Racing Solar Cars at Worthingway
Things just got a little brighter for the Wothington City School system (Ohio) and eighth grade science teacher Kevin Swabb. Not only did Worthingway just complete another year of successful solar car races, but now students will be able to view data on the internet showing how much electricity the one kW solar panel array is producing everyday. As part of the solar car project, students receive two solar panels, 1 motor, wheels, and a selection of building materials for the competition. How they use the materials is the key to having a successful racecar. Everybody starts with the same basic equipment, but in the end each car is an original piece. Student interest remains as high as ever in the car building project as another year of races approaches!
As part of the solar car project, students learn about how the one kW solar panel array installed at Worthingway produces electricity for our school. The Fat Spaniel monitoring system was installed last year at Wortingway with the help of AEP, and will give students feedback about how the panels are operating. The panels are now connected to a new monitoring system that can be viewed on the web site: http://view2.fatspaniel.net/FST/Portal/ Check us out on the web for yourself and see how well our system is working! Eventually, our school will be connected via a new portal that connects our projects with those around the country and world.
