Northwest Middle School Students Praised for Hydrogen Fueled Toy Cars

The mission? To help take control of our energy future. That was assignment for some upstate middle school students in the fall. Thursday at the International Center for Automotive Research, those Greenville County students were recognized for the cool hydrogen fueled cars they built in class.
Northwest Middle School sixth grader Katie Clark says it wasn't easy. "We actually made a car that ran off of hydrogen," says Clark. Under the guidance of science teacher Susan McCoy, it was mission accomplished, and today at I-CAR the students launched several of the cars for the crowd gathered for an event orchestrated by Representative Bob Inglis. Inglis praised the students for their use of hydrogen as an alternative energy source, as he spoke about energy security at the I-CAR complex in Greenville County. "The challenge is for America, to inspire these kids to produce those fuels of the future," said Inglis.
Mrs. McCoy’s students stepped up to the plate. They were the only ones in the Southeast to be selected this year to conduct the “Fuel Cell Challenge.” It’s a middle school curriculum from the society of automotive engineers which shows students how math and science can be applied to the real world, and our future. "One hundred percent of my kids said two things. It taught me that I could work in a team and that I could do something that was really hard," says McCoy.
Several students, like Katie, are now considering a career in engineering. "It was a hard project, but we had lots of fun."
Her teacher believes one of her hard working students might help change the world.
"They see they can make a difference, and I think that this type of program puts in their heads that, if I can do this now, what can I do with I get there?"
Only 22 schools were selected for the field test program which goes nationwide in the fall.


Northwest Middle School Sixth Graders Accept "The Fuel Cell Challenge": http://www.greenville.k12.sc.us/gcsd/news/release/2008d/fuel_cell.asp

Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE): http://www.sae.org/servlets/index

Northwest Middle School online: http://www.greenville.k12.sc.us/northwst/index.asp

ICAR: http://www.clemson.edu/autoresearch/

Rep. Bob Inglis: http://inglis.house.gov/