HARMONY - Sue Casker's class of 22 fourth graders taught an international group of engineers a thing or two about engineering on Monday.

The Connoquenessing Valley Elementary students traveled to the Airport Hyatt to exhibit the results of their participation in "A World in Motion," a Society of Automotive Engineers program aimed at motivating kids in math, science and technology.

The students, grouped in teams of three or four, had to create a "jet toy" for the fictitious Earth Toy Designs company. The vehicles were to be made of simple materials - like construction paper, poster board, drinking straws - and powered by balloons.

Earth Toy asked for a variety of designs, which could include animals, vehicles, alien creatures, or anything the design teams thought kids would play with.

Characteristics of the crafts included speed, distance, weight-bearing capacity and endurance. The balloon-powered toys had to have a simple rolling chassis, travel in a straight line and be sturdy enough for kids to play with without breaking.

According to SAE program designers, the jet toy project allows students to experience engineering design in much the way engineers in a real company would through problem solving, information gathering, research, hands-on experimentation, the use of graphs, classroom discussion, and testing and revising their vehicle so it will perform to its optimum potential.

Casker said the program also allows for creativity. Students had to invent and name their vehicles, then decorate them accordingly.

The students also prepared a presentation, which they shared with a partner engineer at the Airport Hyatt on Monday. Each team's presentation included a team logo, team picture, views of the vehicle from the front, side, back and overhead, and a fact list resulting from their research and work on the vehicle.

"The engineers were really impressed," Casker said.

The students then helped the engineers, who were in town for a conference, make their own jet toys. Casker said the engineers added their own personal touches to the vehicles, and one even did a wheelie before taking off across the hotel's parquet floor-come-racetrack.

The engineers encouraged the students in their design work, and Casker hopes each engineer will return to his or her school district and advocate the program.

Vehicles created by students over the last several weeks for the field trip included Caesar the Cheetah, Killer Car, Bongo the Monkey, MBB Jet Airliner, a sea turtle and a Mach 1800 McLaren.

The students were enthusiastic about the field trip and their participation with the engineers.

"It was excellent," said Ally Thayer. "The engineers helped us with ideas and we showed them how to make their own jet toys. One engineer built a car with a spoiler."

Shelby Resch's team designed Bongo the Monkey, whose head is a large egg-shaped hood ornament covered in papier-mache´. Bongo's puppetlike eyes and protruding ears bounce around as he careens across the floor.

"We got to show it in front of actual engineers," said Resch. "I was a little nervous, but it was fun."

Gage DeCampli, who worked on Bongo, learned the importance of teamwork in a project.

"Four heads are better than one," said DeCampli.

"I just loved the idea of trying to make a model of a car," said Elena DelGreco.

Casker, who has participated in the project for the last 13 years, said the learning that takes place is invaluable.

"I love the uniqueness of the kids' creativity," said Casker. "They had to create a prototype, then test it, revise it, and test it again.

"That's how they learned what an engineer does."