Long Beach, CA – February 9, 2013 – The annual Long Beach Solar Grand Prix competition which challenges students to work as a team, using their creative thinking and scientific knowledge to experiment, design, and build a high-performance model vehicle, kicked off on Saturday February 9th with an orientation in a packed Long Beach City College Liberal Arts Campus Auditorium.
Councilwoman Gerrie
Schipske, Fifth District Sustainability Task Force and Solar Grand Prix
organizer Jaime Guoz, and CSULA students competing in the EcoCar 2 challenge
were featured speakers at the event attended by students and coaches
representing a record 79 teams. Each team has 4-6 students headed by a
teacher/coach.
To compete in the annual
race, students must build a working model racing vehicle using a solar panel
and gear kit. Every team receives a starting kit which includes a solar panel
and electric motor. How they choose to construct a winning racer and what they
will add to the basic kit will also be judged in separate categories for design,
innovation, and speed.
“This year’s Solar Grand
Prix will be bigger and better than ever. We have a record number of students
and coaches who have signed up to compete in the race. Every year, I’m amazed
at how innovative and technologically advanced our students are when I see the
model cars they create each year,” Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske commented.
The Solar Grand Prix was
launched by the Fifth District Sustainability Task Force as a way to introduce
students to the possibilities of careers green technologies and to introduce
them to practical applications of engineering, design, and creativity.
Seventy-nine teams, 66
middle school, and 13 high school teams have registered. Students grades 6-12
will design and build a solar-powered model car that will race, powered only by
the sun.
The event,
sponsored by American Honda Motor Co., Inc., Southwest Regional Council of
Carpenters, Ameco Solar, AES Alamitos, Long Beach Police Officers Association,
Long Beach City College, Segue to Solar, Parnters of Parks, and the Long Beach
Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine is expected to attract over 1000
family members, friends, and fans who will gather to watch the cars race on a
20 meter (65 foot) track in a series of head to head elimination rounds.
The 4th Annual Solar Grand Prix will be held in El Dorado Park behind the Parks and Recreation Administration Building on Saturday, April 20th starting at 10 am. For more information about the Solar Grand Prix, contact Rachel
Powers, Neighborhood Liaison in the Office of Councilwoman Gerrie
Schipske, 562-570-6932 or rachel.powers@longbeach.gov. Information about the race is also posted on the 5th
District website and more information about
the CSULA EcoCar 2 team can be found here.
