EJHS students shine to win state solar competition
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Fundraising for May trip to nationals
COCOLAMUS -- While solar projects are making it easier for Americans to use renewable energy to power their homes, a group of East Juniata High School students used it to win a state-wide physics competition and earn a trip to nationals in Boulder, Colo.
"They did a lot of research about solar power," said Juniata County School District physics teacher Stephanie Everett, who teaches at both East Juniata and Juniata high schools.
"They had to figure out how the angle and distance from the light source affected the power," she added. "They also were testing different solar panels to see how they worked under light sources."
Since 2008, hundreds of thousands of solar panels have popped up across the country as an increasing number of Americans choose to power their daily lives with the sun's energy.
After more than a decade of holding the Pennsylvania KidWind Challenge, contest organizers decided to include a solar design challenge this year. They hoped the new component would motivate new and different students to engage with renewable energy.
Teams of students from both East Juniata and Juniata were up to the challenge as they designed structures that incorporated solar power to pump water for an application of their choosing in a remote environment.
Their designs were evaluated by measuring how much water they could pump during the challenge under a variable light condition. Additionally, judges examined the structure - in this case, East Juniata built a solar house that looked like a barn - and asked questions about the team's design process and application.
The solar-powered design was evaluated on the team's thoughtful, creative, and resourceful design, innovation and complexity of the circuitry, team reflections on the construction process and what the team learned about solar power.
The solar challenge had three divisions: high school, middle school and elementary school. Judging scores were based on 40 percent for power produced; 25 percent each for creativity and aesthetics and solar knowledge; and 10 percent for a technical inspection.
While East Juniata took top honors, their cross-county counterparts at Juniata finished in third place.
East Juniata's team, called "Solar Bears," included: seniors Brenna Watts, Owen Dressler, Tate Jamison, Logan Strawser, Aaron Kanagy and Brady Roe, along with exchange student Chloe Benazet.
The process for the East Juniata team started in February, when Everett had to complete training. She integrated the solar project material into her physics classes in March.
After collecting scientific data to inform their design choices, students were turned loose to start construction. "They were totally unfamiliar with the process," she recalled.
There was a lot of trial and error. Students eventually decided to forego using microcontrollers with their solar house because they were not working properly but removing them did not affect production.
The competition was held at Penn State on April 5 and results were announced that day. Everett said earning a trip to nationals caught them off guard because they thought only the winners of the wind challenges were eligible.
Now, the students might be facing their biggest challenge, which is raising $8,000, so the team can travel to the eighth annual National KidWind Challenge on May 14-17 in the Balch Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Colorado. In the meantime, they'll also be fine tuning their solar house.
"They'll refine what we have to have done," she explained, "and try to get the solar panels to move." Controlling the movement of the solar panels will require the students to re-evaluate the use of microcontrollers.
To donate to the students' fund-raising efforts, donations can be dropped off or mailed to East Juniata High School, 32944 Route 35 North, McAlisterville, PA 17049. Any personal checks or money orders should have "Solar competition" or "Solar Bears" written in the memo area.