Hovercrafts take off

BELLEVUE — Fifth-grade students at Bellevue Elementary were able to get their projects off the ground, literally. The Hovercraft Project — a STEM activity that involves building, testing and riding hovercrafts — visited Bellevue Elementary last week. The project travels across the county and visits about 120 schools a year. This was the sixth year the project was at Bellevue Elementary, said principal Shannon Turner. "We are grateful for parent support of school fundraisers to fund awesome programs like this," she said. "It's an unforgettable experience for our fifth-graders." Students worked in groups of six to eight people. While they learned the science, technology, engineering and math part of the hovercrafts, students also had to work together and overcome challenges. "We designed it so they actually fail and they have to try again," said Jenni Chase, who started the Hovercraft Project with her husband, Matt. "It's not something that's handed to them. They have to figure it out." Nearly 130 fifth graders participated in the in-school field trip over the span of two days. The project takes about five hours. Students spent the morning working on the skirt of the hovercraft. They had to measure and cut out six holes. With battery-operated leaf blowers attached, the air from the leaf blower passed through the holes and lifted each hovercraft off the ground. The students took turns piloting the hovercraft, so they could test it and collect data. After the scientific part, it was competition time. The teams faced-off to see whose hovercraft could travel the farthest. The competition was intense with a couple close races. Fifth-grader Mia Bibb said she had fun flying across the gym. Classmate Carter Mercer described the feeling as "weird." The hovercrafts traveled on a thin layer of air across the gym floor when a student behind it gave it a push. "It kept vibrating and even when we turned it off, it felt like we were still vibrating," Bibb added. Turner enjoyed watching the students throughout the process. Their energy was contagious, she said. Even with the project being an educational experience Jenni Chase hopes students learned that they're valuable. "We really want them to understand their value as a person so they can work as a team and accomplish great things," she said.