Like most middle school students, the kids in the Motorsports Engineering Club at Lower Macungie Middle School (LMMS) like playing soccer, hanging with friends and, you know, building cars.
Tech Ed teacher Stephen Toth leads the club, made up of sixth, seventh and eighth grade students, which operates just as a true life race team would. The students meet weekly to design, engineer and build a fully prepped race car to be driven in the Pennsylvania Hill Climb Association.
According to Toth, this club opens the world of motorsports up to students with a multitude of different talents and interests. Students are able to take on different roles on the team, such as mechanical engineers who work on the car, front office personnel who try to secure sponsorships, data analysts who track data, and a public relations team that spreads the word about the Hornets Racing Team.
The LMMS Motorsports Engineering Club gives students hands-on experience in applying science, technology, engineering, art and math concepts.
John, an eighth grade student who wants to be an engineer one day, is excited about this new experience. He said he is learning things that he never knew about before – like 3D modeling and aerodynamics.
The car’s transformation is well on the way of it being certified as an actual race car. PPL helped power this success by providing an Empowering Educators grant. The grant’s funds helped purchase some of the more expensive items needed for the car, said Toth.
The kids in LMMS’ Motorsports Engineering Club are still years away from having their driver’s licenses, but they are definitely in the driver’s seat to success.
