In the automotive world, we have abbreviations and acronyms like GTO, SEMA and SUV, among others. Now, you can add another one to the list — STEM — as Barrett-Jackson, The World’s Greatest Collector Car Auctions, has announced the launch of the auction house’s community, education, and outreach initiative with special focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (plus computer science) education.
Developed in conjunction with the SciTech Institute, Gearing Towards The Future is a program that will play a leading role in the encouragement and development of future automotive engineers and technicians through modules that are focused on teaching our young problem-solving and developing new skills with auto-related challenge-based contests.
“Barrett-Jackson is passionate about its long history of creating family-friendly automotive lifestyle events that encourage multiple generations to come together and enjoy a shared interest with one another,” said Craig Jackson, chairman and CEO of Barrett-Jackson. “This new STEM program provides an even greater opportunity to engage with the youth here in Arizona through an exciting educational platform that will help support the future community of automotive enthusiasts.”
If your kids are Millennials or younger, you may already have familiarity with STEM. The U.S. Department of Education (ED) initiative helps prepare the nation’s youth to have the knowledge and skills “to solve problems, make sense of information and know how to gather and evaluate evidence to make decisions.” These are skills acquired and developed when learning disciplines that make up STEM.
According to the ED, “If we want a nation where our future leaders, neighbors and workers can understand and solve some of the complex challenges of today and tomorrow, and to meet the demands of the dynamic and evolving workforce, building students’ skills, content knowledge and literacy in STEM fields is essential.”
There are three contests, each for different age groups:
Pre-school to 20: Design transportation of the future. This challenge demands students to present a future plan for transportation options in a community setting of any size. This can be done as an essay, presentation, 3D model or design drawings.
Grade 4: Design a vehicle of the future. This challenge demands students to present the design and layout of a vehicle of any size based on three key features selected from a list. This can be done as an essay, presentation or 3D model.
Grade 10: Design electric vehicle components and features, either individually or up to a team of six. This challenge focuses on designing and building a working prototype of an electrical component for any vehicle of any size for the future of transportation. This can be done as an essay, presentation, 3D model or prototype.
Winners from the Gearing Towards The Future contests will display their prized projects and receive their awards at an event called STEM Fest during the 2023 Scottsdale Auction in January. The event will also include companies and organizations focused on STEM initiatives.
