This is the 14th annual Northeast Regional Junior Solar Sprint model solar car competition
Springfield, 6/12/11, Staff Photo by David Molnar -- William Lalikos, of Springfield, with the STEM Middle Academy watches the starter as he readies his solar car at the 14th aanual Northeast Regional Junior Solar Sprint model car compeitition at Commerce High School.
SPRINGFIELD – Tristan Cain, Hannah Sitler and Tyler Houle, of Southwick, wanted to make their solar-powered car fast and interesting to look at.
“Last year we did really well, but our car was not very interesting. This year we went for design too,” Cain said.
The Powder Mill Middle School students made up just one of 100 teams from across the northeast to participate in the 14th annual Northeast Regional Junior Solar Sprint model solar car competition. The competition was held indoors at Commerce High School since there was the threat of rain Sunday.
“The students make their cars to run on solar panels, but they also have two double AA batteries they can use if the sun is not shining,” said Arianna Grindrod, education director for the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association in Greenfield, which hosts the event every year.
Students created hundreds of cars including one shaped like a banana split, another shaped like a hot pink octopus and more.
Cain’s team entered their car “The Bad Apple” into the race. Sitler’s father helped the students come up with the concept for their car. The team created a black and lime green car with a lime green flame pained on the back. They put about 20 hours of work into the car.
“We wanted to make something that was well made,” Sitler said.
“We noticed a lot of kids used super glue to make their cars, but we used rivets and screws and solid materials,” Cain said.
Springfield’s STEM Middle Academy student Angel Diaz, 11 and William Lalikos, 14, entered their car “Street Racer” into the competition. This was Diaz’ first time participating in the race.
“It was a fun experience. I learned how to make a solar car and I learned about solar energy,” he said.
Grindrod said many students spend weeks preparing their cars.
“The kids worked really hard on their cars. It’s a great learning experience for them,” she said.
The event is currently sponsored by the U.S. Army educational outreach program and hosted by the association. Grindrod said this is the last year the association will host the event.
“We will be doing more specialization with practitioners in the field, so we felt it was the right time to give the event over to the Army,” she said.
The U.S. Army hopes to make it a national event, Grindrod said.