Racing the Sun
Registration Deadline – September 17th, 2021
Racing the Sun is an exciting engineering program that challenges high school students to design, build, and race solar-powered go-karts. It is open to all Arizona high school students.
Register a team
Teams come in many forms including CTE course-based, engineering high school classes, after-school clubs, or community teams.
Registration closes September 17, 2021.
How it works
Before building
- Teachers are oriented to the program and gather their teams
- Participants learn the basics at Workshops Day
- Participants submit release forms
While Designing and Building
- Students plan, design, and build their carts
- Students present their progress to mentors and make changes through iterations
- Students visit companies and universities on Career Day
After building
- Teams undergo safety checks and conduct trial runs on Test Day
- Teams present their work to industry judges
- Teams compete on Race Day
Challenges and skills
Students spend nine months preparing for Race Day with the support of their teachers and mentors. Along the way, they apply concepts from physics, engineering, and energy to solve real-world problems through collaboration within their teams.
Interpersonal skills
- Teamwork
- Critical thinking
- Communication
- Adaptability
- Social skills
Technical skills
- Mechanical engineering
- Electrical engineering
- Math
- Physics
- Fabrication
Workforce skills
- Project management
- Leadership
- Fundraising
- Marketing
- Budgeting