'It's not like Legos': Decatur teams finish strong as they learn STEAM and other skills
Apr. 22—Leon Sheffield Magnet School walked away with the first-place title Friday at the second Greenpower race to be hosted at Point Mallard Park.
Thirty-eight elementary school teams competed in the event, including schools from Madison County and Huntsville City. Entrants from as far away as Columbus and LaGrange, Georgia, participated. All Decatur elementary schools competed with the exception of Benjamin Davis, which only goes through second grade.
Including Leon Sheffield, five Decatur schools placed in the top 15: Banks-Caddell placed sixth, Austinville placed eighth, Walter Jackson placed 10th and Chestnut Grove placed 12th. West Decatur Elementary won the Ed Farm award for most creative car — which they themed after the popular racing video game, Mario Kart.
"When I came to Decatur City five years ago, we didn't have any Greenpower teams," said Faith Plunkett, instructional technology coach for Decatur City Schools. "But we got a grant from Boeing to put Greenpower in all of our elementary schools. We ordered 11 cars, started building, and now we've got our own race."
This was the second year Decatur City Schools hosted a Greenpower race. The "Goblin" division includes grades 4-6, while the F24 division includes grades 7-12. The Goblin race doubled its number of participants from 19 teams last year to 38 this year. Seventeen middle school and high school teams are competing in Saturday's F24 race at Point Mallard, with competitions scheduled from 8 a.m. until the awards ceremony at 5 p.m.
The Goblin races featured three mini competitions: Circuit racing, drag racing and slalom racing. Student drivers pilot cars that their teams have built and designed to navigate the different challenges.
"This is when they get excited," said Alexis Sprung, one of Walter Jackson Elementary's Greenpower sponsors and second grade teachers. "They get excited to cheer each other on, see the different teams and see where they place. This is my favorite part."
Greenpower sends students a kit to build a miniature, go-cart style, battery-powered car, which they have to assemble, design and learn to drive.
"It's not like Legos," said Diedre Readus, a fifth grade teacher who sponsors Greenpower at Oak Park. "Putting the cars together is kind of difficult. It takes a lot of work."
Building the cars teaches science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) skills to students. Competing in racing helps develop their communication skills and teamwork.
"This year we were really focused on teamwork, communication, cooperation, and we learned about aerodynamics," said Sarah Clifton, a third grade teacher and one of Frances Nungester's Greenpower sponsors. "I think the teamwork is what they get out of it the most. I'm super proud of them and how hard they've worked."
After the car is assembled, each student gets a chance to practice driving. They also submit a pre-filmed presentation of their work to Greenpower judges, and the presentation grade factors into their overall score.
The Greenpower program — named for its use of battery power — started in the United Kingdom and wanted to expand internationally in 2014. Greenpower organizers invited Shelton Cobb, career tech director for Huntsville City Schools at the time, and his school to build a car and race in the U.K. Later, Greenpower brought its program to Alabama first and then expanded across the U.S.
Cobb now works as career tech supervisor for Decatur's Career Academies and brought the program to Decatur City Schools. A $50,000 grant from Boeing was awarded to Decatur City in the fall of 2020 which funded a Greenpower team for every school.
"We do a lot of work with adaptive manufacturing — 3-D printing," Cobb said. "They work with carbon fiber and fiberglass, which is very important to the workforce of this area because we have so many aerospace and engineering opportunities for students."
— audrey.johnson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2437.
