WOOSTER, Ohio — Ten teams of students from northern Ohio will compete in a first-of-its-kind model fuel-cell car race here on Earth Day, April 22, part of Ohio State University’s Wooster Campus Scarlet, Gray and Green Fair.
The teams will start with identical kits: the Thames & Kosmos Fuel Cell Car and Experiment Kit, which uses a clean, green hydrogen fuel cell for power. They’ll build and modify the kits in advance then compete in heats at the fair. The fastest wins a new annual trophy.
“The Thames & Kosmos kits have been around for about five years,” said Jim Duxbury, a science teacher and district science chair with Orrville City Schools and the race’s organizer. “I use one in class for general alternative energy demonstrations but have never had a race or competition. After a bit of research, I believe we’re the first-ever fuel-cell car race in the state.
The fair takes place at the university’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC), 1680 Madison Ave., 11 a.m.-6 p.m., with timed heats of the cars set for 3-5 p.m. Admission is free.
The teams will come from Black River, Norwayne, Rittman, Waynedale, Ashland, Barberton and Northwestern high schools, the Wayne County and Ashland County-West Holmes career centers, and Duxbury’s district, Orrville.
Hydrogen fuel cells use no fossil fuels and emit no pollution. Many companies are looking at them as an alternative way to run vehicles.
“Although they are not expected to reach the mass market before 2010, fuel-cell vehicles may someday revolutionize on-road transportation,” says the Web site of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy program.
“This emerging technology has the potential to significantly reduce energy use and harmful emissions as well as our dependence on foreign oil,” the site says.
Now in its second year, the fair will have exhibits, demonstrations, student contests and food vendors, all of them focused on a theme of “Green is For Life.”
Duxbury is a member of the fair’s student activities committee, which in addition to the fuel-cell race is sponsoring competitions involving Earth Day themes, ecological yardscaping, environmental stewardship essay writing and an annual Environmental Educator of the Year award.
Last year’s fair drew more than 100 exhibitors and 1,700 people.
For more information, call (330) 263-3700 or go to http://www.wcsen.org/wcsggf/index.html.
Coordinating sponsors are Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences; OARDC; the Ohio State Agricultural Technical Institute (Ohio State ATI); Ohio State University Extension; and the Wayne County Sustainable Energy Network.
