Solar cars

Yesterday Meaghann learned that an annual solar car race event was being hosted at Austin's new Circuit of the Americas road track and that admission was free, so we decided to take the opportunity to see the track for the first time and check out some solar cars in action. About a dozen universities from all over the US competed in the multi-day event. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the kids were treated to a chance to build their own mini solar car too. We spent most of our time there in the paddock and crew areas just off pit row.

The mini solar car team hard at work. Niko and Skylar were joined by a boy named Alden (5 or 6?). They made a great team as you'll see more of later.

Somehow I ended up being the facilitator for our team. Here's Skylar tightening the bolts to mount the motor.

An indication of the solidarity of our mini solar car team. The boys decided to hold hands on their way out to the test track. I didn't see any other teams doing anything like this. They all shared the tasks with much politeness and all had fun.

The boys' mini solar car ran pretty well and zoomed across the concrete test area lickity split. We didn't get to keep the cars, but I think it was an educational experience for sure, and a good practice in teamwork.

The Southern Illinois U. team had problems with a late battery conversion so they were sidelined while we were there, but they were very generous with their time and information. The boys were interested in the springs they could see, where the motor was, and where the wires for the motor were. They had just finished building and testing their mini solar car, so they knew a bit about what they were looking for.

Everyone got a close look at the cockpit and the primary battery compartment.

A shot of a couple of cars Meg took between turns 10 and 11 as we toured around the outside of the entire track. The solar cars were moving along at about 40mph or so. That big hill before turn 1 was the undoing of a few. But it's a race of stamina, especially for the drivers. The 98 degree heat was unmitigated in these AC-free cars.