Feeling technologically challenged? - these kids aren’t…
Posted by Colin Hensley on April 02, 2009 in Uncategorized
I grew up as science loving son of a science teacher & electrical engineer. Unsurprisingly, I am always happy to see projects or activities that help to instil enthusiasm for science into school kids. A really nice example of this is the Toyota Technology Challenge which is aimed at 11-16 year olds in the UK. It is funded by Toyota Fund for Europe, and run by TMUK in collaboration with Rapid.
There are two categories in the challenge. One is building a solar powered car, the other a car with a microcontroller enabling it to detect and avoid obstacles. You can see all of the details in the link above, but the basic idea is this:
• The team registers to participate
• A kit with everything they need to make the vehicle is sent to them
• They produce a folder all about their planned vehicle and submit it (Feb)
• Folder judging – best entries invited to one of 7 regional finals (April)
• At the regionals the folders are presented and vehicles race
• Winners are invited to national final at TMUK (16 May)
• More presentations and racing to find the champions!
This is the 5th year this has been run as a national challenge. Each year they receive about 400 registrations and typically about a quarter will actually submit their entry folder. The first of the regional finals will be held next week in Scotland, so good luck to all of the teams, and watch this space to find out who is successful.
These will be the engineers and scientists of the next decades, developing the technologies and products that we will need to ensure we have a sustainable future. So it’s really important that we get as many students as possible involved in this type of activity, and celebrate their enthusiasm.
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Comments(0)I have a small iQ – but it makes people smile
Posted by Colin Hensley on February 27, 2009 in Uncategorized
I have been lucky enough to have the chance to drive an iQ for the last couple of days. You may have thought I was already going on too much about the iQ, and now I’ve been driving it, I am even more smitten. It’s fun to drive, it’s comfortable, and it’s great to see people’s faces when you stop at the lights, or they pass by. Their first expression is “hey what’s that?” but it is usually soon followed by a smile. This was even more so last night when four of us got into the car to go home, someone even came over to ask about the car, they were so curious.
We live in the suburbs, but even so, the small size of the car improved the drivability and convenience. My biggest frustration came when I passed a number of spaces thinking I wouldn’t fit in, only to realise, once I got out the car, that I actually would have fitted in most of them! iQ, presents another new paradigm for most drivers, not of the same scale as Prius, with its full hybrid, but still impressive.
Importantly for me, it takes us another little step toward our vison of “Zeronize & Maximize.” Zeronizing negative impacts of vehicles such as environmental impact, traffic congestion and traffic accidents, while maximising positive aspects such as fun, comfort and delight.
