Olympics thrive on solar power [Solar Schoolhouse-Imperial Valley]

source: Aaron Claverie - IV Press Online 2004.4.25

Brawley High Students showcase their winning design- a unique earthbermed model solar home
at the Solar Schoolhouse Olympics in Imperial.

IMPERIAL - Three teens whipped away three sun-blocking manila folders and their solar model cars buzzed to life.
The fastest one out of the blocks, a white car emblazoned with the word "Nomads," belonged to Ismael Pinedo of Indio's Woodrow Wilson Middle School.

On the outside, a dash of blue!

A "funny car"-looking blue ride put together by the kids at Seeley Elementary School quickly gained ground.

At the half-way point, it looked like a two-car race.

Then the Holtville High School car made its move.
With large rear wheels spinning like mad, the Holtville car buzzed toward the finish line, turning the end of the race into a photo finish.
After the judges hashed it out, the guys from Seeley - Hugo Cordero, 14, and Ivan Orozco, 13 - were declared the winners of the exhibition, a just-for-fun battle to cap a Saturday morning of racing and learning.

Ismael's "Nomads" car took second and the Holtville racers had to take a close-call third place.
Earlier in the morning, the members of each school's teams raced each other, setting the stage for the exhibition of the champions' cars that ended the day.

The solar model car races were staged by the Rahus Institute, a non-profit group that promotes energy literacy for schoolchildren.
To celebrate Earth Day, the institute offered the Solar Schoolhouse Olympics for children in the Imperial Irrigation District's electrical power service area, which include Imperial County and parts of Coachella Valley.

The Olympics included the races at T.L. Waggoner Elementary School here and competitions at the Imperial Valley Expo. The institute also conducted workshops with teachers and provided materials for the science projects.

All of the events at the expo featured solar energy, which is appropriate because the Valley's got a lot of sun.
There were contests for solar sculptures, solar water fountains, solar homes, solar cooking and even solar hot-water heaters. Each contest taught the kids about the wide variety of uses for solar power.


Students watch their solar cars zip along in the sprint races. A winning art entrant (Brenna Murphy - Bear Creek HS, Lodi) became part of the event t-shirt(right)

John Kahn, a Seeley teacher who served as the technical adviser for his school's racing team, said his students had about six weeks to prepare for the race.
While helping the kids design the various race cars, he tried to share with them the importance of solar and alternative energies.
That was a challenge, as the kids seemed to be more interested in the racing.

"I had to stop and keep them on track," he said.

Building a race car was a great - ahem - vehicle for teaching the kids about friction.
The axles of the team's car had to be straight, the motor gears had to be lubricated and the car had to be aerodynamic.

Pointing to the large "funny car" foil on the back of the Seeley team's car, Kahn said he wasn't sure if it helped Saturday, but it sure did look cool.

Before building the car, Kahn's team did a lot of research on the Internet, checking out different styles and various building materials.
The team ended up using balsa wood and simple rubber tires, the stuff in the kit provided by the institute.

Indio's Ismael Pinedo, 12, the winner of the middle school solar model car competition, stayed after school to compete in the races, according to his dad, Ismael Pinedo Sr., a security guard at the school. Ismael Jr. worked every day for about three to four weeks on his car, Pinedo said.
Ismael said one of the cool things about the event was designing a car then creating it.
His dad said it's great the kids from Indio, who don't have a chance to venture out of the city often, can come, see, learn and bring back the information they picked up.
Both Ismael and his dad think car manufacturers will start incorporating more alternative energy choices into vehicles of the future.

Josh Church of Oakland, one of the race coordinators, thought Saturday's event went well.
"The turnout was large enough to make it competitive," he said.

Church praised the teams' designs and he was particularly impressed with the use of recycled materials.

While the event was mostly about fun, Church worked in some information about solar energy and used a Q&A session to teach more.
"I hope we can do it again next year," he said.

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The Solar Schoolhouse Olympics were also held in City of Lodi during May. This is the first year a Solar Olympics has been held in California. Modeled after a successful experience in Wisconsin, the Solar Schoolhouse Olympics are designed to be a motivator to building solar energy projects. Sponsored by respective electric utilities: Imperial Irrigation District, and City of Lodi Electric Utility District. Visit the website for more information.