'Solar Roller' Championship Not Only Fun, It's Educational
DENVER (CBS4) - High school students from across Colorado on Saturday competed using solar powered cars they built themselves. It's called the Solar Roller championship.
From Roaring Fork High School in Carbondale students finally put a year's worth of hard work to the test.
"We actually have this epoxy resin on top of our panels, so they are super unlikely to crack," student Jayvin Krzych said.
They were just one of 12 teams from across the state competing at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science for this year's Solar Rollers championship race.
"We mainly built our car to be super durable," Krzych said.
Organizer Noah Davis with the program said students build their own solar powered remote controlled cars from scratch.
"It serves a lot of needs for them in terms of education -- it's also super, super fun," Davis said.
Students learn everything from energy understanding, to battery adaptation and innovation.
"The whole goal is to get them just really engaged … get them to deeply care about a complete energy system," Davis said.
With speeds reaching 30 miles per hour, students competed in circuit racing and top speed challenges. The program hopes to grow in size next year as organizers say it not only provides a window for students into energy consumption, but also is a lot of fun.
"It's important for the planet and for their own careers … the energy industry is a good thing to learn," Davis said.
The Roaring Fork High School team took first place in Saturday's championships.
LINK: solarrollers.org