A troop of high school students from across North America who have built their own solar-powered cars will be making a stop in Florence next month as part of the Solar Car Challenge. The Solar Car …
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Things to Do
Solar Car Challenge is coming to Florence
Posted
Solar Car Challenge stop
4-9 p.m.
Thursday, July 20
Heritage Park
600 N. Main St.
A troop of high school students from across North America who have built their own solar-powered cars will be making a stop in Florence next month as part of the Solar Car Challenge.
The Solar Car Challenge Foundation holds the event to help teach students how to plan, design, engineer, build, race and evaluate roadworthy solar cars. The challenge is an education program designed to help motivate students in science, engineering and alternative energy, according to a press release.
Teams of high school students began preparing their vehicles in September. After qualifying for the 2023 event, an expected 30 teams will get the opportunity to drive their solar cars from Texas to California, displaying their vehicles to thousands of people along the way.
This year’s qualifying event takes place July 13-15 at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. The drive begins Sunday, July 16 in Fort Worth and ends Sunday, July 23 in Palmdale, California.
The young drivers and their solar cars arrive in Florence on Thursday, July 20. From 4-9 p.m., the solar cars will be on display at Heritage Park, 600 N. Main St.
Challenge organizers are inviting the public to come see the cars and meet the students. The race resumes at 9 a.m., Friday, July 21 from Heritage Park.
Car breakdowns, weather conditions, road construction and team experience limit the number of miles a team can drive each day. The team driving the most miles accumulated over the six days of driving will be declared the winner.
Science & Technology magazine named the Solar Car Challenge one of the top science and engineering programs in the country, the release stated. It has 261 high school solar car projects in various stages of development in anticipation of the solar racing event. Teams are located in 39 states, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas.
This year’s challenge will feature a new racing division called the Cruiser. The new division features a four-door vehicle with the solar array embedded in the body of the solar car. It’s meant to bring “realism” to solar car racing.
The Solar Car Challenge Foundation began in 1993, with the first race taking place in 1995.
