Sixty middle school students from all over Washington state came to the 91探花for a four-day camp in late June. The camp, which is part of the Early Engineering Institute, culminated in a chance to improve the basic design聽of a toy-sized “.” These cars use mechanics and the power of gravity to move a wheeled vehicle forward.

Groups of students each received a gravity car kit with foam core, string, wooden wheels, dowels and clips, and then assembled and tested new parts to make their cars better. The cars were measured for the distance they could travel along the floor of聽聽

The Early Engineering Institute is hosted by the UW’s聽GEAR-UP聽program, which is part of a national effort to help students from low-income families prepare for and succeed in higher education. During the four-day camp, students worked on math skills and explored the possibilities of engineering.

This year’s students came from the following Washington school districts: Burlington-Edison, East Valley, Goldendale, Grandview, Granger, Mount Vernon, Mount Adams, Royal, Sunnyside, Toppenish, Wahluke, Wapato and Zillah.

For more information, contact:

Sarah McQuate, 91探花News public information officer:聽smcquate@uw.edu

Kiyomi Taguchi, 91探花News video producer:聽ktaguchi@uw.edu