Fort Worth

High School Students Gear up for Cross-Country Race With Solar Cars

Attendees at Earth X in Fair Park got to check out many attractions, including a look at the Solar Car Challenge.

The program gives high school students the opportunity to design, engineer, and build their own roadworthy solar cars.

Jaxson Hill and his teammates from Wiley East High School were one of the teams at Earth X on Sunday.

Hill said they have been working on their solar car for months.

“You have to be very committed,” Hill said.

This summer, around 30 teams from across the country will take their solar cars on a cross-country race from Fort Worth to California.

The solar cars will travel right next to other cars on the road.

The only difference is that the solar cars will go slower. Jaxson said their team’s car is planning to go around 25 mph.

All of the solar cars will have cars escorting them from the front and behind.

“They’ll probably yell at us for going slow, and then they will slow down with us and admire the car,” Jaxson said.

Dr. Lehman Marks was at the event on Sunday to check some of the solar cars that will soon embark on the long journey.

“These are all high school kids. This is amazing to see what they have been able to accomplish,” said Marks.

The teams will first have to qualify for the event in mid-July. They will then take off from Fort Worth on July 17th, and they plan to finish the event in Palmdale, California on July 23rd.

NBCUniversal is proud to support the Solar Car Challenge, and has provided the program a grant.

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