Imagine spending weeks, cutting wood and taking measurements, designing, and sacrificing time to make a small car. The cars, which many students have spent countless time working on release carbon dioxide from small capsules in the back. Air hisses as it flies past, getting the end in under a second. The thought process and design process take weeks- but the race is over in a minute. This is an experience all young engineers share- Co2 dragster racing. These races are a lot of fun, and a lot of work.
To prepare for these races, students begin by researching aerodynamics and looking at other co2 car designs. Then, they design their car on paper using what they learn. They transfer their design onto a block of wood and cut out their car. They test the design without co2 after sanding the car, and will either recreate the car or decide it works and paint it, and test it with co2. Finally, the moment they’ve waited for comes- they get to race the car. But what do these races mean to them?…show more content… Dragster races are a combination of everything in STEM,--science, technology, engineering, and math—since kids use computers to conduct their research, science as well as math to figure out how aerodynamics and carbon dioxide work, and engineering to construct their co2 dragster car. And that’s not even mentioning the fact that students learn about aerodynamics, friction, co2, sportsmanship, construction, and teamwork. Kids learn important life skills as well as important engineering
