As part of the Elementary STEAM program, the Grade 5 students are taking part in the Soap Box Derby project. The students build and test race cars and ultimately compete in the first Soap Box Derby Race Championship to be held in the community. Teams have been created representing the four TKS Houses – Aquila, Hydra, Orion and Pegasus – and the students have been assigned roles including drivers, car/race engineers, marketing and branding, financials, etc. Not only does this project expose the students to basic engineering, it also helps them to understand all aspects of running a successful race team.
The cars have been sponsored by departments in the university:
Aquila – Prototyping Core Lab
Hydra – KAUST Reefscape Restoration Initiative
Orion – Security
Pegasus – Clean Combustion Research Center
In February, representatives from the sponsors joined the students for the build day. The teams spent the day building their kit cars and have since been testing and practising with them… ready for the Race Championship on Saturday, March 9!
Click here to see photos of the build day.