For this engineering competition, each team of students spends the year building a solar-powered boat, then they gather at Champions Park Lake in June to compete and show off their skills.
“The competition serves as an opportunity for students to compete and showcase their accomplishments,” event organizers said. “Students learn to use solar energy for transportation purposes and get hands-on experience with sustainable energy, energy management, and the importance of efficiency and good design.”
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
The event takes place over five days June 3-7, with registration and technical inspections done first, while the following days include five on-the-water competitive events.
On-site competitions include visual displays and workmanship. On-the-water events start with a sprint and endurance qualifier, which is followed by the slalom, a combination of speed and maneuverability. The final days are then spent in the sprint and endurance events.
Awards are given to the winners of the Sprint and Endurance events and the Slalom. Students are evaluated based on technical reports, video presentation, workmanship and engineering design. Points are earned in seven categories.
The first Solar Splash competition was held in Milwaukee in 1994, but has been held in the Springfield region for the past several years.
Last year, Cedarville University won its 14th championship title after they finished with a score of 987.70 points out of 1,000 during the 30th annual Solar Splash.
For more information or to see the week’s schedule of events, visit https://solarsplash.com.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
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