Electric Cars

By Chris Gosek

Following an educational visit from the city of Raleigh’s Environmental Coordinator, Ed Buchan, that gave them an up close look at electric cars, Ms. Oldenwelder and Mr. Mallory’s classes at Brentwood Elementary had the chance to see a smaller version of the earth friendly vehicle’s engine and some students even traveled for a first hand look at the actual cars.

The kids looked at miniature “engines” to give them a better idea of how the environmentally friendly cars work under the hood. The “engines” in the classroom consisted of a wood block, a double A battery, and two wires over a magnet. A rubber band was used to hold the wires in place and the children marveled at seeing exactly how this worked. On the heels of this lesson, a parent of one student took several of the students to a presentation held at North Hills where the actual 2012 model electric cars were introduced. In addition to running free of gas through the use of electricity, the vehicles also had a solar panel to help it charge in the sunlight. Some of the students even got to be passengers in the new electric cars on the trip, noting surprise at how quietly they ran and being very happy to hear that the cars were in no way harmful to animals, air, or the planet.