Student-built electric vehicles thrill School District 60 Board of Trustees

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – Two teams of students joined the School District 60 board of trustees ahead of their final board meeting of the school year for a demonstration of two self-built electric vehicles. 

The board of trustees joined the small gathering of parents, students, and teachers in the green space beside the School District 60 Administrative building for a live demonstration of the students’ ingenuity and creativity in building two electric vehicles.

Prespatou and North Peace Secondary School students built the vehicles and go-karts from kits and donated parts in late May for the Edison Motors High School Go Kart Challenge. 

Superintendent Stephen Petrucci, board chair Helen Gilbert, and trustees Bill Snow and Tom Whitton all took turns behind the wheels of the karts, driving them across grass and tarmac. 

The karts can reach approximately 40 kilometres per hour, easily handling the grass, parking lot speed bumps, and tight corners the trustees tackled during their brief drives. 

The students and teachers explained that during the construction of the karts, they had considered safety measures such as roll cages and taken inspiration from racing requirements. This included building a two-inch clearance between the rider’s helmet and the roll cage. 

The projects were included in Prespatou’s curriculum, and students at North Peace Secondary worked on their vehicles during their lunch hours before the competition.