Media Advisory: Students at White House Maker Faire

Students from the Workshop School will be at the first ever White House Maker Faire on Wednesday June 18, 2014 at 10:45 AM.

The Workshop School is a project based School District of Philadelphia public high school. The mission of the Workshop School is to unleash the creative and intellectual potential of young people to solve the world's toughest problems.

The Workshop students, along with their teachers, will travel to the White House to exhibit a car they built this year. The car is a Factory Five 818 that is modified to achieve 100 MPG operating on biodiesel that the students produced from used fryer oil.

Simon Hauger, Principal of the Workshop School, will lead the delegation to the Maker Faire He and his team of urban students (EVX Team) have been building award-winning electric, hybrid, and alternative fuel vehicles since 1998.

The White House announced, "On Wednesday, June 18, President Obama will host the first ever White House Maker Faire and meet with students, entrepreneurs and everyday citizens who are using new tools and techniques to launch new businesses, learn vital skills in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), and fuel the renaissance in American manufacturing. The President will also announce new steps the Administration and its partners are taking to support the ability of more Americans, young and old, to have to access to these tools and techniques and brings their ideas to life."
The Workshop will join Makers from around the country at this event.

The school's Factory five 818 will be on site. The 818 is a beautiful bright blue sports car that is modified to achieve 100 MPG. Simon Hauger, instructor Michael Lumb, and three students will be with the car talking about what it takes to make a super fuel efficient vehicle. They will also talk about the other projects they have created at the Workshop.

The Workshop School is an innovative public high school in Philadelphia. Simon Hauger and his co-founders, Dr. Michael Clapper and Dr. Matthew Riggan, bring decades of experience in urban education to the school. Hauger also founded the EVX Team where students and have been designing and building fuel efficient cars in West Philadelphia since 1998. But at the Workshop School, that's not all they build.

Students at the Workshop have built modular homes for post-disaster recovery, energy efficient lighting systems for a distressed West Philadelphia business corridor, indoor hydroponic gardens, and solar charging stations. The school includes a Maker Lab where students use Sketch-up, CAD, laser cutters, 3D printers, CNC routers, and more to design, and then bring their projects to life.

Media contact: Ann Cohen 215-817-4951 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.