Children build their future!_ SolarCup Germany in Dortmund
After the success of the SolarCup Berlin 2022, our winners were ready to go to the German championship in Dortmund.
Our two groups from the Karl Weise School were all fired up to put their skills to the test throughout Germany. The Sophie Scholl School was also supposed to come with us, but unfortunately they were unable to make it.
But before the big moments could begin, some preparations had to be made. The two groups ,,Totenkopf-R“ und ,,Crusher“ signed up for the creative class. In order to get the most out of their models, the students modelled and improved their electric cars under our guidance. For the creative class, it was relevant that each model could run only on solar energy and without a capacitor.
On the 23rd of September, our tinkerers, with their posters and models, travelled to Dortmund with their parents and us, the New Hope and Light team. The German championship was to start the next day at the DASA in Dortmund. The DASA is the biggest exhibition on the world of work in Germany.
So on September 24, the show started at 10 am. In addition to the creative class, competitions were held that day in the 
following categories. There was once more the ULM A and B class, the Solar E class and the apprentice class. It has to be said that our participants from the Karl Weise School were the youngest of all the participants.
The competition went as follows.
First, all models were checked to ensure that they met the criteria for the class. Then, the students presented themselves and their model with a poster.
During the event, our participants were interviewed by a journalist. He was very surprised to see that even such young pupils are interested in the topic of renewable energy. Thanks to this, the children even managed to appear on the TV news. On September 24, the programme was broadcast live and was then shown for a few days in the ARD media library.
The models in the creative class must meet several requirements. They must be functional and be able to drive themselves with a solar panel. It was important to use as many sustainable materials as possible in the construction of the models. Creativity and manual skills were also assessed.
The participation in the event was a real success for our groups. Out of 18 different candidate groups, in the creative class, our participants came in 5th and 7th place.
They received a certificate and a medal for their participation in the German championship. Afterwards, the children returned to Berlin with their parents.
We would like to thank the parents once again for their support in preparing for the championship and for their assistance during the event.
We would also like to thank the sponsors of the school. It is thanks to them that the children were able to participate in the event. We would also like to thank Solarmobil Deutschland for organizing this successful event.
Next year, in 2023, there will be another SolarTag Berlin, but this year we will be putting even more effort into our work. This way we will win the next championship.
The first year was a complete success. The following year we would also like to carry out our projects with secondary school students.
The name has been changed from SolarCup to SolarTag, because we want to put more emphasis on creativity rather than competition.
New Hope and Light e.V.
