Building new skills at Central Middle School

Crouched in a hallway at Central Middle School (CMS) on March 21, student Madisyn Frank steadies herself for a final test of her small, hand-built car. Riding on two 3D-printed wheels in front and two wheels made from CDs in back, Madisyn’s vehicle runs on a mousetrap engine. Building up a store of potential energy, the mousetrap spring releases its power through an attached arm that rotates forward, pulling on a string wound up around the axle, which drives the car forward. It’s a feat of engineering made possible through Madisyn’s sixth grade Pathways to Engineering class. Over the course of the term, students have designed, built, redesigned and rebuilt their cars, all in a process of discovery and exploration of what it means to engineer something.

As part of the Eden Prairie Schools Inspired Journey, students from preschool through 12th grade and above constantly discover, explore and pursue new pathways of learning. For sixth graders at CMS, Exploration courses, like Pathways to Engineering, give them a chance to dive deeper into their interests and begin building skills and curiosities. Today, Madisyn has gathered with the rest of her class to see just what their cars can do. It’s a “fun culmination,” says teacher Ryan Rice, of a class focused on research, brainstorming, designing, building and testing. He watches the cars as they race down the hallway, marking their distances on the floor. 

Students call out to Mr. Rice, wondering if their two-person team’s car has gone the farthest. Meanwhile, other students are back in the classroom, refining their construction after a less-than-desirable test run. Then they’re back out to the hallway to see if they can take first place. Sixth grader Portia Baruti is ready to tinker — but the car doesn’t need much optimization. It works quite well and is in the lead for a while.

Then, on one of the last runs, student Isaac Kamara and his teammate Cruz Rodriguez make a move. Their car rolls forward, not too quickly, but confidently. It keeps rolling, overtaking Portia’s record. 42 feet!

“I was not expecting to win at all,” Isaac says after the record breaking run.

Though some cars go further than others, ultimately, all students walk away winners with their curiosity about design sparked. Will they build another mousetrap car, even bigger and more powerful next time? Who knows. One thing’s for sure, though: This hands-on activity, done with friends, brought learning to life for some inspired Eagles!