get to design it and execute it however they want.”
 

The final machines use a “cortex,” or robot brain, to get the motors to fire. Sensors are also used, including a push button or “bump switch” to start the machine. The dragsters are also programmed to run for a brief time before shutting off. When time allows, a light sensor on the bottom of the vehicle is even used to shut off the motor after the dragster crosses over a black finish line.
 

“We learned about all the different types of coding with Vex and Python and all that, and then we also learned about robots. Then we put the coding and the robots together,” said eighth-grader Grayson Poppler. “It’s super fun. I enjoy it.”
 

Students Eleanor Hajas and Michael Atwood, who formed a design and build team with Poppler, said the class was an eye-opener.
 

“Normally I probably wouldn’t get into this kind of stuff, but now we’ve had a whole class about it,” said Hajas.
 

“I agree,” said Atwood. “I had never even thought about this kind of thing before, but having a class on it, you start to get into it. When you start learning about it, it’s kind of fun.”

Video from two of the races can be seen here and here.
 

Post Categories: High School