Susan Hettinga’s 6th grade students recently participated in the New Mexico Middle School Electric Car Challenge in Albuquerque.  The group consisted of Lauren Mueller, Jetta Parsons, Khloe C. Martinez, Ameera Finn, Sadie Carpenter, Mae Willard, Katie Gelfand, Lauren Evenhus, Aubrey Rushton, and Har Savari Khalsa.  Courtesy photo

CHAMISA NEWS RELEASE

Handmade electric cars race down the track. This exciting event is where 10 students from Chamisa Elementary School spent a Saturday in mid-November competing against middle school students.

 Mrs. Hettinga’s 6th grade students recently participated in the New Mexico Middle School Electric Car Challenge in Albuquerque.  The group consisted of Lauren Mueller, Jetta Parsons, Khloe C. Martinez, Ameera Finn, Sadie Carpenter, Mae Willard, Katie Gelfand, Lauren Evenhus, Aubrey Rushton, and Har Savari Khalsa.  

The event was sponsored by Sandia National Laboratories in association with Los Alamos National Laboratory.  It has been held for many years and was back in person for the first time since 2019.  The event consists of teams building battery-powered model cars in order to race them for time, compete for their design, as well as the option to compete in a research oral presentation.   Building a battery-powered car requires skills in both math and science.  The main goal of the competition is to generate enthusiasm for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills for middle school students.

Chamisa had two teams participate in all three events of the competition.  They did the race challenge, the design challenge and the oral research presentation event.

Team #1 – “Not Fast, Just Furious” from Chamisa Elementary School with their electric car. Courtesy photo

Team #2 – “The Queen Bees” from Chamisa Elementary School with their electric car. Courtesy photo

The students got up super early on Saturday, November 19 in order to arrive in Albuquerque by 8:00 a.m.  They competed against 41 teams for trophies and medals alike at the Van Buren Middle School in Albuquerque. They had an awesome time overall even though they did not walk away with a trophy.  Courtesy photo

Sixth grade students from Chamisa Elementary School compete in the electric car competition last month in Albuquerque. Courtesy photo

Chamisa students race their electric car in Albquerque last month. Courtesy photo