SOLAR CUP 2014
In order to promote and develop young people’s knowledge about energy efficient solutions and their application in today’s world, Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia (ISSP UL) announced competition Solar Cup 2014. The final competition took place on May 17. As part of the event, students had to use the resources provided and / or materials available to them to create:
(a) Solar powered vehicle models for competition in speed, power and water disciplines;
(b) Compressed air / water mix boats for water competition.
The Solar Cup competition took place for the 7th year and also this time children of grades 5-12 had an opportunity to demonstrate in practical way their ideas, knowledge and skills in usage of energy efficient and renewable resources by developing and building model vehicles powered by clean energy. There were 3 people in each team. In previous years, students had already proven their ability to make solar-powered land and water vehicle models.
As part of the Solar Cup competition, the children were given the materials - solar panels and small engines (propellers at request) provided with the support of Latvian Environmental Protection Fund. At the end of the competition, the model vehicles developed by the participants were evaluated in different disciplines depending on their structure and driving ability. This included an assessment of the originality and topicality of the developed solutions.
Before the competition, the organizers of the competition did workshops (online, off-site) for teachers and team leaders, providing advice and additional help for successful participation in the competition.
People's class materials in Latvian 
