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Sparking a love for learning

MNW Electrathon Team prepares to race

-Messenger photo by Elijah Decious
Carter Moline, a freshman on Manson Northwest Webster High School’s Electrathon Team, tests the fit of the vehicle being constructed for an upcoming race.

MANSON — Amidst the literal sparks flying and the ear-piercing whir of the equipment that makes the sparks, it might seem ironic that for some students, the industrial technology classroom is the only place they can actually concentrate on their work.

“Sorry it’s so loud,” teacher Brian Nelson said, walking around the obstacle of equipment into a marginally quieter room — but there was no need to apologize in a room meant to be that loud.

For students like the dozen on the Electrathon Team at Manson Northwest Webster High School, it’s an oasis unlike any of their other traditional classrooms.

In the slightly less refined classroom, a few projects stand above the rest in a jungle of various equipment, made decipherable to the eye only by the contrast of the white walls around them.

These projects are literally elevated, but their physical qualities make them unique in the room, too.

-Messenger photo by Elijah Decious
Members of the Electrathon Team at Manson Northwest Webster High School are preparing this aluminum vehicle, the shiniest one they have, for a race in May. The goal is to engineer a battery-powered vehicle that can make the most laps in one hour. From left to right: Ethan Egli, freshman; Connor Darr, sophomore; Lane Zierke, sophomore; Carter Moline, freshman.

The one furthest along in its design looks more akin, at first, to a crude prototype NASA might’ve have thrown together as a device to find water on another planet. For the Electrathon Team, it’s the product of a lot of hard work.

The students produce one of these single-person, battery-operated vehicles every two to three years, racing them at annual events across Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin.

But the goal of these races isn’t to go the fastest — slow and steady wins these races. The name of the game is efficiency: the winner is the one who completes the most laps in an hour.

“Once the battery is dead, you’re done,” said Nelson, who is an industrial technology teacher and Electrathon Team co-adviser.

So this year, they’re trying out a new brushless motor, something they’re hoping will help them last the full hour. The team’s past vehicles have lasted about 30 to 40 minutes.

-Messenger photo by Elijah Decious
Students at Manson Northwest Webster High School have the chance to take part in many hands-on classes that not only prepare them for a wide range of technical career opportunities but teach them creative critical thinking skills to work through problems in a traditional classroom setting.

This year’s car, which immediately catches the eye, was constructed of aluminum. While it’s the lightest material, Nelson explained that it’s also the most difficult to put together, an explanation corroborated by what appears to be silver duct tape holding the metal sheets together.

Nelson makes them work for the answers as they work through a design phase before the construction process.

“He doesn’t tell them how to fix it,” said co-advisor and math teacher Jason Englert.

Nelson said it’s a teaching style that some students don’t like, as a student three feet away nodded vigorously in agreement.

“They want it handed to them on a silver platter, that’s what they expect,” Nelson said, “and that’s not how the real world works.”

-Messenger photo by Elijah Decious
A look into the rear view mirror of one Electrathon vehicle in the works shows the single padded seat, reserved for a student who ideally weighs under 180 pounds.

Nelson’s class puts silver materials — steel, aluminum and chromoly — before silver platters. Students will use those materials to build about one whole aerodynamically-appropriate car over their high school career, a task that takes them two to three years.

The class that prepares them for the real world, sometimes overshadowed by college preparation in high school, is half the reason some of these students enjoy school. In the school’s warehouse, students are forming not only critical thinking skills and creative problem-solving experience to apply to outside projects, but practical skills that will take them far after graduation.

“There’s so much problem-solving that goes into this, it’s ridiculous,” said Nelson.

Given the trade skills deficit in many industries, they will be revving their engines, so to speak, as they enter their careers.

“They can throw a dart and work anywhere,” with the skills learned in this classroom, Nelson said. “There’s a ridiculous amount of jobs out there right now that require those skills.”

His pride and joy is watching the students drive something that gives them their drive in the construction process.

“It’s just seeing their drive and them actually constructing something, being proud of it and wanting to race it,” he said.

Students enjoy the hands-on aspect the most, and the sweet ride they get to test out with their fresh license at the races. Each driver must be 16 years old, have a drivers license, and ideally weigh under 180 pounds.

Despite the dedication students display, building the car before and after school when they’re not required to be there, the team is limited by a budget. Their biggest fundraiser of the year will be held tonight, starting at 6:30 p.m. at Clare Community Center.

Those wishing to support the team for $10 can join a fun night of adult trivia in teams of six to eight, enjoy a cash meal hosted by Clare Volunteer Fire Department and bid in an extensive silent auction while radio personality Emcee Duane Murley mans the mic.

The team aims to raise about $3,000. All proceeds of the fundraiser go towards the cost of the vehicle they build and the cost to travel for competitions. Their next race is in May.

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