CREATING miniature formula one cars from scratch to print in 3D, and race them on a 20 metre-long track, Hunter students came together for a day of science and thrill.
Over 30 students from across the region spent six months working on their motorsport masterpieces and on Tuesday, August 27, they got to race them in the annual F1 in Schools Hunter Regional Competition, held in Broadmeadow at Hunter School of the Performing Arts.
The nationwide competition saw students from HSPA, Rutherford Technology High, Mount View High, Cessnock High and St Philip's Christian College, enter and compete in teams with a rigorous marking criteria.
Run as part of the STEM syllabus, the Regional Industry Education Partnerships Program Initiative saw students design their vehicles with engineering software before testing them for aerodynamics and powering them with C02 canisters.
Mount View High School year 8 student Isabelle Taylor said it had been exciting getting to work with her friends and only female team, in the engineering space and create a 3D F1 car, under their group, Atom Racing.
"We have been sharing, explaining and talking to people about what we have been doing. It's car racing but there's more to it than that," she said.
Isabelle said her group made posters, portfolios, picture displays using a digital platform, using their time management, teamwork and project development skills they've learned throughout the program.
"We're hoping to move to the next stage of the competition which is state and maybe even nationals," she said.
"We all have a dream of working in engineering when we are older and this has been a really good and fun experience."
HSPA STEM teacher Ben Moore said the program was about getting students to use skills that will benefit them in their future careers.
"It's a really rigorous learning opportunity for students and explores that excelled kind of engineering and technical skills in relation to computer-aided drawing, along with those soft skills that are equally as important," he said.
"Skills like project management, time management, communication skills and presentation - all those wonderful things that will be really useful to them."
