Edible car contest planned

    In celebration of National Engineering Week, MIMIC and the Occupational Technologies Division at Illinois Valley Community College are hosting an edible car contest.
    Students are invited to form teams of three (at least one member must female) and construct a working car made fully of foods edible by humans.
    All entries must look like cars and work like cars, including two axles and at least three wheels, according to computer aided design instructor Dorene Perez.
    Entries will be tested by rolling down a three-feet-long ramp.
    In the past, cars have been constructed of cucumbers, hot dogs and even a loaf of bread, organizers said. Wheels have been made of pinwheel pasta, cookies and Moon Pies.
    Each team can submit only one car, and students may be on only one team.
    Judges, including area engineers, will judge the cars and award prizes.
    Judges will consider aerodynamics, design, speed and creativity, organizers said.
    Should a tie result, the car which tastes the best will be declared the winner.
    To enter, students should check their cars into the competition by 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 1 in the lobby.
    At least one team member must be present at noon on March 1 to be eligible to win.
    For more information contact Perez at 223-0221, Jim Gibson at 224-0453 or Rose Marie Lynch at rosemarie_lynch@ivcc.edu.
    The contest is partially funded by the National Science Foundation Great.