The Joint Project Manager for Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Contamination Avoidance (JPM-NBC CA) supported its first Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics (STEAM) activity with two teams that participated in the 23 April 2016 Junior Solar Sprint (JSS) Competition at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), MD. The JSS is an Army Educational Outreach program that is open for 5th-8th grade students to design, build, present, and race solar powered cars using test and engineering skills and principles of science and math. Twenty-two teams participated in this year’s competition including two from JPM NBC CA – Solar Eagles and Space Oddity. Judges evaluated each team on four areas: display, notebook, engineering process, and racing performance. Space Oddity placed third and Solar Eagles placed first winning the APG regional competition. Solar Eagles then advanced to the national JSS competition at Nashville, TN from 28 June – 3 July 2016. Out of approximately 100 teams from across the United States, Solar Eagles finished as one of the Top 10 select teams to compete in the final race for the fastest time. With rain expected in the forecast, the final race was indoor, and all solar cars operated on battery power. Solar Eagles successfully finished the race placing a notable 4th at the 2016 National Final JSS competition.
Image: iStock photo of electronic experiment observation.