Roosevelt Middle School Takes Part in New Mexico Electric Car Challenge

The hum of electric motors and the nervous energy of future engineers filled the gymnasium at Kennedy Middle School this past Saturday, as students from Roosevelt Middle and from across New Mexico gathered for the 2025 New Mexico Electric Car Challenge.

While the spectators cheered for speed, the true competition began months ago in classrooms where students had to navigate a rigorous set of engineering requirements. Hosted at Kennedy Middle School and sponsored by Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory, the event tasked sixth, seventh, and eighth graders with a complex problem: build a fast car but build it to strict code.

Engineering Under Constraints

Unlike a simple pinewood derby, the Electric Car Challenge is a lesson in compliance and precision. To even qualify for the starting line, student teams had to meet a specific set of technical “non-negotiables,” turning their creative designs into disciplined engineering projects.

The defining requirement for the 2025 challenge was the payload. Speed alone was not enough; every vehicle had to be designed to carry a cylindrical container of table salt weighing exactly 737 grams (about 1.6 pounds). This payload could not be glued or taped permanently; the car’s chassis had to include a custom-built cargo area allowing the container to be easily removed and reinserted for weigh-ins between heats.

Strict Specs for Power and Size The challenge leveled the playing field by mandating a standardized power source. Every team was issued a specific DC motor and a 3-AA battery holder, neither of which could be modified. “The restriction on the motor forces students to find speed elsewhere,” said one event volunteer. “They have to look at aerodynamics, gear ratios, and reducing friction in the axles.”

The “street legal” requirements for the track included:

• Dimensions: Vehicles could not exceed 20 cm (7.87 in) in width, 40 cm (15.75 in) in length, or 20 cm in height.
• Safety: Cars were inspected for sharp edges and projectiles.
• Power: A strict 4.5-volt limit using only alkaline batteries.
• Steering: A required guide wire attachment on the front of the chassis to keep the car locked to the 10-meter track.

New for 2025: The AI Element Beyond the mechanical requirements, the “Research Challenge” component of the competition introduced a modern twist. For the first time, students were required to research and present on the intersection of energy and Artificial Intelligence. Teams investigated the energy consumption of massive AI data centers compared to electric vehicles, presenting their findings to judges as part of their overall score.

More Than Just a Race While the head-to-head races provided the day’s drama, the “Design Challenge” required students to sit for professional interviews. Teams defended their engineering choices to judges, explaining how they calculated gear ratios or why they chose specific materials for their chassis.

With the 2025 challenge now in the books, Roosevelt Middle School has once again cemented itself as a constant innovator for STEM innovation, proving that for these middle schoolers, the future is not only electric—it’s engineered to perfection.