It was all smiles and waves and happy faces behind the wheel at the London Children’s Museum Friday. Young visitors got a chance to sit inside, inspect and be wowed by an engineering marvel on wheels. A replica Mercedes-Benz G-Class fully functioning wooden electric car is now on permanent display at the museum. Its creator, 18-year-old Western University Engineering student Ribal Zebian has donated it. “Here it is now, it’s at the London Childen’s Museum. It will probably be here for a long time to inspire young kids, and hopefully encourage kids to take the next step towards STEM, or any interest of their kind,” said Zebian, as he watched a parade of youngsters enjoy the museum’s newest interactive display. Ribal built the car while in high school last year, using skills he learned in woodworking and robotics. It has already won him major accolades, including a $120,000 engineering scholarship from the Schulich Foundation. He was also recently offered $15,000 from someone who wanted to purchase the car. But he decided giving it to the museum would be more impactful. “At the moment it was somewhat of a hard decision to turn down that much money, but when you look at the benefit, and what this will do for many other children, like it’s worth it,” he said. The car will be displayed in the museum’s Discovery Lab, said LCM Director of Education, Jessie Collins. “Engineering starts with curiosity and problem-solving. And that’s exactly what we want children to do in this space. And so, when you see these amazing things, like what Ribal has created, that’s going to show them the possibilities,” said Collins. Meanwhile, the car donation is not where the young scientist’s philanthropy ends. It turns out, the G-Wagon’s go-cart engine is not needed for the display. Ribal plans to sell it, and donate the money to the museum. He thinks if prospective buyers know where the money’s going, they’ll be inclined to pay more for it. “They’re not for profit. So anything, you know, that helps kids out, and just makes society better. You know, that’s their interest,” he said.
