The Towanda Area High School Science and Technology class, taught by Clayton Weaver, was able to purchase supplies which will enable them to complete projects with Traxxas Short Course Trucks and HPI Sprint 2 Sport Radio Controlled Cars.
Supplies were purchased through Inner Child Hobbies, located in Wysox. The money funding the vehicles and supplies was donated by Metadyne Incorporated through a state program called the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC). EITC provides eligible Pennsylvania businesses with the opportunity to receive a tax credit on certain Pennsylvania taxes by donating to Educational Improvement Organizations, such as the Towanda Education Foundation, for approved educational programs. Metadyne will be donating $12,500 per year for two years to the Foundation.
This project will teach students about modern automobiles and technology through physical science. Using these very realistic, but small scaled vehicles, the students will be better able to understand a variety of concepts such as speed, acceleration, pressure, vehicle alignment, suspension, and electric motors. The students also get the opportunity to participate in many different challenges that test the skills they have learned in head to head competitions. The goals would be to teach students about introductory automotive technology to ready them for a possible future in the automotive field in a way that keeps them interested and allows hands-on learning experiences. In the past the Traxxas Radio Control Company has held a national competition involving these types of vehicles. The classroom teacher's aim would be to involve students in such a competition.
Frontier Communications has also participated in the EITC program donating $1,000 to the Towanda Education Foundation. Information on how a business can participate in the EITC program can be provided by calling Doreen Secor with the Towanda Education Foundation at 265-9154 or emailing foundation@tsd.k12.pa.us.
