Mike Wolanin | The Republic CSA Fodrea fourth grader Jody Shuler pretends to drink a bottle of milk while wearing a prop winner’s wreath during the 500 Festival Education Program’s Mobile Study Trip at CSA Fodrea in Columbus, Ind., Monday, Mar. 4, 2024. Fourth grade students at the school visited various stations to learn the ins and outs of the Indianapolis 500.
A group of fourth graders got the chance to learn all about “the greatest spectacle in racing” on Monday.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway came to CSA Fodrea through the 500 Festival & Indianapolis 500 Education Program, which is geared towards fourth graders and is a combination of in-class curriculum based on Indiana academic standards paired with either a visit to the Speedway or a mobile study trip— where elements of the track and race are brought to schools across the state.
The program teaches kids about the role of the 500 Festival and the Indianapolis 500 in the state’s history and culture, according to the program website. More than 18,450 classrooms and 449,000 Indiana students have experienced it since the program was launched in 2004.
CSA Fodrea students rotated between six stations where they learned about a different facet of the Indianapolis 500 and the racing industry.
The kids learned about the many careers involved in IndyCar, IMS’ traditions, and were able to see an IndyCar up close, parked just outside the gym.
The program is provided at no cost and participating schools were chosen through a raffle system.
Students were going to be learning about Indiana’s past and teacher Shellie Huff thought the mobile unit would be an opportunity to bring some of that history to life.
She put the request in back in the fall and once she heard the mobile unit was coming, Huff kept it close to the vest, waiting for the right moment to tell them.
“I mean— like mouths dropped. I felt like I was saying Taylor Swift was coming into our building.”
At one station, students learned about the different equipment involved in racing — from suits to gloves to helmets to the physics involved in the driver’s seat. Several put on the gloves, mimicking what it would be like to have your hands on the wheel going 200+ mph into a turn.
Fourth grader Gabriel Villalbos raised his hand to diligently explain what g-force was before leaping to the front of the line to try out the driver’s seat.
“I need a glass of milk from station number two,” he said.
A 500 Festival Princess was there to give students a lesson on the history of the track and the race. They learned about the race’s two hiatuses— for both World Wars — and students were regaled about the tradition of the winner guzzling a glass of milk and the track’s early years as an automotive test ground. Some debated how sanitary it was for the winner to kiss the bricks. Julianna Shane said it probably is not.
When learning more about the different IndyCar careers, students identified some of the traits they had that could fit well in the industry.
Abigail Gillis said she could see herself doing engineering. Raiden Miller was looking for careers that emphasized social skills, physical fitness and technology.
Gunnar Lawrence was gaining an understanding about some of the finances involved for one of the teams a couple stations over.
“So basically (we’re making) our own race car— so like our budget, sponsors, and then what our car will be.”
Lawrence said he would want his car to be similar to the ThrustSSC, “which is the fastest car in the world,” he said. The jet car set the world land speed record at 763 mph in 1997. Lawrence added he was still deciding about what hypothetical engine to use.
Waylon Compton enjoyed learning about the different flags used during the race the most, waving the green flag like he’s done it a thousand times. For Mason Mathis, Diego Gomez, and Raghav Pal it was all about the station outside with the IndyCar. One student asked how the fuel economy of the cars compares to that of their parent’s car.
When the school was chosen, they received a box containing educational material and gained access to an online portal program so they could build a foundation of background knowledge, Huff said.
What they learned will be reinforced as well. The rest of the week will be spent passing down their accumulated knowledge to the younger generation, helping preK students build their own cardboard box cars. On Friday they’ll put on “a little preK 500,” Huff said.
“They also have their little information booklets in the classroom, and they found some really cool picture books and things like that too to share with the kids as they work with them this week.”
Huff said she put in a request for the program every year and was grateful CSA Fodrea was one of less than 30 schools this year to have a mobile study trip come to their campus.
“All the kids came in this morning and most of the boys were like, ‘I’m so excited,’ and then when the girls heard that we have one of the princesses coming — yeah they were super pumped about that.”
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