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Junior Solar Sprint is free educational program for 5th to 8th grade students hosted by STEM All Stars in operation with Young Scholars Circle and the Electric Vehicle Association. Participating in Junior Solar Sprint provides a hands-on opportunity for students to apply Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) concepts, creativity, and problemsolving skills as they design, construct and race solar-powered cars. Participants used their imagination ad ingenuity to construct vehicles powered by a standardized solar cell and motor and compete against their peers. They also created notebooks, which had information on the roles of each team member and how to recreate their vehicle. teams. The students applied their knowledge of aerodynamic drag, rolling resistance, weight, and drive train to maximize their cars for speed and reliability. On September 16th, 2017 a race was held at Marshall High School from 9am – 3pm and awards were handed out. Prior to the race, a workshop was also held on August 20th, 2017 for the students in order to help them build their vehicle from 4pm-6pm in Tysons Corner, Virginia. We are proud of all the particpants and special thanks to TSA, Charlie Garlow, Dave Gold, and Krishna Belino for helping us with the event!
Race Specifications and Rules:
JSS_Time-Trials_Race-Specifications
How to Build a Solar Car from Mr. Lake
Eligibility
- Students need to register here to participate. Consent forms NEED to be submitted.
- Students need to be in 5th – 8th grade
- There are two divisions:
- Elementary (Grades 5-6)
- Middle (Grades 7-8)
Location:
Address: Marshall High School: 7731 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22043
Race Schedule
Judging:
Judges: Charlie Garlow, Sajni Vederey, Krishna Belino, Dave Gold
The vehicles of each team were evaluated in four areas:
1.Model Display
2.Notebook
3.Artisanship and engineering of the model
4.Model’s racing performance
Awards Given:
Particpants:
- Certificate of participation
Finalists:
- Free tutoring from Young Scholar’s Circle
- Certificate from STEM All Stars
- TSA trophy
2017 Finalists
Speed Category
- Elementary Division
- 1st place – Poorna Prakash (5th grade – Greenbriar West ES) and Anjana Kumar (6th grade – Lunsford Middle School)
- 2nd Place – Lakshmi Hair and Gaayathri Mathuria (both 5th grade at Greenbriar West ES)
- 3rd place – Deven Hagen and Prashim Rijal (both 5 th grade at Haycock ES)
- Middle School Division
- 1st place – Andres Contreras and Samantha Mendoza (Luther Jackson MS)
- 2nd place – Anson Zhong and Maryam Malik (Luther Jackson MS)
- 3rd place – Isra Satiar (8th grade, River Bend MS ) and Nithya Gopalakrishnan (8th grade, Kilmer MS )
Most Resourceful–This award was given to a car that creatively incorporates already-used
materials in its design and construction.
- Middle School Division – AAA Team (winning team did not want their information to be released)
- Elementary School Division – Poorna Prakash (5 th grade – Greenbriar West ES) and Anjana Kumar (6 th grade – Lunsford Middle School)
Artistic Merit – This award was given to a car that has extra artistic flair or has
outstanding visual appeal.
- Middle School Division – Isra Satiar (8 th grade, River Bend MS) and Nithya Gopalakrishnan (8 th grade, Kilmer MS).
- Elementary School Division – Lakshmi Hair and Gaayathri Mathuria (both 5th grade at Greenbriar West ES)
Team Spirit –This was awarded to a team that demonstrates special group spirit,
enthusiasm, collaboration, and good sportsmanship.
- Middle School Division – Ram Reddy, Pranav Bhimaraju and Nitish Tenepalli (Longfellow and Kilmer MS)
- Elementary School Division – Deven Hagen and Prashim Rijal (Haycock ES).
Overall Design Category
- Deven Hagen and Prashim Rijal (both 5th grade at Haycock ES – 1st Place Design), Poorna Prakash (5th grade – Greenbriar West ES – 2 nd Place Design) and Anjana Kumar (6 th grade – Lunsford Middle School – 2nd Place Design), and Isra Satiar (8th grade, River Bend MS) and Nithya Gopalakrishnan (8th grade, Kilmer MS – 3rd Place Design).
Best Team Name
- Photon Race team Tejini Holavanahali, Ramya Reddy and Yusuf Gunther-Rahman (all from Longfellow Middle School).
Best Use of Recycled Materials
- Solar Savers team led by Rohan Agarwal (Legacy Elementary School).
2018 Finalists
- Elementary Division
- 1st place – Anjali Mishra and Sahithi Roy
- 2nd Place – Gowri Pillai and Warina Khan
- 3rd place – Raj Patel and Sri Potupati
- Middle School Division
- 1st place – Andra Corez and Sarah Choi
- 2nd place – Mariam Malik and Jack Lum
- 3rd place – Isha Sen and Daisy Volkenburg