University of Maryland’s Women in Engineering is helping spark interest in STEM.
The program wanted to help students take a break from staring at screens. Instead, 1,500 local teens have the chance to make rubber band race cars. The kits are being distributed to students in Montgomery and Prince George's counties.
Abigail Phillips, a rising freshman at Eleanor Roosevelt High School made a car with her free kit. “I thought it was great. It was really fun to put together the car. They made it super simple and easy,” said Phillips.
Abigail Phillips, rising freshman at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, made this rubber band race car.
Students in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties will receive kits. Becky Kenemuth of the Women in Engineering Program says she was “shocked and excited about how this really took off.”
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Since summer camps across our area were closed, including Women in Engineering’s in-person camp, they wanted to drive student learning in a different way. The goal of these kits is to prompt “tinkering, playing and hands on opportunities,” says Kenemuth. She hoped to deliver that to local students who may be experiencing Zoom fatigue.
After the students have stepped away from the computer to make the kits, they can race them with friends over Zoom. The program gave the kits out to both boys and girls. They say they wanted to provide opportunities for all.
