Third Graders Design, Build, and Test Race Cars

Before the mini-race cars hit the track on Friday, May 30, 2025 for the long-anticipated Nerdy Derby, a great deal of math, engineering, and design work had taken place.

For this interdisciplinary project, boys apply their understanding of motion and design as they examine the ways that factors like friction, mass, and aerodynamics affect the motion of their cars. In collaboration with their math classes, they test different variables and record their results on data sheets. In teams, the boys work through the design cycle to design, build, test, and revise their vehicles. All this work culminates in the always spirited Race Day, where the teams compete in the Fastest Car, Slowest Car, and King of the Hill races.