Learning Wheels: Indianapolis Students Explore Math and Science of Bike Building

INDIANAPOLIS - Biking is more than just a way to get around or stay active. A summer program is using them as a way to learn about science, math, and engineering.

Kids are using creativity and STEM skills to design their own bicycles at Nine13sports, a program that hosts bike-building camps and workshops for students throughout the summer and year-round.

Tre Tatum: “The Teleportation Cruiser.” It’s capable of taking you anywhere instantly and equipped with a food bin that can provide any meal you want.

The real lessons, though, are in math and science. According to Tom Hanley, founder of Nine13sports, the bicycle is a simple machine that demonstrates gear ratios, which gauge math and science standards.

Nine13sports aims to get kids hands-on learning experiences and thinking about engineering, what it was like to design a bike, how those math standards relate to gears.

Tom Hanley: “We believe the bike is the ultimate equalizer. It doesn’t care about shape, race, gender or socioeconomic demographics. It’s one of the few things you can use from you’re three or four years old until the end of time.”

For many kids, learning how to ride a bike or even having access to one isn’t always a given. Hanley said introducing students to bikes through education may open up other opportunities.