Day 4 activities

Building CO2 Cars:

The students learned about how cars work and about the various types of engines and energy sources that cars can use. They also learned about the factors that affect the motion of a car such as friction, drag, thrust and aerodynamics. The students then proceeded to design their own cars which will be powered by small CO2 cylinders. The students liked this activity and one of the students commented about it saying: "The CO2 car. It made me realize how fun building can be." Another student said: "I learned about how the design affects how fast the car will go." Another student commented saying: "I learned about friction and aerodynamics and I would tell my friends that we learned that a cow is more aerodynamics than a Jeep."

Car Building 1
Car Building 2
Car Building 3
Car Building 4
Car Building 5
Car Building 6
Car Building 7

Testing and Launching CO2 Cars:

The students took turns to launch their cars and measure how far they go, the winner with the car that went the farthest won a prize. One student commented about this activity saying: "Shooting the CO2 car. Mine went the whole way; its fun to learn about Aerodynamics." Another student wrote about this activity in their journal saying: "CO2 cars can go pretty fast if you make it right." Another student wrote: "I learned how cars work and that everything on the outside of a car is there for a reason. I would also tell my friends that I made a CO2 car and it went 176 ft!"

Car Testing 1
Car Testing 2
Car Testing 3
Car Testing 4
Car Testing 5
Car Testing 6

At the end of the day, students wrote their reflections for the day, and some of their comments included: "CO2 cars are a great way to teach about engineering and how to have fun." Another student said: "I learned about aerodynamics which may help in a mechanical engineering career." Another student wrote: "I would tell my friends that it was a lot of fun and that they should come to camp."