Proving that going green starts from an early age, Maragon Private Schools pupils have stepped up to the challenge by building a solar car for the upcoming Solar Car Race on 27 September.
Dubbed the ‘Solar Eagle’, the car would need to drive over 2 000km, fueled only by solar energy, from Pretoria to Cape Town.
More than 500 excited pupils from Maragon took part in the project that has been included in their school curriculum and were mentored by parents and teachers.
Grade 10 pupil and Sasol spokesperson for Maragon Olympus Joel Miruho said, “Our school is big enough to do the hot stuff like this and still involve every person. We plan to involve our whole Maragon Group in the next 2016 challenge”.
Maragon would be competing against universities as one of the first schools to take part in the Sasol Solar Challenge. The race from Pretoria to Cape Town is set to be completed in eight days.
According to Sasol’s team manager Marinda Jordaan, the initiative started in November 2013 to tap into pupils’ imaginations and natural curiosity about the world and help them access the necessary skills in science and technology.
“The solar project has integrated science into the pupils and their understanding of what is renewable energy and how it can benefit our society. In a similar manner, the project served as an introduction to scientific processes because they observe, draft designs, apply critical thinking and judge the accuracy of the results,” said Jordaan.
The race to Cape Town is held every two years and brings different individuals together with a common goal: to finish the 2 000km distance.
The journey offers teachers, pupils and parents a hands-on approach to learning about science and innovation – skills that are critical in South Africa’s private and public industries.
