STEM workshops get students behind the wheel in an eRacing simulator

Chicago-area students take part in a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math course with hands-on racing time and a chance to build a component for an automobile.

By Pat Nabong

A student tries a racing simulator of NASCAR’s Chicago Street Race during the eRacing Association STEM Workshop at Venue SIX10 in the Loop on May 20. Participants also learned to program a backup sensor for automobiles.

As Chicago gears up for the first NASCAR street race, more than a dozen students got to zoom around the Chicago course through a full-motion racing simulator. Students experienced driving a car, and they also created a part of a car.

Last month, the INROADS College Links program, eRacing Association, STEM Lingo and Sim Racing Chicago held an “experiential” Science Technology Engineering & Math (STEM) workshop for Chicago-area students at Venue SIX10 in the Loop.

“They’re doing things that, when I was in high school, we never even tried, right?” said Jesse Iwuji, a NASCAR driver, team owner and a U.S. naval officer. “We were connecting different wires together just to get a lightbulb to light, and they’re working with sensors.”

With the help from STEM Lingo instructors, students assembled a backup sensor that beeps when a car backs up. The students programmed it to beep as an object approached.

“I didn’t even know anything about coding, but they’re exposing me to a different world of STEM,” said Amber Banks-Jenkins, 16, a sophomore at Lincoln Park High School, who hopes to become a gynecologist one day. She said she was not initially interested in STEM, but the experience has given her a new perspective. “Here, I might actually enjoy coding, like I have to be exposed to know if I like it or not.”

Amber Emmanuel, left, 17, a junior at Timothy Christian High School, and Alexandria Johnson, 17, a junior at Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School, assemble a backup sensor during the eRacing Association STEM Workshop at Venue SIX10 in the Loop on May 20.

Students were driven by their excitement for cars as they jumped in the driver’s seat of the Sim Racing Chicago simulator, which was designed to mirror the Chicago Street Race course and mimic the movements of race cars. Beyond that, it was a learning experience.

Some of the students will be at the NASCAR race this weekend downtown to showcase the sensors they built.

“I love hearing about racing, like I didn’t even know that STEM was a part of racing. I didn’t even know that STEM made NASCAR even possible,” Amber said.

Derrick Tolbert, 16, a sophomore at St. Laurence High School in Burbank, wanted to learn more about racing and STEM, especially because he is about to get his driver’s license, he said.

“Technology, since it’s a big part of our world today, especially all the things we’re learning about, all the technology that we’re using, I would like to get more of an understanding of what I’m doing so I can more learn and improve on that in the future,” Derrick said.