TransOptions 16th Annual Solar Sprint Competition: Congrats to Winners from Mt. Arlington
Published on May 31, 2017
TransOptions is proudly announcing its awards to the Inter-County Final winners of its 16th annual Junior Solar Sprints competition, which the non-profit mobility organization held on May 22 at Ridgedale Middle School in Florham Park.
United Cakes of America from Mount Arlington Public School emerged victorious as the Overall Winner. In addition to individual awards, United Cakes of America earned possession of the JSS Solar Cup for one year until it is passed to next year's winner. The overall winner's school name, Mount Arlington Public School, will be engraved on the trophy.
(JPG, 76KB) Students from the winning Mt. Arlington team
Nearly 5,000 students and 85 school teams from 10 New Jersey counties participated in the hands-on program introducing students to alternative energy science and engineering aligned with STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).
The Inter-County Final races wrapped up months of effort by teams of middle school students who designed, built, documented and raced their solar-powered model racing cars en route to the championship. Participating teams earned a right to compete by winning in one or more categories at the five divisional races held last week.
Students competed in the categories of Speed, Engineering, Craftsmanship, Best Use of Recycled Materials and Student Choice. Each team was also required to submit a Progress Journal that documented the history of their car from concept through design, development and testing. Immediately following the races, awards were presented to each student on the winning teams.
Typically running on solar energy, the model car racing action was brought indoors due to inclement weather but schools were ready to race with the battery-powered panels TransOptions provided instead.
The 2017 winners are:
Overall Winner
(JPG, 17KB) Mount Arlington's winning "United Cake'' entry
United Cakes of America, Mount Arlington Public School
Speed
1st Place €“ Tardis 3.0, Kittatinny Regional School
2nd Place €“ K.A.E., High Bridge Middle School
3rd Place €“ Lil Messi, Kingwood Township Elementary School
Engineering
1st Place €“ Rinascere, Eisenhower Intermediate School
2nd Place €“ Bat Buckle, Woodglen Middle School
3rd Place €“ Shooting Stars, Mount Pleasant Middle School
Craftsmanship
1st Place €“ Pie Car, Harding Township School
2nd Place €“ United Cakes of America, Mount Arlington Public School
3rd Place €“ Turbo Snail, Woodglen Middle School
Best Use of Recycled Materials
1st Place €“ Rocky Road, Green Hills Township School
2nd Place €“Waffafel, Martin J. Ryerson Middle School
3rd Place €“ Tornacho, Randolph Middle School
Progress Journal
1st Place - Boating School, Mount Arlington Public School
2nd Place - FIFA Mobile, Mount Arlington Public School
3rd Place €“ Emerald Blazer, Mount Arlington Public School
(PNG, 122KB) "Pie Car'' entry from Harding
(PNG, 102KB) "Kachow'' entry from Jefferson
Students' Choice
1st Place €“ Pie Car, Harding Township School
2nd Place €“ Kachow, Jefferson Township School
3rd Place €“ Movie Express, Thomas R. Grover Middle School
A complete list of the Inter-County Final winners is also available at http://www.transoptions.org/jssfinal.
Now in its 16th year, the competition has grown in size and scope reaching schools from an expanding geography that includes Bergen, Essex, Hunterdon, Mercer, Monmouth, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Union and Warren counties.
For more information and to learn how to participate in JSS next year, contact TransOptions' Environmental Education Coordinator, Kristen Tomasicchio at (973) 267-7600 or ktomasicchio@TransOptions.org.
TransOptions is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization celebrating more than 30 years of delivering programs and services to improve mobility, the environment and overall quality of life in northwestern New Jersey.