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About Greenpower:Faced with the challenge of designing, building and racing an electric car to compete against other teams all over the country, where would you begin?
Greenpower is a company which asks young people throughout the U.K to tackle this question head-on, and along the way gives all its participants an insight into the real, tangible world of engineering. Now in its tenth year, it has expanded from being a 22-car secondary school event to a nationwide project holding the Goblin Formula series for primary school children, the original Formula 24 for secondary schools and the new Formula 24+ for teams aged 16-21 and in any form of full or part-time education. The competition is becoming wildly popular, with a fantastic 360 teams participating in 2007, a record number which stands as a testament to its unique approach to engineering and its ability to bring together and excite young people from a variety of different areas and backgrounds.
As the competition advances through the different age groups, the task of meeting the specifications becomes more challenging and engaging. The Goblin Formula for primary schools involves each team building a standard kit car, giving them a basic knowledge of the engineering skills needed to put a car together. At Formula 24 the specification becomes much more open-ended, with only a 24 volt electric motor and 4 12 volt batteries being the standard issue to each team. For teams aged 16-21, Formula 24+ allows older competitors to both take their experience from Formula 24 and build a more competitive, faster car or to join the competition and compete with other teams of their age and ability. This continuous development within the competition itself encourages its participants further into developing their own skills and knowledge, and allows a team to stay with the competition throughout their education, getting more enthusiastic as they go!
Not only does Greenpower approach the idea of engineering from a less mainstream direction than normal lessons or after school clubs, it also encourages creativity and most importantly enthusiasm and cooperation in problem solving: invaluable skills for any young person whether they decide to pursue an engineering career or not, and one thing's for sure, being in a Greenpower team is an experience that its members never forget.Text by Emily Marchant.
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For further information on Greenpower, or any of the articles available for download, please contact Emma Tyler. 01903 715915 or emma@greenpower.co.uk
