This teachers guide is intended for use with Super Speedway, a giant-screen motion picture that follows the design, fabrication, testing and racing of an Indy car. The purpose of this guide is to help educators build on the learning opportunities the film presents for students.
The students start their Super Speedway experience with a pre-screening activity entitled Fast Machines, which challenges them to design a basic race car.
After seeing the film, the students will return to the activities in this guide to explore different aspects of race cars and the scientific principles that explain how they perform. They will also be given opportunities to apply what they have learned and to improve on the cars they designed in the first activity.
The activities are designed for students between grades 4 and 12. Each activity has a section entitled Taking It Further, which allows the students to explore the topics in more depth.
Film Summary
Buckle up. Super Speedway delves into the death-defying drama of Indy car racing and weaves together the stories of some of the masters of the high-speed track. The film puts audiences in the cockpit of an Indy car and catapults them into world championship auto racing action at mind-bending speeds in excess of 230 miles per hour.
At the core of the films action is Michael Andretti and Newman/Haas Racing, the team he drives for. Together, driver and team test a newly fabricated car and ultimately drive it in hot pursuit of the championship in the PPG CART World Series. Michaels efforts are seen through the eyes of his father, racing legend Mario Andretti, who participates in testing the new car and reflects on his own racing experiences and on the art, science and risk of high-speed competition.
Set against the drama of the track are two story lines that follow the remarkable craft of creating Indy cars: the restoration of a 1964 roadster - a thoroughbred once driven at Indianapolis by Mario Andretti- and the building of Michael Andrettis state-of-the-art Indy car at the Lola car plant in England.
Alexander Low, editor
Eva Mary Bures, instructional designer
Brad Moffat, science educator/consultant
Roger Pelland, science educator/consultant
Susan Grubbs, consultant, Science Place, Dallas
Michael Kronish, research
Wendy Nadler, layout / design
Carlo Peruch, illustration
Jane Pavanel, copy editor