Science lesson leads to fruit and veggies race at Beach school

Kids know they shouldn't play with their food. But try to tell that to these Three Oaks Elementary students.

The youngsters configured cars out of three skewers, four wooden toothpicks, a rubber band and an assortment of fruits and vegetables.

It was enough to make any parent proud - even if they didn't eat their veggies - and it was all in the name of science.

The school held its first Lunchbox Derby, an event pitting teams of fourth-graders against one another, on March 20.

Using food was an interesting twist on teaching them about force, motion and energy, said gifted resource teacher Kendall Shuffler.

"That's a difficult concept for fourth-graders to grasp - and they're really excited about this."

Students spent several weeks working together, designing their food cruisers built for speed. First through third places were awarded to the teams that created cars that traveled the greatest distance down an 8-foot ramp without falling apart.

All cars had to have at least three wheels and a double axle.

First-place winners Kyle Messapeso, Bradley Hilliard, Taryn Griffith, all 10, and Sara Bess, 9, watched as weeks of determination finally paid off.

On race day, as other teams assembled their cars, the quartet assembled three alternate cars, each with a unique design.

One featured the long, sleek body of an English cucumber; another a carrot body with cucumber wheels. A third had a cucumber body with two big oranges for the back wheels and two smaller clementines for the front.

After testing, the team went with the cucumber/orange/clementine combo.

"We thought it would go down further," Sara said. "We thought the weight from the back would push it further."

The youngsters' mastery of scientific concepts was evident in their edible vehicles: cars made from short, hefty pickles, big bright lemons and curved yellow bananas. Or racers with round, orange wheels and green cucumber wheels, both usually affixed to their axles with raisins, carrot tips or purple grape hubcaps.

"I think she learned how to mechanically make it work," said Jeff Graves, father of Taylor Graves, 10.

Bradley, one of the winners, took the assignment so seriously that he tested some of his team's designs at home. A few were weeded out or tweaked thanks to that extra step.

Even Bradley's mother had an assignment from her son. The night before race day, he asked her to find the straightest cucumber she could at the supermarket.

Apparently, it worked.

The question remains: Did the winning vehicle find new life in a salad? Could give new meaning to the phrase "chop shop."

Rita Frankenberry, 222-5102 or

rita.frankenberry@pilotonline.com