MARTINSVILLE, Va. ā Local fifth graders had the opportunity to experience the excitement of Martinsville Speedway, making their visit into a hands-on STEM learning adventure.
Students from Patrick Henry Elementary School tested their skills on a real racetrack by building rubber band cars and racing them on the historic track.
āWeāve been learning about science and motion, energy, all the types of different energy and all sorts of stuff,ā said fifth-grader Adelyn McKenzie.
Drivers from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series shared insights with the students on the importance of STEM education. āAll the math you do, you think it doesnāt matter, but it does. It applies; you do more math, engineering, and building different things for the racecar,ā said driver Bailey Currey.
Lizzy Fulcher, a fifth-grade teacher at Patrick Henry Elementary School, emphasized that experiences like this help students grasp the real-world applications of their classroom learning.
āThose things they are learning in the classroom, today they can really be put into practice because, you know, a lot of times we say, āWhy do we have to learn this?ā but they can really understand that now,ā she stated.
The students engaged in every aspect of the process, from building their cars to making adjustments for improved performance.
Martinsville Speedway President Clay Campbell noted, āYou see them putting their vehicles together; theyāre really into it, theyāre serious about it, and that bodes well. That makes us all say, āHey, weāve got a great future ahead with these kids.āā
As the mini race cars zoomed across the speedway, the students began to connect the dots between their education and the real world.