Parkway Students Assemble, Race Solar Powered Cars

Fourth graders at Parkway Elementary School assembled and raced solar powered cars to wrap up their solar energy unit.

Students assembled cars from a kit to learn how solar power can be used in life-size transportation vehicles and other appliances. The cars were fueled by cell panels instead of gasoline, which generates an electrical charge stored in a battery that is used to provide energy.

This activity was part of the students’ science, technology, engineering, arts and math lessons which include introductions to alternative energy to fossil fuel.

Photo 1: Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District’s Parkway Elementary School Principal Mrs. Ronelle Hershkowitz (center) stands with fourth grade students as they proudly display the solar powered vehicles they assembled. Students have been learning about alternative energy to fossil fuel during their science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) lessons.

Photo 2: Fourth grade students and their teachers from Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District’s Parkway Elementary School prepare to race the solar powered cars they assembled. Students learned how the cars use solar cell panels to generate an electrical charge for fuel as part of their science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) lessons.

Photo 3: Fourth grade students from Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District’s Parkway Elementary School race the solar powered cars they assembled. These races showed them how solar energy can effectively fuel vehicles as part of their science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) lessons.