Students of Parkside Intermediate teacher Patrick McMorrow learn about wind turbines at a display by Daniels Basement Waterproofing during the Junior Solar Sprint races Thursday in the school’s parking lot. (West Life photos by Larry Bennet)

Girl power wins Parkside solar car races
By Kevin Kelley
Westlake
Published June 10, 2009

Who says girls have a harder time than boys in math, science and engineering?

Certainly not sixth-graders Alli Collins and Regan Falin, who won Parkside Intermediate School’s sixth annual solar car races Thursday afternoon.

Their “Green, Mean Solar Machine” vehicle completed the 20-meter course in a top time of 9.40 seconds.

“It was a miracle,” Falin joked afterwards.

To participate in the race, which is part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Junior Solar Sprint program, Parkside’s sixth-graders designed and built solar-powered vehicles and raced them on a 20-meter course. Students received a kit with the motor, axel, wheels and solar panel but had to build the vehicle's body.

The winning team of Alli Collins and Regan Falin show off their winning solar-powered vehicle, the “Green, Mean Solar Machine.”

The girls’ victory marked the first time a female team won the contest since 2006. It also marked the end, at least temporarily, of the “dynasty” established by math and science teacher John Gast, whose students had won the contests the past four years.

Collins’ and Falin’s teacher, Cindy Vessalo, told West Life that she was proud of all of her students who participated. She credited the winning students for working well together as a team.

Falin said the “Green, Mean Solar Machine’s” foam core was light and had an aerodynamic design that reduced friction.

Josh Gibson awaits the countdown for one of the heats.

For the second year in a row, all 330 Parkside sixth-graders participated in the races in teams of two or three. The students’ solar vehicles had to qualify for the final heats held Thursday.

Math and science teacher Patty Seljan said all of her students’ teams qualified, but seven did not finish the 20-meter course on race day for one reason or another.

“Their cars fell apart or something happened,” she explained.

Seljan said she was pleased with how much her students learned over the three-week project. Initially she said some students were mystified that the cars wouldn’t be using batteries.

“They couldn’t figure out how the motor would go with just the solar panels,” she said.

The goal of the competition is to get students thinking about alternative energy.

“This is more than just a day of fun races,” said Parkside Principal Mark Bregar. “This is science at its best.”

Near the racecourse, students viewed numerous displays having to do with alternative energy.

Ethan Fitz and Idnany Pranav, seventh-graders at Lee Burneson Middle School and members of its Environmental Club, showed their model vertical-access wind turbine that powered a 2.4-volt light bulb.

“They work best in urban applications where horizontal access turbines would be too big,” Fitz said of that type of turbine.

Jaime Marti, a manager at Daniels Basement Waterproofing, displayed a model of a wind turbine his company has been selling for three years. Students had many question about how it works and how much energy such turbines can produce, he said.

More information about the Junior Solar Sprint competition can be found by pointing your Web browser to  www.nrel.gov/education/jss_hfc.html.