Student Car Racers Snap to It
Snapping mousetraps and purring motors signaled the potential beginnings of 60 future engineering careers at the Mousetrap Racer and Electric Vehicle Contest Thursday.
Students from nine Los Angeles schools were at the competition in Watts, organized by the city’s Department of Public Works for the second year as a vehicle to lure young people into studying engineering and possibly working for the agency in the future.
Screams of excitement filled the Jordan High School gym as balsa wood race cars, powered by thumb-size motors or propelled by the snapping of household mousetraps, skidded 25 feet across the floor and up an incline.
The winner in the mousetrap racer contest, Leslie Andrews, had painted his car blue and made it more aerodynamic by cutting a hole in the back and sanding thin the wooden tires.
Andrews, a sophomore at Southwest Middle College High School, said the contest inspired him to consider a career as an automotive technician.
“It was the competitive part of the race that I liked, though,” said Andrews, 16, who received a trophy and a gift certificate. “Getting a little scared but knowing that I came out on top in the end was the fun part.”
The event is one of eight annual engineering competitions the department co-sponsors with the city’s Operation Healthy Neighborhoods and the nonprofit organization Future Scientists & Engineers of America.
“These competitions are a hands-on way to demystify what an engineer does,” said Michael Simpson, council liaison for Public Works. “It’s a very early recruitment tool to make our work force mirror the city of Los Angeles. It’s different, but to get the kids’ interest, you have to do things like this.”
Between races, students made last-minute adjustments to their cars, some undecorated except for a number, others adorned with flames and glittery silver paint. Students groaned when their cars flipped over on the torque testing ramp or made abrupt turns on the floor. On the sidelines, a mini-repair shop was stocked with three shoe boxes crammed with Krazy Glue, rubber bands and spare wheels.
Boys outnumbered girls 2 to 1. One group of girls from the USC Math, Science and Technology Magnet Center carved the sides of their purple-and-black mousetrap car to read “Girls Only” and chipped out the back to read “L.A.” in Dodger-style print.
Two girls from Jordan High took the third-place mousetrap trophy. They said they were considering engineering careers.
“We definitely will now,” said junior Giselle Gamino, 16, as she spun the wheels on the teal-and-aqua car. “Now we have the self-esteem to know we can build things and make them work--and beat the boys.”
Belmont High School biology teacher Lorraine Wallis said the competitions act as springboards. “We’re always concerned about kids in inner-city schools getting the exposure they need to the resources that will uplift them,” Wallis said. “This shows them the possibilities for after high school are completely unlimited.”
The Public Works Department plans next year to add competitions involving solar energy and sewer systems to its current lineup, which includes catapult- and bridge-building contests.
