Solar Rollers, a grassroots energy education program developed in the high country of Colorado, is growing rapidly — even reaching 17 schools in Dubai with sponsorship from the city’s ambitious rooftop solar program, Shams Dubai. These Shams Dubai Solar Rollers teams will compete in a major race in April. Texas schools are joining too, racing at Earth Day Texas with 150,000 attendees — and a record number of Colorado teams will race in Denver.
Hundreds of high school students are currently working in teams to design and build sophisticated solar-powered radio-controlled cars for these races. Through speed challenges, endurance circuit-racing and academic competitions, Solar Rollers students learn the ins and outs of a complete clean energy system. They emerge from the program excited to find energy solutions at every scale.
Participating Solar Rollers teams receive a sophisticated materials kit and use a supportive online course to design and build everything from their carbon fiber chassis to their energy storage circuit — and even their own hand-soldered solar array. Each high-energy Trophy Race, run by Solar Rollers, is designed for spectating with seven competition categories. In this way, many far-flung teams can take part.
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