Racing with the sun

Moses Lake students test solar cars

MOSES LAKE - Hundreds of Moses Lake youth hoped for sunshine Wednesday, as they prepared to race their solar-powered cars.

The Grant County Public Utility District, Moses Lake School District and REC Silicon teamed up to provide a solar car racing activity and education to a group of fifth-grade students.

"It's really, really sweet. I like it," said Discover Elementary School student Cassidy Earl, 11.

Students built their solar cars using kits, according to Grant County PUD Energy Services Specialist Jim Frank.

In the past, students paired into teams and shared cars, Frank said. Students started receiving their own cars last year.

The students raced them at the Grant County Fairgrounds, and learned about alternative energy sources from Moses Lake High School youth taking advanced placement environmental sciences. Topics included fuel cells, hydrogen, solar, wind, fusion and tidal energy sources.

Organizers hope to expose the students to sources of energy through the event, Frank said.

"I think it's cool because we learned about all different types of energy," said Discover Elementary School student Sariah Aronson, 10.

Aronson said she learned about the cost of solar panels, a fact echoed by her peers.

"They cost like $32,000 or something," said Mackenzie Calder, 10.

LaShae Roylance, 11, said she learned other details about solar power.

"We learned … like how high they were. They could be like 50 feet high, and they could be different sizes, too," Roylance said.

"I think it's actually cool that we're coming up with these sources, how to run things and we're actually doing it," said Madison Dow, 10.

Dow said it is hard to believe a car can be run by solar energy.

Hayden Kersey, 10, hoped for sunshine during the race.

"I feel bad for the people that it's not very sunny," Kersey said. "You have to push your car."

She said she was happy students were at least able to push their cars to the finish line.

Peninsula Elementary School student Maceyn Cerillo, 10, expressed satisfaction with the activities.

"Well, it was pretty exciting because usually you never really get to do these kinds of things, especially at school," Cerillo said.

He said learning about the energy and cells was the best part of the experience.

Students were allowed to take their cars home after the assignment.

"I plan on seeing how much solar energy can come to the car," Cerillo said.

Peninsula Elementary School student Owen Towlley, 10, said he enjoyed building the cars, learning about energy and utilizing solar energy.

Towlley said the car kits came with extra gears, some of which are bigger than the ones they used.

"I think I might take some extra gears and hook them up to the car and see if they make it go faster," he said.

Moses Lake High School junior Manuel Benegas, 16, discussed hydrogen to the students with his partner.

Benegas said he practiced his presentation with younger siblings, so he was prepared to explain the science in a way children would understand.

He said he is considering science-related fields after high school, such as ecology or chemistry.

Peninsula Elementary School teacher Melinda LeGrand said the students learned about alternative fuels in class and discussed the ozone layer.

LeGrand read an article to students about alternative fuel, and they talked about political candidates' perspectives on fuel.

The classroom discussions led into the event, and students were able to connect the activities, she said.

LeGrand said she took her students outside to make adjustments to their cars prior to the race. They can build them indoors, but the cars will not run indoors, she said.

"I'm new to (the event) and real excited," LeGrand said. "It was a great thing to do."