Academics ran three online sessions for young people support by Bluebell Wood, where they taught them how to build their race car, how to link up the solar battery pack and how to make different adaptations which could make the car go faster.  

Academics worked with Solar-Active, a Sheffield based charity that combines education, invention and manufacture who manufactured the solar cars. 

In the third session, Sheffield Hallam’s student racing team, SHU Racing, showed participants how they make adaptations to their racing car, which will be raced at Silverstone against other universities across the world.  

Once the cars were built, a race was held at Bluebell Wood hospice to test how far and how fast each car could travel.  

Lee Jowett, who led the project from Sheffield Hallam University, said: “It has been great to work with the young people and staff from Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice. There has been a real enthusiasm for giving young people this kind of opportunity”.  

The solar racing project is one of several knowledge exchange activities which the Sheffield Institute of Education is working on around a developing area of research - climate change and sustainability education. 

Rachel Parkin, from Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice Transition and Youth Team, said: “Seeing everyone really engage with this activity has been amazing to watch. It would be great to be able to use this to build something bigger and to go and watch the SHU team race at Silverstone.” 

The project was made possible thanks to funding from a British Science Week Community Grant.