Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, Inc., welcomed 50 Troup County, Ga., middle school students last month to its manufacturing plant in West Point, Ga. The students participated in SAE International’s Motorized Toy Car competition.

SAE International’s Motorized Toy Car Challenge is part of the award-winning A World In Motion program. The challenge is designed for middle school students whose teachers are using a multidisciplinary approach. Over the course of the curriculum, students develop a proposal and a prototype for an electric gear-driven toy of their own design. In the Troup County Schools, this year’s program culminated in a friendly competition where students (in Engineering Design Teams of three or four) competed in a 15° Ramp, 30° Ramp, and Speed Competition.

“We had a tremendous event at Kia. It’s exciting and encouraging to watch tomorrow’s engineers at work,” Chris Ciuca, Director of Pre-Professional Education for SAE International, said. “SAE International thanks Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia for their generosity and continued support of this important learning endeavor.”

AWIM is a teacher-administered, industry volunteer-assisted program that brings science, technology, engineering and math education to life in the classroom for students in Kindergarten through Grade 8. Benchmarked to the national standards, the AWIM program incorporates integrated STEM learning experiences through hands-on activities that reinforce classroom STEM learning.