They’re trying to change climate change, one electric vehicle at a time.
Sixth-graders in Environmental Science class at Learning Gate Community School in Lutz recently took seven broken mini EVs and rebuilt them.
It was an ambitious undertaking, led by the school’s Environment Science teacher, Steven Warrener.
He wanted his students to see what sustainable transportation looks like, how electric vehicles are made, and to experience, firsthand, how the vehicles can be fixed easily and cheaply.
“It ended up being pretty fun,” Warrener said. “I wanted the kids to learn the ins and outs of sustainable transportation.
“We basically got seven broken mini EVs and rebuilt them — and I thought it was pretty a fun project in part because I ride some of them around school whenever I have an excuse and I hear the younger kids say, ‘I can’t wait to get to sixth grade’ and that is a big part of why I do it.”
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation account for about 27% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, making it the largest contributor. Between 1990 and 2020, GHG emissions in the transportation sector increased more in absolute terms than any other sector.
With that in mind, it was easy for the students to see how important it was to find alternatives to combustible-engine vehicles and implement EVs more into daily use.
As Teresa Gallegos put it, “(EVs are) a form of sustainable transportation that is very much needed,” while Cam Kirouac added about the project, “Hopefully, we can be one step closer to stopping climate change.”
Warrener said he “trolled Facebook Marketplace and local pawn shops and negotiated for very cheap — and occasionally free — used and broken electric scooters, trikes and motorcycles” and ended up with four scooters, two motorcycles and a drift trike.
After pairing students in groups, Warrener had the kids research and experiment with their group’s vehicle to figure out what was broken and repair it. Through a multi-week process, they learned how electricity and motors work, how to test voltage and identify problems, and then made the repairs themselves with parts Warrener had purchased.
The students were allowed to customize the paint job and clean up the EVs for their second life.
“We were successful with six of the vehicles,” Warrener added. “Two we put in an auction fundraiser, two will be giveaways and one will stay for next year’s class.
The remaining motorcycle is a work in progress, as efforts are made to see if a record can be set for the fastest Razor MX350, Warrener said.
They will attempt this by taking the motor from the electric go-kart built earlier this school year. That will produce about eight times the power of the original motor, in hopes to top the unofficial speed record of 34 mph, the teacher said.
Because of the project, students were able to easily grasp the important lessons Warrener set out to teach.
“I learned that EVs can help the world because they don’t require gasoline,” Elijah Bossio said. “That’s really important right now.”
Added Alexander Bailey, “I learned how to make an electric vehicle and you can buy a broken thing for a cheap price and fix it for a profit. I think more people should do that.”
Warrener agrees.
“EVs are really just a motor, throttle, controller and battery,” he said. “There are so few pieces and they are so simple (that) gas cars really have no chance of competing in the future.”
Published April 12, 2023
