News

Soap Box Derby is partnering with Northeast Ohio STEM Ecosystem and Cuyahoga Community College to pilot a program to engage students in designing, building and racing autonomous Soap Box Derby cars

10.20.2017

The Soap Box Derby is partnering with Northeast Ohio STEM Ecosystem and Cuyahoga Community College to pilot a program to engage students in designing, building and racing autonomous Soap Box Derby cars. This is a game-changing opportunity for students to experience the same autonomous driving concepts, technologies, and principles that are fascinating – and sometimes – perplexing designers and engineers from one end of the globe to the other.

The program is designed for junior high students and is a hands-on immersion into STEM with students building and racing autonomous Soap Box Derby cars. And it is an opportunity to create future engineers who will keep America at the forefront of innovation networks.

The program builds on the 80-year successful legacy of the International Soap Box Derby and better prepares students for life and work in a world of massive and disruptive technological opportunities. The program engages students in critical STEM skills, including computer science and computational thinking principles. Additionally, it helps harness a willingness and desire to work and learn in problem-based settings with heavy reliance on experimentation.

The video shows our first prototype taking a test drive down Derby Downs. This test drive provided valuable information needed to make further adjustments to this prototype.