A Thornbury based Systems Engineering consultancy is supporting local children to plan, build and race a Goblin electric car as part of a national initiative to encourage interest in STEM topics. The race takes place this Saturday 18th May at the GreenPower Education Trust event at Renishaw, Wotton, and is open to budding 9-11 year old race drivers.
The GreenPower Trust is a UK based charity that aims to excite young people of all ages about STEM – science, technology, engineering and maths.
Dr Dave Bamford of Optima Systems Consultancy, said:
“This is a really exciting event – for kids and big kids too! – to discover how they can create and use a quite complex piece of technology for themselves. At Optima we’re genuinely inspired by the potential of engineering and technology to make a difference, and want to pass on some of that enthusiasm to the next generation of scientists.”
The car took the combined team of 12 children aged between 5-12 years, plus 8 volunteers from Optima, just 2 days to build.
Based on a kit supplied by GreenPower Education Trust and finished with recycled materials, the Optima Goblin car has been christened Team Rubbish – because that’s what it’s made of. It races at a maximum speed of 28 MPH so crash helmets are compulsory!
