Build a Better Mousetrap Car!

Seminole Ridge during the second run of their mousetrap powered vehicle at the February 8, 2014
SECME Engineering Olympiad on Saturday, February 8, 2014.
DISTANCE: 2100 centimeters
TIME: 19.8 seconds

Mousetrap Cars: It's Not a Snap

MTV Tip of Month - Graphite Powder at Michaels

Michaels Arts & Crafts stores sell Revell Pinewood Derby Graphite Powder. Increase your racing speed and decrease friction – just use odor-free Graphite Powder! Applying a puff of powder is all it takes to keep wheels and axles lubed to perfection. Use only on washable surfaces. Includes: One 0.25 oz. tube of Graphite Powder. Age: 8+

Coaches, the Michaels Teacher Discount now will get you an extra 15% off every day. If you’re a teacher, just flash your educator I.D. the next time you’re checking out at Michaels to get your discount!

Mousetrap Vehicle Calculations for Design Excellence

Mousetrap Vehicle Calculations for Design Excellence

There are two main stages of travel for mousetrap vehicles (MTV). The first is the powered stage and the second is the coasting stage. There is a possible third stage that should be avoided by careful routing of the string – the breaking stage – since this will reduce distance but with no positive offsetting effect.

Since the powered stage accounts for the majority of the distance and the time used, it is wise to optimize this phase. To begin the design, we’ll ignore length and weigh considerations (but they should be evaluated as part of the final MTV design). Once the initial design is complete, trade-offs and improvements can be made.

To calculate distance under power for an existing MTV design, you determine how many times the wheel will rotate and multiply that by its circumference to get total distance. If the vehicle does not perform as anticipated then you can look for losses due to slippage and other factors, or perhaps a math error. Include units in all calculations to avoid use of conflicting units (dimensional analysis).
https://sites.google.com/site/seminolesecme/curriculum-of-the-consortium/Mousetrap%20Vehicle%20Calculations%20for%20Design%20Excellence.pdf
based on a 2011 SECME Saturday Design Seminar originally presented at Pine Jog Elementary School.

Murphy's Law: Technical Drawing for Mousetrap Vehicle

EDITOR'S NOTE: For a change, the comments are being left ON. I welcome and would appreciate your thoughts -- this technical drawing has not been scored yet, so it will be interesting for your feedback to compare & contrast with the judges. Just keep it constructive, if you'll pardon the pun! :D

Murphy's Law mousetrap powered vehicle
Murphy's Law MTV, top and front views
Murphy's Law MTV, side view

Compare this year's to last year's MTV technical drawing at http://seminolesecme.blogspot.com/2011/01/technical-drawing-for-mousetrap-vehicle.html

Mousetrap 201

Coach Ed Batchelor and sophmore Sam Smith

PE from Hazen Sawyer help Coral Reef Elementary student Lily Landstrom at SECME Mousetrap Vehicle design seminar

Seminole SECME wins silver

2nd place overall Olympiads in the district!
Seminole Ridge SECME won four trophies at the 2011 SECME regional Olympiad, including second place overall for the county! Teams from twenty high schools in Palm Beach County participated in the engineering contests at Santaluces Community High School in Lantana on Saturday, February 26, 2011. Students squared off in racing mousetrap powered model cars, launch model rockets, build and break balsa wood bridges; in general knowledge games during the "Brain Bowl"; and in literary and artistic competitions with essays, banners, and posters.

The competition of cogitators was fierce, but the Hawks, those gladiators of grey matter, came in third in the poster competition, second in the water bottle rocket competition, and first in the banner competition. This put overall Olympiad performance second in the entire district! Principal Lynne McGee, and Erich Landstrom and Ed Batchelor, the school SECME coordinators, congratulate the Hawks on their awesome achievements! Team captain Cindy Dosch commented “Proud of you guys! We did awesome against all odds.” Freshman Sam Smith posted “Today, those months of work on that mousetrap car came into fruition, and the hard work showed. It destroyed the competition without a problem, and couldn’t have done better on the test run. Even though it didn’t place, and we have our suspicions as to why it didn’t, I’m proud of Murphy’s Law, because it has overcome every one of the obstacles it was presented with.”

2011 Seminole SECME Olympiad

POSTER: Students create posters based on the Olympiad's theme “SECME: STEMulating Minds”
• Third Place: Seminole Ridge

Poster, 3rd place: senior Brie Codner Poster, 3rd place: senior Brie Codner

BANNER: Students create banners based on the Olympiad's theme. Banners must contain the school mascot and SECME logo.
• First Place: Seminole Ridge

WATER ROCKET: Students build a model rocket around a standard 2 liter soda bottle. All teams must have: rocket (constructed and launch-ready); design drawing blueprint of rocket; technical report on rocket; and mission patch design. At the Olympiad, rockets will be "fueled" with 355 milliliters of water and 60 PSI of air pressure. The rocket with the greatest combined "hang time" airborne and score will be declared the winner
• Second Place: Seminole Ridge

Water bottle rocket, 2nd place: Chris Garrett (retired rocket engineer with Pratt & Whitney) Damian Coleman, Cindy Dosch

Water bottle rocket, 2nd place: Damian Coleman, Cindy Dosch

OVERALL HIGH SCHOOL PALM BEACH COUNTY CHAMPION:

• Second Place: Seminole Ridge High

• First Place: Suncoast High Seminole SECME - 2nd place Olympiad overall in the county!

MOUSETRAP CAR: Students build cars that are propelled by the spring of a mousetrap. All teams must have a mousetrap car (constructed and running), design drawing blueprint of mousetrap vehicle (MTV), technical report on MTV construction and operations. A combination of the scores from the race, the report, and the drawing is used to determine the winner.
Mousetrap Vehicle: Sam Smith and Cody Summerlin

Inspecting the Mousetrap Vehicle: (left to right) Sam Smith, Cody Summerlin, Dr. Thelma Jackson, and AJ Fandrey

BRAIN BOWL: Students compete against the clock and each other in a quiz show style contest filled with science and math questions.
left to right: Arnold Banner, Joe Pavicic, Yiro Shimabukuro, Robert Botkin



SECME is too serious to be taken seriously
SECME is too serious to be taken seriously
Seminole SECME Captain Cindy Dosch holding aloft our trophy
GO HAWKS!

Technical Report for Mousetrap Vehicle

EDITOR'S NOTE: For a change, the comments are being left ON. I welcome and would appreciate your thoughts -- this technical report has not been scored yet, so it will be interesting for your feedback to compare & contrast with the judges. Just keep it (pardon the pun) constructive! :D

----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----

Abstract
My team consisted of 4 freshmen in high school, we were all friends and we decided to work as a team to complete a mousetrap vehicle. The mousetrap vehicle in question is a triangular, four wheeled, balsa wood vehicle. It uses the potential energy stored in the spring of the mousetrap car to move. A string attached to the rear axle of the vehicle is also connected to the end of the straightened arm of the mousetrap. When you pull the arm back and wind the string around the axle it creates tension and potential energy. When the arm is released this energy is transformed into kinetic energy and thus the vehicle moves. This report is about how we accomplished this feat.

Technical Drawing for Mousetrap Vehicle

EDITOR'S NOTE: For a change, the comments are being left ON. I welcome and would appreciate your thoughts -- this technical drawing has not been scored yet, so it will be interesting for your feedback to compare & contrast with the judges. Just keep it (pardon the pun) constructive! :D

Fantastic Foxes

Seminole SECME mentored the Foxes from Acreage Pines Elementary School for the Olympiad on Wednesday, November 3rd. David, Edwin, Justin, and Cody worked with the boys Blue team on mousetrap powered races. Criquet, Caitlyn, Kaity, and Ronit worked with the girls Green team. Mr. Landstrom, and Mrs. Summerlin are all very proud of their SECME students.

Best. Meeting. Ever.

Seminole Ridge symmetry

Technical drawing - mousetrap vehicle
VEX Round Up practice
technical drawing - water bottle rocket
technical drawing - water bottle rocket
banner
banner
banner
I heart SECME

Better, Faster Cars

Mousetrap Vehicle Design Seminar. Saturday, October 2, 2010 from 9 AM to 1 PM. Thank you our hosts, H.L. Johnson Elementary School in Royal Palm Beach, FL.

I say "Seminole," You say "Ridge!"

SECME students are challenged to create a "mousetrap car" that can be entered into the annual engineering Olympiad contest. The spring of a mousetrap stores a considerable amount of potential energy when it is pulled back and its tension is increased. When released, this energy is transformed into the kinetic energy of movement, making the mousetrap the perfect "motor" for a homemade car. As the trap closes, the metal bar pulls a string that has been wound around the axle of the mousetrap car. This causes the axle and attached wheels to spin, propelling the car forward. While many aspects of the car's design can change (for example, including a gear transmission) this is the basic method of movement.

Science • Simple machines • Force and motion • Newton’s laws
Engineering • Technological design • Data analysis and prediction • Materials science
Math • Circumference • Ratios • Measurements
MTVs also help students practice cooperative behavior, develop spatial awareness, and learn to budget time.

SECME school coordinator Mr. Erich Landstrom is very proud of the work done by the students. GO HAWKS! Thank you to our hosts H.L. Johnson Elementary School in Royal Palm Beach, FL, SECME district coordinator Mr. Bruce Wear, Mr. Glenn Cunningham, P.E. and the engineers from Hazen and Sawyer.

The Little Moe MTV & Popsicle Stick Bridges

Seminole Ridge SECME: (l to r) Edwin Keo, Ryan Hamilton, and Yiro Shimabukuro

Seminole SECME meeting minutes for September 29, 2010
Meeting called to order at 3 PM by Captain R. Hamilton.

Technical Drawing paper at Easel Art

To compete in the SECME Olympiad bridge design, mousetrap car design and the water rocket design competitions, a team must enter all parts of the design competition. A team must enter in all of the following categories for each competition a bridge technical drawing, a mousetrap car technical drawing, and a water rocket technical drawing.
Clearprint 24"x36" 16lb 1000H Title Block/Border Vellum

The bridge and the rocket drawings may be on either 22” x 34” or 24” x 36” size drawing paper. No margin is required around the outside of the drawing. No mounting of the drawing or frames are allowed.

For the mousetrap car, the size of the engineering paper is required to be the standard 18” x 24” (allowing for the drawn one inch margin, the actual drawing is to cover an exposed area of 16” x 22” of the paper), otherwise it will not be evaluated. No mounting of the drawing or frames are allowed.

Where can I get technical drawing paper?
Seminole SECME purchases technical drawing paper at Easel Art Center, 810 Park Ave, Lake Park, FL (south of Northlake Blvd). Easel is on the south side of the street and the east end of the plaza, located after the post office and oriental market. Their phone #561-844-3111

As of May 2010, their price for 24x26" plain paper (used for practice) was $1.75 and for 24x26" title boxed paper (used for the final submission) was $2.75. While no teacher discount was available, they were kind enough to give me a 10% student discount.

Success for Students at 2010 Seconday SECME Olympiad

On Saturday April 10, 2010, over 275 students from Palm Beach County Secondary schools participated in the Secondary SECME (Science, Engineering, Communication, Mathematics, Enrichment) Olympiad hosted by Santaluces High School. Students participated in a variety of competitions which included banners, brain bowl, bridges, essays, mousetrap cars, posters, and water rockets.

The 2010 overall district champions for both High School and Middle School are:

High School:
• 1st Place Overall – Suncoast High School
• 2nd Place Overall – Seminole Ridge Community High School
• 3rd Place Overall – Boca Raton High School
• Honorable Mention Overall – Royal Palm Beach High School

Seminole SECME wins silver!

Seminole SECME won five trophies in the 2010 Palm Beach SECME regional Olympiad! We were awarded the 3rd place trophy, mousetrap car competition + 2nd place trophy, banner competition + 2nd place trophy, poster competition + 2nd place trophy, brain bowl competition =
2nd place overall Olympiads in the district!

Dr. Lynee McGee, principal of Seminole Ridge High School, and Erich Landstrom and Ed Batchelor, school SECME coordiators, are soaring on the Hawks awesome achievements!

Seminole Ridge SECME at the 2010 engineering Olympiad for the School District of Palm Beach County

Football practice
The object of VEX Clean Sweep is to attain a higher score than your opponent's alliance by moving as many balls as possible onto their side of the field and by "locking up" small balls in the triangular goals.
VEX Robotics
Students, with guidance from their teachers and mentors aim to build the most innovative robots possible and work together to obtain the most points possible. In addition to just having a great time and building amazing robots, through their participation in the VEX Robotics Competition and their work within their team, students learn many academic and life skills.

POSTER: Students create posters based on the Olympiad's theme.
• Third Place: Forest Hill
• Second Place: Seminole Ridge
• First Place: Suncoast
Senior Shelby Weininger with poster

Poster, 2nd place: Cindy Dosch (left) and Shelby Weininger (right)

MOUSETRAP CAR: Students build cars that are propelled by the spring of a mousetrap. All teams must have a mousetrap car (constructed and running), design drawing blueprint of mousetrap vehicle (MTV), technical report on MTV construction and operations. A combination of the scores from the race, the report, and the drawing is used to determine the winner.
• Third Place: Seminole Ridge - Silver
• Second Place: Boca Raton – Roaring Cats
• First Place: Suncoast – Exponential Engineers

Juniors AJ Fandrey (left) and Ryan Hamilton (right) in MTV competition

Junior Ryan Hamilton

Junior AJ Fandrey in MTV competition

WATER ROCKET: Students build a model rocket around a standard 2 liter soda bottle. All teams must have: rocket (constructed and launch-ready); design drawing blueprint of rocket; technical report on rocket; and mission patch design. At the Olympiad, rockets will be "fueled" with 355 milliliters of water and 60 PSI of air pressure. The rocket with the greatest combined "hang time" airborne and score will be declared the winner.
Seniors Carlos Monesar and Kate Woodbury with Mr. Chris Garrett from Pratt Whitney Rocketdyne

Juniors Brian Bartles and Cindy Dosch with Mr. Chris Garrett from Pratt Whitney Rocketdyne

BRAIN BOWL: Students compete against the clock and each other in a quiz show style contest filled with science and math questions.
• Third Place: Suncoast
• Second Place: Seminole Ridge
• First Place: Royal Palm Beach

SECME Olympiad - brain bowl Ralph Regis, Zack Wiggin, Daniel Lowenthal, Robert Botkin


Brain bowl 2nd place: Ralph Regis, Zack Wiggin, Daniel Lowenthal

Seminole SECME's five trophies from the 2010 Olympiad

Seminole SECME - 2nd place Olypiad overall in the county!

GO HAWKS!