The students crouched down at the makeshift starting line
readying their cars for launch. "On your mark, get set, go!"
their teacher DeAnna Molloy shouted. And like that the cars were
off -- some more quickly than others. The Friday race involved
solar-powered cars that about 100 eighth-graders at Tyler ISD's
Hubbard Middle School created. The exercise was a part of the
students' science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) class
where they have been learning about renewable energy. "It's a
cool learning opportunity to be hands-on," eighth-grader Emily
Johnson, 13, said of the project. The cars, each about the
length of a small mousetrap, consisted of a small piece of wood,
two sets of wheels, an axle, a motor and one or two solar panels
connected to the motor by cables. The students spent about one
week working on the project. "I thought it was really fun and it
was a really good learning experience," Amber Brown, 14, said.
"We get to learn a little bit about natural energy and making
things." The projec