The Kit

Each team has an identical kit of parts. There is a chassis, a motor, solar panels and wires but what’s missing? There are no instructions! Teams will have to do some research, ask for help from mentors and get their hands dirty to make their own go-kart. Some ideas will work better than others, students are encouraged to try multiple ideas and test to find out what works best. There is no one single way to make a solar go-kart either. Each one is different.

This may sound like a big challenge, but when broken down into smaller steps it can all come together faster than you may think. A suggested syllabus can be downloaded on the resource page. Teams are not required to follow this exactly. It is just a general guide for the teams.

All the main components come in the kit to complete the go-kart except for a few mounting items. These missing parts corresponded to the 4 open ended design projects:

• Motor mounting system
• Solar Array rack
• Electrical component fixtures
• Driver dashboard

These systems have intentionally been left out to give students a ‘blank slate’ for exploring ideas and designs for accomplishing these tasks that make up the completed, functioning go-kart. Teams should plan on having to source some components.

Kit Itemized List