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Solar Car Kit - Cat# 80-50-W242

In stock

SKU

80-50-W242

CA$11.25

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Details

Solar Vehicle Kit — A Hands-On STEM Experience

Introduce your students to renewable energy and mechanical motion with the Solar Vehicle Kit. This kit allows learners to assemble a working solar-powered car, providing a tangible demonstration of how sunlight can be converted into mechanical energy. It's ideal for classrooms, maker spaces, and STEM workshops.

What’s in the Kit & How It Works

The kit includes components for the body and wheels, a solar panel, motor, and assembly instructions. When exposed to sunlight, the solar panel generates electricity, powering the motor and propelling the vehicle forward. Students can experiment with different designs and configurations to optimize performance.

STEM Concepts Illuminated

STEM Area	Key Concepts	Classroom Applications & Extensions
Renewable Energy	Solar power, photovoltaic effect	Explore how sunlight is converted into electricity and how this energy drives the vehicle.
Mechanics & Motion	Gears, torque, rotational motion, friction	Analyze how gear ratios, friction, and torque affect speed and efficiency of the vehicle.
Engineering Design	Optimization, structural integrity, trade-offs	Challenge students to iterate their design — balancing weight, aerodynamics, and stability.
Physics	Forces, motion, energy loss	Investigate how forces like drag, friction, and torque influence movement; discuss energy losses.
Environmental/STEM Integration	Sustainable technology, design thinking	Compare solar power to other energy sources; prompt students to think about real-world applications of solar-powered vehicles.

Why Teachers Will Like It

Hands-On Learning: Students build a functional model that responds to sunlight, making abstract principles concrete.
Interdisciplinary: Encourages links between physics, engineering, design, and environmental studies.
Flexible Complexity: Works for younger students in guided mode, and for older students as an optimization challenge.
Classroom-Friendly: Compact kit suitable for group work.
Supports Inquiry: Promotes experimentation, iteration, and data collection.

Classroom Activity Ideas

Design Challenge: Divide students into teams and ask them to optimize for speed, distance, or load-carrying capability.
Blade Experimentation: Let students test blades of different sizes, shapes, or pitches and see how performance changes.
Gearing Trials: Compare different gear ratios to see trade-offs between torque and speed.
Solar Intensity Tests: Test performance under different light conditions or angles.
Data Logging & Graphing: Have students run multiple trials, record distance vs. light intensity or design variables, and graph results.
Real-World Discussion: Explore how solar energy is used in transportation (e.g., solar cars, solar-powered boats) and discuss sustainability.

Bring solar energy, mechanics, and creative design together in one hands-on project. With the Solar Vehicle Kit, students won’t just read about renewable energy — they’ll build a solar-powered vehicle and learn by doing.