Sudbury students build hoverboards

Sudbury students hone their carpentry skills Students at a Sudbury elementary school got some hands-on experience recently, building hoverboards as part of a learning project.

Students at a Sudbury elementary school built hoverboards as part of a hands-on learning project.

Recently, the Grade 5 class at St. David’s Catholic Elementary School were grouped into teams of five and, with the help of staff, were able to build five hoverboards in three hours.

“The goal of the project was to get kids to extend what they learned in class in math and science, outside the classroom, in real world contexts,” said teacher Louis Mailloux.

“Hopefully when they go to high school, they'll want to explore the trades, maybe take a trade class or do a co-op.”

Mailloux, who also has carpentry experience, came up with the idea while searching for Science, Technology, English and Math (STEM) projects.

“I came across, another project in United States. It's called the Hoverboard Project,” he explained. “They go around the United States and they do a similar project with grade five students.”

Last year, St. David’s received a $3,000 grant through the Desjardins Foundation, awarded to schools to promote hands-on learning. The grant was used to purchase the materials, which cost roughly $1,500.

“Basically, we took a piece of plywood, some vapor barrier and a leaf blower,” he explained. “The leaf blower pushes into the vapor barrier, which pushes against the wood in the floor to create, like, a frictionless environment. And that's what causes the students to able to hover across the gym. They're only about millimeters off the ground. But just that air pressure is what eliminates the friction.”

Mckenzie Norman, student, said she enjoyed the whole project, from design to completion.

“It was very fun. It went all the way across the gym,” she said. “We were able to build it mostly on our own.”

Student Andrew Akero said he enjoyed getting to build something with his friends.

“I liked building it with my group and having fun with my group,” he said.

Mailloux said he would like to make the hoverboard project a staple in his curriculum for future grades. He added that he hopes other schools will hear of the concept and use it for other students to enjoy.