Chamisa Elementary School 6th graders Natalia Archuyleta, Vivi Daly, Ruby Carpenter, Jackson Martinez and Noah Mendez hoist their trophies at the New Mexico Electric Car Challenge. Chamisa GATE teachers Denise Hernandez Garcia and Susan Hettinga (left) accompanied the students to the competition. Courtesy/LAPS
Team Barbie Sharks during their research presentation. Courtesy/LAPS
LAPS News:
A group of 6th graders from Chamisa Elementary School brought home hardware from the 2025 New Mexico Middle School Electric Car Challenge held last week at Kennedy Middle School in Albuquerque. The two teams competed against over 50 other teams for trophies and medals in three different challenges.
Team “Barbie Sharks” garnered 1st place in the Research competition and a Teamwork trophy. Members of the team included Eisley Connell, Ruby Holtkamp, Jackson Martinez, Hazel Brookshire, Constantine Gallegos, Eme Ortiz, Austin Watkins and Emma Bittner. Team “Republic of Pickle” –Natalia Archuleta, Vivi Daly, Ruby Carpenter, Noah Mendez and Amara Viramontes (not pictured) – earned 2nd place in the Design challenge. They also received a Spirit trophy.
This annual event, sponsored by Sandia National Laboratories in association with Los Alamos National Laboratory., consists of teams building battery-powered model cars in order to compete in three challenges: a race for time, design competition, and research for an oral presentation. The main goal of the competition is to generate enthusiasm for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills for middle school students, which include 6th, 7th and 8th graders.
Chamisa GATE teachers Denise Hernandez Garcia and Susan Hettinga helped prepare students for the challenges and accompanied the teams to the competition. “The students had an awesome time,” said Mrs. Hettinga. “All in all, it was a very busy but fun competition for the students.”
Mrs. Hettinga has been taking students to the Electric Car Challenge for several years. “It is a great hands-on opportunity for students to explore the technology behind electric vehicles, challenge themselves and have fun in the process.” she said.
Check out this link to coverage of the event by KRQE News 13.
Students also had to create poster boards displaying their data. Courtesy/LAPS
Team Republic of Pickle during the design challenge. Courtesy/LAPS
Team “Republic of Pickle” took home 2nd place in the Design challenge and a Spirit trophy. Team members include (back, left to right) Members – Vivi Daly, Ruby Carpenter, Noah Mendez, (front, kneeling) Natalia Archuleta, and (not pictured) Amara Viramomtes. Courtesy/LAPS
Students also had to create poster boards displaying their data. Courtesy/LAPS
Team “Barbie Sharks” took home 1st place in the Research competition and a Teamwork trophy. Members of the team include (back, left to right): Eisley Connell, Ruby Holtkamp, Jackson Martinez, Hazel Brookshire, Constantine Gallegos, (front, left to right): Eme Ortiz, Austin Watkins and Emma Bittner. Courtesy/LAPS 
Chamisa Elementary 6th graders hold their trophies and electric cars. Courtesy/LAPS

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