The annual Junior Solar Sprint is a statewide challenge of ingenuity, engineering, and speed for students in grades five through eight.

2025 Junior Solar Sprint

Registration is now open for the 2025 Junior Solar Sprint.

The 2025 Junior Solar Sprint will take place Thursday, April 10, 2025, at a location in Dover to be determined.

The Junior Solar Sprint is part of a national competition in which students build and race solar-powered model cars. It is co-sponsored in Delaware by the DNREC Division of Climate, Coastal and Energy and the Delaware Technology Student Association (TSA).

Middle school students work with classmates and teacher advisors over several months to build model cars powered by solar photovoltaic cells, better known as solar panels. DNREC provides two starter Junior Solar Sprint kits to each participating school. Each kit includes a solar panel, an electric motor, and guidelines.

To participate, fill out the registration form and return it to jamesw.lee@delaware.gov. The deadline to register is Friday, January 17, 2025.

Download the Junior Solar Sprint Guidelines for complete rules on the competition.

2024 Junior Solar Sprint

Cab Calloway School of the Arts from Wilmington accumulated the most points in combined design, portfolio and race competitions to capture first place in the 2024 Junior Solar Sprint event sponsored by DNREC.

Teams from five Delaware schools participated in the 2024 competition, including Las Americas ASPIRA Academy, Newark; Cab Calloway School of the Arts; Holy Cross School; May B. Leasure Elementary School, Newark; and Sussex Montessori School.

Competition Results

The all-around winners for combined speed, design and portfolio presentations were:

• First Place: Team #2, Chetan Kasukurthi, Vedic Mukherjee, Viraj Mehta and Ashvin Sharma from Cab Calloway School of the Arts
• Second Place: Team #10, Kehllan Thomas, Luke Curley, Gavin Reed and Sam Shevok from Holy Cross School
• Third Place: Team #7, Brayden Nichols, Joellen Reinke and Liam Cannon from Sussex Montessori School

Top results from the double elimination races were:

• First Place: Team #7, Brayden Nichols, Joellen Reinke and Liam Cannon from Sussex Montessori School
• Second Place: Team #2, Chetan Kasukurthi, Vedic Mukherjee, Viraj Mehta and Ashvin Sharma from Cab Calloway School of the Arts
• Third Place: Team #10, Kehllan Thomas, Luke Curley, Gavin Reed and Sam Shevok from Holy Cross School

Top results from the design competition were:

• First Place: Team #8, Cadence Wahl and Keira Clarke from Las Americas ASPIRA Academy
• Second Place: Team #10, Kehllan Thomas, Luke Curley, Gavin Reed and Sam Shevok from Holy Cross School
• Third Place: Team #6, Rhys Scott, Portia Jalloh, Nypha Gatimu and Sakari Watson from May B. Leasure Elementary School

Top results from the portfolio competition were:

• First Place: Team #2, Chetan Kasukurthi, Vedic Mukherjee, Viraj Mehta and Ashvin Sharma from Cab Calloway School of the Arts
• Second Place: Team #6, Rhys Scott, Portia Jalloh, Nypha Gatimu and Sakari Watson from May B. Leasure Elementary School
• Third Place: Team #8, Cadence Wahl and Keira Clarke from Las Americas ASPIRA Academy

A Delaware Tradition

Junior Solar Sprint has been a Delaware tradition for more than two decades. It encourages students to get creative and apply real-world problem-solving in a fun and educational atmosphere. And it fosters teamwork and student interest in the STEM fields—science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Junior Solar Sprint presents a hands-on, multidisciplinary exercise in renewable energy education. It encourages teamwork and fosters interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Students flex their creative ingenuity and apply real-world problem-solving in a fun and educational atmosphere.

Related Topics:  education, energy, renewable energy, solar, student