Turning fridges into race cars.

ComEd, Chicago’s energy company has incentivized customers for years to recycle their old, inefficient fridges. But what to do with all that junk? We thought, put wheels on it! When ComEd came to us looking for a new initiative to support girls in STEM, we created the Ice Box Derby, a six week sprint for school girls to transform those old fridges into solar-powered race cars. We chose girls from all over Chicagoland, split them into teams and then put them to work. ComEd engineers played the role of mentors over the six week build. The entire program culminated with a big race at the Daley Center. The winner took home bragging rights and all the girls came away with scholarships to help them achieve their STEM dreams. We created an outdoor, digital and social campaign to spread the word and fill seats. The program was such a success that Exelon, parent company to ComEd, is planning to expand it nationwide, creating a fridge car race circuit in cities around the country.