This was an extremely fast project done almost entirely by students with almost no resources.
While at first glance, it may look inadequate as a car, consider the following: In the beginning of April, a group of students began working on this car. The deadline was the second Saturday of April Vacation, two school weeks away. They worked mostly after school, from 2pm to 3:30 Most days, there were two to five students. Mr. Connors and Mrs. Carlomagno supervised, and helped gather supplies. No student had any experience making a car before. Most students had little experience working with the tools we used. All of the decisions were made by the students. All of the tools were operated by the students. There was no budget for the project, but out of pocket expenses for hardware came to about $30. Two students went on their own to MIT, where they got advice and battery parts. On Saturday, April 26, four students and their families went to Hyannis to finish the car and drive it at the Cape Cod Mini Maker Faire. At the Cape Cod Maker Faire, MVRHS students worked with an MIT instructor and student to build the batteries and electric drive circuit. They then took turns driving the car they had made themselves. Here’s a link to a survey about this project: http://goo.gl/gNhM4L