I recently took part in a team internship, or teamship, with District C – a nonprofit that brings secondary school students together on diverse teams to solve real problems for real businesses. Our cohort was paired with Atlassian Williams Racing where we were tasked with helping shape the next chapter of their STEM education program. It was an incredible opportunity to rethink how students could learn real-world engineering principles through hands-on activities that are fun, accessible, and deeply connected to the excitement of Formula 1.
The Problem: How Do We Make STEM Come Alive?
The core challenge was to redesign or propose a new activity for the Atlassian Williams Racing STEM program. The current activities, while informative, had started to feel repetitive. Our job was to create something:
Engaging and interactive
Connected to real-world F1 engineering concepts
Flexible across different age ranges
And most importantly, memorable and fun for students
Our Process: Brainstorm, Build, and Race
From the start, our process was collaborative and idea-driven. We met as a team to:
Reflect on what makes STEM engaging for students
Brainstorm creative and feasible activity concepts
Design materials, instructions, and goals
Build a visual pitch deck to present to the Atlassian Williams Racing team
Throughout, we asked ourselves: Would a student have fun doing this? Would they learn something real? Would they walk away feeling like an engineer?
The Ideas: Two Unique Approaches
Our cohort split into two teams, and each one pitched a different vision for the future of the program.
🔹 Team 7 (My Team): F1 Build, Budget & Race
We designed a hands-on STEM activity that mirrors the budget constraints and creative problem-solving real engineers face.
Overview:
Teams build race cars out of recycled or everyday materials
Each team draws a random budget ($50 or $100), which limits their build options
Teams must strategize how to spend their funds and select parts accordingly
The experience ends with a high-stakes race, where creativity, quality, and speed all count toward the win
Skills Covered:
Engineering & design
Budgeting & financial decision-making
Physics (friction, aerodynamics, propulsion)
Collaboration and problem-solving
Why it Works: It’s competitive, exciting, and teaches students to work within real-world constraints—all while giving them the joy of seeing their car actually race.
🔺 Team 8: STEM Prototyping & Physics Challenges
The other team pitched a multi-activity model focusing on physics experiments and testing modules.
Sample Activities:
Tire Testing: Compare how different materials perform on simulated wet/dry tracks
Weight Balance Challenge: Arrange weights on a car to optimize performance
Wind Tunnel Testing: Build and test designs to understand drag and downforce
STEM Concepts Covered:
Newton’s Laws
Momentum & acceleration
Mass distribution
Friction, torque, and aerodynamics
Why it Works: This solution provides more modular lessons that focus on experimentation and discovery—great for classes who want to go deeper into the physics behind racing.
My Takeaway: A Real Engineering Experience
This experience felt like much more than a school project. We weren’t just imagining ideas—we were solving a real-world design problem with real stakes and real impact. I’m incredibly proud of my team’s creativity and collaboration, and grateful to Katherine Solomon and the Atlassian Williams Racing crew for giving us a voice in the future of their program.
I hope our work helps inspire the next generation of students to learn through play, build with curiosity, and race toward big ideas.
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