IVCC’s 2018 Edible Car Contest will be taking place at noon on Feb. 28 in the cafeteria, CAD instructor Dorene Data shared.

And while this school-spirit-inducing, competitively rousing event was originally created to attract students to the STEM and CAD programs, anyone—including high school students—can participate as long as each team’s car is completely edible.

“We always threaten that if we’re suspicious, we’re going to make you eat it,” Data joked.

The contest, originally created with the help of the National Science Foundation Grant, has been running with support from the Workforce Development Division of IVCC.

Now in its 13th year, it has had four nominations for the National Bellwether Award, which recognizes successful and unique community college programs. The event helps celebrate National Engineering Week.

Edible car entries win much more than the honor of an award. The highest-placing teams win individual medals and large cup trophies filled with candy.

And if that was not enough incentive, each entrant is given pizza for participating.

Competitors may sign up the day of the contest with a student ID between 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m., but they are encouraged to preregister.

Even if students are not participating, watching the event can be just as fun. With celebrity judges and new, creative categories for the cars, viewing this spectacle is sure to add a streak of color to the day, Data explained.

While the judges and categories are a secret for this year’s contest, some of the past categories to place in have been everything as basic as “speed,” to as practical as “most nutritious,” to as fanciful as “best use of chocolate.”

“We keep, each year, saying ‘How can we make it better? How can we keep people involved?’ Data explained. “So the instructors that are involved are always trying to one-up last year.”

Whether that one-up comes from a new category or from a self-timing finish line, dreamed up by Electronics Program Coordinator Jim Gibson, these new ideas seem to be working, as the contest draws more and more students each year.

For more information on the contest, visit www.ivcc.edu/ediblecar or contact Dorene Data at [email protected].