By Jonathan Levi

Sep 8, 2026

Last week during Mr. Gee’s STEM class, they performed a balloon powered car experiment. The experiment was completed with an 11th grade STEM class. Eight students participated in the experiment.

The goal was for students to apply the engineering design process and learn about motion, forces, friction, and Newton’s Third Law of Motion. The class had to build a car that could move forward only using air from the balloon. After building their cars, students tested them to see how well the car traveled. They compared their designs and looked for improvements they could make. Materials included balloons, wooden dowels, wheels, straws, cardboard for the body, masking tape, glue gun, and scissors.

They built their cars in the classroom and used the hallway to test their cars’ performance.

“This is a great experiment for Valley Torah students because it combines science, engineering, creativity, and problem-solving in a hands-on activity,” Mr. Gee said. Instead of only learning about forces and motion through a notebook, they get to perform the experiment in action.

“The experiment encourages teamwork and perseverance,” Mr. Gee said. “A student’s first design may not work perfectly, so students must determine what went wrong, adjust, and test their designs again. This helps students understand that failure is just another step closer to success.”