Revved up for the Hot Wheels exhibit at Discovery Cube

Children can rev up toy cars and fuel their brains in a new exhibit at the Discovery Cube Orange County in Santa Ana.

The interactive exhibit, called “Hot Wheels: Race to Win,” invites families to race toy cars, drive a simulated car and look at displays of real-life race cars.

The Discovery Cube, at 2500 N. Main St. in Santa Ana, is the first stop for the traveling exhibit, which opened Sept. 19 and is on display through Jan. 3, after which it continues its tour throughout North America. It was curated by the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis earlier this year.

Discovery Cube spokesperson Dan Nasitka said the exhibit is aimed at engaging children through play, injecting a sense of nostalgia in the activities and offering an opportunity for family members to interact with one another.

“All of the exhibits we bring to the Discovery Cube have learning experiences to them,” he said. “We thought ‘Hot Wheels’ was a great fit for our audience here. Our whole goal here with these science exhibits is to make sure the whole family is able to get involved, and this particular exhibit really speaks to everyone in the family.”

Grandparents can reminisce over the sounds of classic and modern race cars, while parents can show their kids the Hot Wheels cars they grew up with. Those models didn’t have as much force, speed or accessories as the modern ones.

The Hot Wheels line was introduced by toymaker Mattel in 1968, and since then, more than 800 models and 11,000 variations of the cars have been created.

One of the most interactive learning experiences in “Hot Wheels: Race to Win” is a pit-stop simulator where participants have limited time to change two tires and fill a car with fuel.

Nasitka said the exhibit is a real-life application of STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — education. The Discovery Cube tries to incorporate those subjects every day.

Through interactive programs and games, families can learn the physics behind race cars, like what makes certain cars go faster than others, as well as how safety standards in the industry have changed.

But for the kids, it’s all fun.

“He’s a little too young to understand the science behind it all, so he’s just interested in playing with the toys,” said Dana Point resident Jerry Molina, who brought his 3-year-old grandson, Cash, to the exhibit on a recent day. “They didn’t have Hot Wheels when I was a child. I had Matchbox cars. It’s always fun to come to the Cube, and to be able to play with cars with my grandson is just an added bonus.”

The exhibit is included with regular Discovery Cube admission of $17.95 for adults and $12.95 for children,