5th Annual Cape & Islands Junior Solar Sprint a Big Success

5th Annual Cape and Islands Junior Solar Sprint A Success

On Saturday, May 10th, over seventy local students gathered at Cape Cod Community College for the Fifth Annual Cape & Islands Junior Solar Sprint. The Junior Solar Sprint (JSS) is an educational program for middle school students to design, build and race model cars powered by the sun. The Junior Solar Sprint program aims to educate youth about solar power and renewable energy, and get them interested in design and engineering at a young age through an exciting hands-on project.  The program also helps to promote teamwork, as the solar powered cars have to be worked on in teams of two to four students.

Winners from the Cape & Islands Area race were invited to compete in the Regional JSS Race to be held June 8th in Springfield, Mass., hosted by the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA).

This year's winners are:

Category:  Speed

• 1st place
  Car Name:  Hawk
  Team Name:  Hawk
  School:  Montessori Middle School of Cape Cod, Falmouth
• 2nd Place
  Car Name: Z Car
  Team Name:  Z Car
  School: Quashnet Elementary School, Mashpee
• 3rd Place
  Car Name: Seahawks
  Team Name: Seahawks
  School: Cape Cod Academy, Osterville

Category:  Craftmanship

• 1st place
  Car Name:  Grease Lighting
  Team Name:  Grease Lighting
  School: Barnstable Horace Mann Charter School, Marstons Mills 
• 2nd Place
  Car Name: Blue Bullet
  Team Name: Team Insight
  School: Roosevelt Middle School, New Bedford 
• 3rd Place
  Car Name:  Stinky Cheese Mobile
  Team Name:  Stinky Cheese Men
  School:  Mattacheese Middle School, Yarmouth 

Category:  Innovation

• 1st place
  Car Name: Stinky Cheese Mobile
  Team Name:  Stinky Cheese Men
  School:  Mattacheese Middle School, Yarmouth
• 2nd Place
  Car Name:  Solar Speeders
  Team Name:  Heat from the Street
  School:  Keith Middle School, New Bedford
• 3rd Place
  Car Name:  Propultion Monkey
  Team Name:  Flying Monkeys
  School:  Mattacheese Middle School, Yarmouth

Category:  Technical Merit

• 1st place
  Car Name:  Mark 5
  Team Name:  Speed Racer
  School:  Cape Cod Academy, Osterville
• 2nd Place
  Car Name:  Da Bomb
  Team Name:  Da Bomb
  School:  Cape Cod Academy, Osterville
• 3rd Place
  Car Name:
  Team Name:  JCB
  School:  Mattacheese Middle School, Yarmouth

Category:  Best Use of Recycled Materials

• Car Name:  Mark 5
  Team Name:  Speed Racer
  School:  Cape Cod Academy, Osterville

Category:  Most Team Spirit

• Team Name:  Heat from the Street
  School:  Keith Middle School, New Bedford
   

The Cape & Islands JSS program, now in its fifth year, has been gaining recognition in schools across the Cape and participation has more than doubled since the first year. This year the Cape & Islands JSS program has continued to grow, attracting five new schools, with help from grant funding from the Cape Cod Foundation.

The Cape & Islands sprint would not have been possible without generous support from the Cape Cod Community College and NESEA. Enthusiastic support from volunteer judges Ray Buchan, Andy Morris, Joan Muller, Gil Newton, Chris Powicki, and John Pribilla was crucial to the event's success.  Generous food donations were made by Pizza Wave, Scottie's Famous Pizza, Old Country Buffet, and Stop & Shop in order to provide lunch for the students and their families, which kept everyone happy throughout the day.  The event also included educational displays set up by local environmental organizations and groups that promote solar power and renewable energy, including Clean Energy Design and Clean Power Now.

Angela L'Heureux, a member of the AmeriCorps Cape Cod program, serves two days a week with Cape & Islands Self-Reliance as the Junior Solar Sprint Coordinator. Angela's responsibilities included recruitment of new educators to the JSS program, holding teacher trainings, and making classroom visits to help educate the students about solar power and renewable energy technologies. She coordinated the JSS with guidance from Richard Lawrence, Cape Cod Community College's Clean Energy Program Coordinator and Megan Amsler, Executive Director of Cape & Islands Self-Reliance. Angela would like to thank everyone who participated and made the 2008 Cape & Islands Junior Solar Sprint a success.

If you are interested in being a part of the program next year, please contact the Self-Reliance office at (508) 563-6633 or visit our website www.reliance.org.   

Release courtesy of Cape & Islands Self-Reliance.
  
Cape & Islands Self-Reliance was founded in 1980 to identify, facilitate and educate the public about sound environmental practices that help protect our ecosystem. By educating and empowering the consumer, Self-Reliance acts as a catalyst in implementing cost-saving, pollution-reducing opportunities for homeowners, businesses and municipalities. Self-Reliance's community-supported buying cooperative was established over 20 years ago to place the purchasing power in the hands of the consumer by enabling citizens of Cape Cod and Southeastern Massachusetts to buy necessary services at affordable group rates.