The two cars are off like a shot and accelerate at lightning speed, racing side by side on a straight track …
It’s impossible to tell which one has its nose in front. These aren’t actual Formula 1 racing cars, though, but miniature models. Each one is powered by a single gas cartridge. When the compressed air is released, the car shoots forward. Each race pits two miniature cars against each other over a distance of 20 metres. This is the world of STEM Racing (previously called “F1 in Schools”). Teams from schools all over the world take part in this international engineering competition.
The schoolchildren have to design and build their vehicle themselves. Besides this feat, a panel of judges also rates the response time and vehicle speed, as well as a number of portfolios, the business plan and a presentation. Team Array from Gymnasium Grootmoor, a school in Hamburg, was highly successful in 2024. Having won the Hamburg Championship, the six-strong team finished second in both the German Championship and the World Finals in the Saudi Arabian city of Dhahran. The lightweight and sustainable stand presenting the team’s concept played a key role in this success. The team built it using our Lean Production Building Kit System.
Focus on tradition and encouraging young talent
Gymnasium Grootmoor has a real tradition in STEM Racing, having competed every year since 2007. Special subjects in years 8 and 9 prepare pupils aged around 14 or 15 who are interested in taking part. Team Array was already the eighth team from the school to compete in the World Finals. All this experience paid off when designing the current team stand. “Our immediate predecessors also used item, and I was able to chat with them. They were very impressed with item, especially the speed of assembly,” explains 17-year-old Moritz Bauernschmitt, who is responsible for the team’s marketing. STEM Racing is an ideal way of familiarising the next generation with typical tasks they will encounter in the world of work. Although the focus is on the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths), aspects such as graphic design and financing are also put to the test from an early stage. The importance of the team stand should not be underestimated, as it provides an overview of the team’s PR and other skills.
Easy to modify thanks to a modular design
The stand is based on a modular design made up of Profile Tubes D30 and a Tube D30. The front is covered with PVC sheeting and the top with Depafit foamboard panels, creating the ideal basis for the presentation elements. Bauernschmitt found the item Engineeringtool very helpful during the design phase. “The tool is highly intuitive to use. Despite still being at school, I got to grips with it easily and understood everything straight away – how to adjust lengths and connect the individual parts, for instance. It worked really well,” he says. To start with, a team stand was built for the German Championship. Just like its immediate predecessors, Team Array was actively supported by item Hamburg. The first draft produced using the item Engineeringtool was close to being ready for use and only required minor modifications. The team’s potential immediately impressed Jan Dressler from the local Area Sales Management team. “Based on a firm belief in the solution’s success, we designed the whole thing in such a way that we could use the same basic structure for the World Finals, with just minor adjustments. A different width was needed for that event,” he explains.
Perfect preparation for the STEM Racing World Finals
Having finished second in the German Championship, the team headed to Saudi Arabia for the World Finals. The new dimensions of the stand modified slightly for this event were 3 m x 60 cm x 90 cm (W x D x H). Thanks to our lightweight profile technology, the total weight was just 13 kg. That meant the whole thing fitted into two compact cases less than 1 m long. Each team had just two hours to assemble its stand on site. “The process was really fast for our stand. The frame took us about 15 minutes and the entire stand, including posters, was ready half an hour before the deadline,” reveals Bauernschmitt. “What really impresses us about item is how quickly we’re able to assemble all the components, and also how robust everything is. It’s a brilliant combination,” he adds.
What really impresses us about item is how quickly we’re able to assemble all the components, and also how robust everything is. It’s a brilliant combination.
Alexander Uelhoff, CEO STEM Racing Germany, is full of praise for what the team has achieved. “Besides finishing second in the World Finals, Team Array was also nominated for a number of special awards. That demonstrates its outstanding performance and quality,” he emphasises. The team bagged nominations for “Best engineered car”, “Best verbal presentation” and “Best application of project management”, and also for the “Research and development” award. The team stand was a particularly sustainable solution. The lightweight frame minimised the amount of luggage required, which greatly reduced the associated CO2 emissions on the flight to Saudi Arabia. The fact that our components can be reused paid off, too. Future teams from Gymnasium Grootmoor will be able to make use of existing materials, just as Team Array did. As Bauernschmitt sees it, industry contact is an unbeatable advantage of STEM Racing. “I think there’s no other competition that gives you so many openings for the future. It’s great to be communicating with companies such as item at this young age,” he says.
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