EV Club : Girls in Engineering

My name is Dave Pence and I am a retired applied technology teacher in Boulder, CO.   I have been a teacher for over 35 years.  Over the past fifteen years, many hands-on classes in public schools like industrial arts and applied technology have closed.  As a result, students do not have a basic understanding of how manufactured items are made, how they work, or how they can be repaired. 

I volunteer as the Education Outreach Coordinator for the Denver Electric Vehicle Council.   My co-teacher, Derek Barger and I started EV Club in 2015 at Horizons K-8 Charter School in Boulder to teach a small group of students how to convert small internal combustion engines on mini-bikes, scooters and trikes into electric-powered vehicles.  After two years of scrounging materials and supplies and piloting our successful program, we are ready to take it to the next level.

This is not a traditional shop class.  Our goal is to provide a basic foundation for students in grades 5-8 who are interested in engineering and alternative transportation careers.   We need multiple sets of tools and tool boxes, mini-bike frames, tires, handlebars, electric motors, controllers, batteries, wiring and additional materials and supplies to outfit five teams of two students.  Each team will have an adult member to support each team while they build their EV mini-bike.

This year, in our fall and spring sessions, we decided to open the class to girls only.   Our classes have always been full, but frankly, it's been hard to attract girls to EV Club.  Research indicates that girls learn about technology best in an all-girl setting.  Our hope is that with a supportive environment, girls will become excited about the fields of mechanical and electrical engineering and think about pursuing those career paths.

We need your help to raise money to continue our program so that in the future we can include all beginning engineering students....girls, boys, at-risk students,  and minority students.