From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
BIRMINGHAM — Students with the Hewitt-Trussville Engineering Academy competed in an Electathon event at Barber’s Speedway April 15.
The event allows students to design and develop electric vehicles and teaches them several important concepts about teamwork and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).
The race took place for an hour in the morning and then another hour in the afternoon. Teams were ranked by the total number of laps that they were able to complete in both races.
The Hewitt-Trussville Engineering Academy girls’ team placed fifth overall. The boys’ car experienced a flat tire in the race, which gave the team a chance to practice pit stop skills.
For the second race, the boy cars’ speed controller failed, making it impossible to finish.
Students had to modify, test and race the cars during the event, which requires a great deal of knowledge, skill and perseverance.
The girls’ car completed a total of 20 laps for a distance of 47.6 miles.