Hot Wheels 'Speedometry' ramps up elementary science curriculum (video)

Some Dallas ISD teachers will roll into class next fall with a new method to teach science: Speedometry.

A curriculum developed by Hot Wheels and the University of Southern California's Rossier School of Education uses the small toy cars to teach concepts such as velocity and how weight and aerodynamics affect how far and how fast an object can travel. On Monday, teachers from the district's Accelerating Campus Excellence (ACE) schools and from the Intensive Support Network received training on how to teach with Speedometry. They learned about the curriculum and also built ramps – some with looping sections of track – to measure what factors affect how far the cars would go.

Morgan Polikoff, an associate professor at USC, lead the training on Monday. The project is a partnership between the university, the Mattel Children's Foundation and Dallas ISD.