The miniature solar-powered car engines revved into high gear, their spinning wheels imagined to peel rubber before the green light signaled the start of the race.
Each one of the young designers of these "high-tech machines," all Gemini Junior High School pupils in East Maine Elementary District 63, shared the common dream that his or her homemade racer would be the first across the finish line 20 meters away.
In the end, the footlong balsa racer of Ken Suh, 15, Jeff Chengcharoen, 14, and Massimo Magnelli, 13, was the winner.
In all, about 15 pupils participated in the activity sponsored last week by Argonne National Laboratory. The winner of the qualifying heat at Gemini is slated to compete against nearly 30 northern Illinois junior high schools in the May 15 Junior Solar Spirit race.
The after-school activity was open to 7th and 8th graders who didn't mind having fun while getting a little extra credit. It was geared to teaching pupils how to assemble cars and operate them using solar energy, according to Gemini science teacher Charles Taylor.
It was Argonne officials who provided the district with the necessary solar panels and miniature motors to help launch the project, Taylor said. Argonne sponsors the educational program to promote solar energy. The miniature car entries will be judged in the finals for the quality of their engineering, as well as their speed, Taylor said.
When building their racing machines, pupils used their ingenuity to design an aerodynamic and light-weight model. They were taught to engineer their cars so the gears operated in such a way as to make the wheels spin when generated by solar energy.
"This is a positive self-esteem builder for all students to see they can build something that actually works," Taylor said.