It’s off to the races in our May 2016 issue! This month, in The Speed of Science, we cover the Suncoast Science Center and Falhauber Fab Lab’s inaugural RC Car Custom Open. On a cool morning in early March, 60 teams of students from 19 local schools competed for prizes, including scholarships to summer workshops at Ringling College of Art and Design. During January and February, volunteers from the Suncoast Science Center’s Sci Corps and the Fab Lab teamed up to offer workshops to contestants on how to alter RC cars for speed, agility and, of course, style. Using Fab Lab’s bevy of technological offerings (including laser cutters, 3D printers, and CNC routers), students produced a number of winning vehicles, including an eco-friendly model with wooden wheels, ultra-fast racers with 3D-printed wheels optimized for speed, and a sleek, Star Wars-inspired number modeled after the franchise’s BB-8 droid.

Read The Speed of Science