SMARTT Challenge hosts Final Event weekend
Posted: 05-13-2008 : RALEIGH, N.C.
RALEIGH – SMARTT Challenge, formerly known as the EV Challenge, will host the 13th annual Final Event Weekend in Raleigh May 16-17, bringing together several hundred students representing schools from throughout the Southeast.
Final Event activities will take place in Raleigh on Friday, May 16, at Historic Oak View County Park, 4028 Carya Drive; and on Saturday, May 17, at North Carolina State University’s McKimmon Center, 1101 Gorman St.
The competition is the culmination of a year-long program designed to teach 6th-12th graders the importance of alternative fuel development and applications. Hundreds of students from thirty-five schools from North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Iowa and Florida participated in this year’s program.
One of the most exciting components of the high school program is the student design and construction of a street-legal electric vehicle, which will be entered into a series of range and autocross events throughout the weekend. Students also compete in community initiatives, web-site design and public speaking.
Middle school students also apply a multi-disciplinary approach to their design and construction of model solar race cars for competition. The middle school program is based on the Junior Solar Sprint (JSS) program, developed and sponsored by the US Department of Energy.
The public is invited to attend. Friday’s high school vehicle range events are at Oak View from 10 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Autocross is on Saturday at the McKimmon Center from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Middle schools compete Saturday at the McKimmon Center beginning at 9 a.m. and continuing until about 1:30 p.m.
The SMARTT Challenge is the country’s premier alternative fuel education program, unique because of its integration of several disciplines, including math, science, engineering and language arts. SMARTT Challenge is sponsored by the nonprofit Carolina Electric Vehicle Coalition, Inc. (CEVC), based in Wake County. The CEVC’s mission is to provide quality educational programs related to alternative fuels. The SMARTT Challenge recently underwent a name and logo change to reflect the program’s revised curriculum, which has expanded its electric vehicle focus to include additional alternative transportation fuels and technologies. (SMARTT is an acronym for “Students Making Advancements in Renewable Transportation Technology.”)
The CEVC has received wide acclaim for its programming, including national recognition as a recipient of the Environmental Protection Agency Clean Air Excellence Award for Education and Outreach.
Media contact:
Jennifer Goodwin Whitley, CEVC Executive Director
919-818-2377
evchallenge@nc.rr.com
|
