Twelve schools travelled to Wundowie on Saturday to take part in the annual Electrical Vehicle (EV) challenge at the Hurricane Go Kart Club.
The aim of the event is for teams to develop a small single-seat electric prototype vehicle and cover as many laps of a circuit in one hour from a limited amount of electrical energy.
The vehicles had to be between 1.5 metres and 2.7 metres long, be powered solely by an electric motor and battery and be built within a restricted budget.
The event was run in three categories being Year 8 to 10, Year 10 to 12 and an all ages category.
Winners included Melville Senior High School, Christ Church Grammar and Sir Jackie, a car driven by teachers from Comet Bay College.
A number of schools took part in the event including Butler College, Melville, Donnybrook, Wesley College, Guilford grammar, Helena College, Comet Bay College and Frederick Irwin Catholic College.
Comet Bay College teacher and EV Challenge committee president Clay Woolcock helped to design the winning car Sir Jackie.
He said it was made out of aluminium and was relatively aerodynamic.
“I didn’t expect it to go as well as it did,” Mr Woolcock said.
The buzz word in schools at the moment is STEM, meaning science, technology, engineering and mathematics
- Comet Bay College teacher and EV Challenge committee president Clay Woolcock
“We wanted to design something safe but simple enough for both teachers and students to build.”
Mr Woolcock said the event went really well and competitors are getting smarter each year with how they build the vehicles.
“The event is great and students love it,” he said.
“You have to find a balance in the vehicle type – some teams go for aerodynamic and others choose lightweight.”
He said the event had been running for 17 years in WA.
“It started at Murdoch University in 2001 then moved to Midland Tafe until 2010,” he said.
”The buzz word in schools at the moment is STEM, meaning science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”
He said the event was a good opportunity for WA schools to learn in a practical and fun way.
It is the fourth year the engineering education event had been held in Wundowie and will likely be held there again next year.
To get involved next year, visit the EV Challenge website and follow the prompts: https://evchallengewa.wixsite.com/website.
