BioMoto
The BioMoto STEM Challenge is a collaborative educational initiative underwritten by a $300,000 grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation and guided by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center’s Greater Charlotte Office and the North Carolina Motorsports Association.
Students from Richmond, Cabarrus, Rowan-Salisbury, Kannapolis City school systems and others participate. One aspect of the BioMotto STEM Challenge is fitness testing at the Appalachian State University Human Performance Laboratory and a tour of the NC Research Campus. The students also tour the facilities of the UNC Charlotte motorsports program. Finally students compete in the BioMoto Capstone Challenge at Rockingham Dragway where they compete in a modified pit crew challenge using an apparatus they created at their schools. During the three-year grant program, more than 1,500 students from at least 12 school districts in North Carolina will participate.
The goal of the BioMoto Challenge is to motivate middle school students to improve their understanding of science, technology, education, and mathematics (STEM) in order to help them succeed in school and to inspire them to consider STEM-based careers. The program builds off the popularity of NASCAR and the science and math that make a pit crew and race team successful.
For additional information about the BioMoto STEM Challenge:
North Carolina Biotechnology Center