The fun and unique STEAM project for elementary students at every learning level!
All About Aerodynamics is a team-oriented, science-based, experiential STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art Math) learning project in which K-6 students use Hot Wheels cars to learn about various physics-related concepts. Through the project, students will also be introduced to the Scientific Method and basic digital photography, videography, and graphic design.
Three Presentation Options
We bring our hands-on science program to your students at your school!
Our full science curriculum, interactive and online for your students.
A curated science presentation for your science fair, assembly, or workshop.
Hot Wheels is a registered trademark of Mattel. No endorsement of All About Aerodynamics on the part of Mattel has occurred or is implied.
All About Aerodynamics
All About Aerodynamics is a team-oriented, science-based, experiential STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art Math) learning project in which K-6 students use Hot Wheels cars to learn about various physics-related concepts. Working in teams, students will use Hot Wheels cars to learn about and test basic aerodynamics concepts through a series of races.
The video below provides an overview of the All About Aerodynamics in-person presentation and the competitive fun and enthusiasm for learning the program elicits. While the core STEAM ideas remain the same, online adaptation has led to several exciting changes in our presentation and implementation.
Physics-related topics covered during the All About Aerodynamics program include:
Lift
Isaac Newton
Potential Energy
Pull & Push
Scale
Scientific Method
Transfer of Energy
3 Laws of Motion
Aerodynamics
Drag
Elastic Energy
Elasticity
Energy
Force
Friction
Kinetic Energy
Step-by-Step
All About Aerodynamics is presented in a series of classes broken into three sections.
Section1: The first part of the program consists of a series of short video presentations that introduce various science concepts followed by discussions and demonstrations.
Section 2: Next, students use the scientific information learned in part one to make an educated guess as to which Hot Wheels car will be fastest in a series of races.
Students compile information about their cars in a spreadsheet before the races are held. After the races students assess the race outcomes and the performance of their cars.
Section 3: Finally, students will create posters to highlight what they’ve learned and document information about their cars.
The duration of the All About Aerodynamics program varies depending upon several factors, including the number of students and the type of presentation selected.
Time
Learn more about the All About Aerodynamics program
CLICK HERE for everything educators need to know about the All About Aerodynamics curriculum and how to bring the program to your students.
CLICK HERE for additional information for parents about the program, what your child will learn, and the supplies they’ll need to participate.
From the Living Room to the Classroom
James Carter
All About Aerodynamics creator
• BS - Journalism, Syracuse University
• BA - African-American Studies, Syracuse University
• 8 years - K-6 multimedia instructor
• 20+ years - professional graphic designer
• Digital photography instructor
Multimedia enrichment instructor
James Carter developed All About Aerodynamics in the summer of 2019, but the seeds of the project were planted years earlier when he and his son raced Hot Wheels cars in their living room, keeping statistics to determine which cars were the fastest and why.
A graduate of Syracuse University with degrees in journalism and African-American Studies, James has spent the past six years developing and implementing multimedia curriculum for the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Beyond the Bell after school program, working with thousands of K-6 students throughout South Central and East Los Angeles.
One of his previous projects, All About, involved up to 70 students working on iPads in teams of two to create a magazine about their school, complete with interviews, articles, artwork, surveys, and pictures. At the end of the project, the magazines were printed and distributed to participating students.
However, as time passed, James became a more efficient instructor, which resulted in the students producing so much additional content that the number of magazine pages increased to the point that it became too costly and time consuming to publish. And that is when James turned his attention to All About Aerodynamics.
With All About Aerodynamics James believed he could merge the artistic, technological, and collaborative aspects of the magazine project with science instruction to create a project that would appeal to a wide array of students, introducing them to STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art Math) concepts while practicing multiple Common Core Standards in a fun and cost-effective way.
“I want the students to understand how science and math apply to toys and things they already enjoy, and to know that these disciplines are not incompatible with having fun,” James said. “Perhaps the most important aspects of the project are the opportunities the students have to work in collaboration with their peers and think critically about the ideas and concepts that are introduced.”
All About Aerodynamics takes cues from Mattel’s Speedometry program developed with USC’s Rossier School of Education. Speedometry also uses Hot Wheels cars to teach physics lessons to elementary school students.
“Even though my son, nephews, and I had been doing a version of the All About Aerodynamics project at home for nearly 10 years, Speedometry was important because it showed the extent to which the integration of Hot Wheels could be crafted into a viable academic program,” James said. “When I was initially pitching All About Aerodynamics, it helped ease skepticism to point to Speedometry and note that a highly regarded university’s education school developed a similar curriculum that utilized the number-one selling toy in the world to teach science.”
While the details of the two programs are significantly different, the overarching idea of finding new ways to merge academics and fun is the most important aspect according to James.
“The moment the students realize we will be using Hot Wheels as a part of the project, they are immediately more interested, more attentive, and more engaged,” James said. “With those three factors in place, there’s nothing we can’t learn and accomplish.”
For more information, contact James at CoachJames@aaaerodynamics.com
Coach James playing with the Hot Wheels Inside Track Sto & Go Race set back in the 80s!
“With All About Aerodynamics students are practicing cooperative group skills — collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and tech literacy, which are all 21st-century career readiness skills.
The English Learners are practicing their speaking skills with a low affective filter, making non-linguistic connections to Tier 3 academic vocabulary words. The best part is that students are experiencing learning that is happening as a byproduct of the fun they’re having racing the cars.”
— E. Dominguez, M.S. Education, RUSD
