The Synergy Solar Car Challenge is a program that is designed for year six and eight students to apply STEM skills in an engaging, real-life application. As the name suggests, I and several others in our team of 4 had to build a solar car out of a corflute (a type of corrugated plastic), axles, wheels, a motor, a switch and a solar panel which was attached to the circuit with various wires. We were provided 45 minutes to do this, which included testing time.
Skills needed:
Collaboration and Teamwork:
Because we were under time pressure to build a functional car, we had to collaborate so as to build it quickly and efficiently by dividing the labour.
Problem Solving:
As mentioned above, the 45 minutes we were given was inclusive of building and testing time. During one of our trial times, the switch came apart, and through usage of problem solving skills, our team managed to solve the problem and use a working switch.
Creativity:
The track that we were to use to race on was simply a wooden pole lain horizontally on the ground. We were given a mere two pins that we could use to align the car with the pole. This proved challenging due to the shape and height of the pins.
Overall, my team (All Saints’ One) finished third place.
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