GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — On a Friday night, the gym at White Pines Middle School is packed with kids, their parents, and cardboard. Lots and lots of cardboard.
The middle school hosted a cardboard sled build ahead of Grand Haven's cardboard sled race on Saturday morning. The race is one of the most highly-anticipated events of the city's Winterfest.
"I love that it gives kids a chance to show off their creativity, and it gives the community a chance to come together for something that's just pure fun," said Grand Haven STEM teacher Molly McGinnis.
Believe it or not, this cardboard sled race has also taken up some class time for the kids. McGinnis says the children can hone their STEM skills be focusing on the design of their sleds.
"We spent some time actually in each of our classes this week talking about what kinds of geometry we might want to use to make our sled more efficient, to help it go straight down the hill instead of falling over on itself," she said.
"We watched some of the video compilations from past years to see what kind of sleds tend to do well, and what kind of sleds don't tend to do very well. And that really helps the kids start to form some great ideas about what kinds of sleds they wanted to build this year."
The cardboard sled race will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday at Mulligan's Hollow with registration beginning at 10 a.m.
"They do take quite a while so you're gonna want to get there and be prepared to stand outside. They've got coffee and everything to keep you warm. But it's super fun, even if you just come to watch," McGinnis said.
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