Sheckler Elementary School third-grade students held their first Motion and Matter engineering challenge race-off April 8.

Students were tasked with building a “car.” It was stipulated the creation must be able to roll from one place to another when released down a ramp using a restricted set of materials. This allowed students to learn about gravity, friction, collaboration and trial and error.

After their initial build, students tested their prototypes and compared alternative solutions, changing one variable at a time to improve the design. Students learned that failure is OK and expected in engineering. This failure is what drives people to improve on ideas and make progress.

The winners were Rory Edelheiser and Charlie Weber, of Mrs. Laubenstein’s class.

“I was really excited to face off against the other classes,” Rory said. “I really liked it.”

“It was a lot of fun,” Charlie added.

Winning second place were Avery Tomecek and Bella Chaparro, of Mr. Brinkley’s class. Third-place winners were Arthur Bossons and Pierre Sankari, of Mr. Keks’ class.

The fourth-place students were Aaron Smith and Chris Diaz, of Miss Haberern’s class, and the fifth-place students were Talon Bower and Ceasar Molitorisz, of Ms. Seng’s class.