Naperville the finish line for 1,100-mile solar car race

Naperville will serve as the finish line Saturday for a group of solar-powered cars on an 1,100 mile journey.

The first of the space-age looking cars in the American Solar Car Challenge is expected to arrive between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday, June 26, at Naperville North High School, 899 N. Mill St.

"We're encouraging people to come out and give these students a hearty welcome," said Kate Schrank, organizer of the corresponding Naperville Sustainability Challenge. "They have been camping with their cars for seven days. They're going to be tired and exhilarated."

The solar-powered cars were designed and built by college students from around the world who started their trip June 20 at Broken Arrow, Okla.

The challenge is hosted by the Innovators Educational Foundation and includes teams from Northwestern and Illinois State Universities.

"Whatever they learn goes into our future car designers as we strive as a society for a way to make our cars in a way that needs less and less fuel," Schrank said. "Anything these students do to advance technology of solar-powered cars is a good thing."

Spectators awaiting the arrival of the cars Saturday will have plenty to keep them occupied during the Naperville Sustainability Challenge that goes from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Naperville North.

There will be booths with demonstrations of such green products as hybrid cars and energy efficient windows.

"We want people to see what they can do on an everyday basis to make sustainable choices and at the same time display future technology," Schrank said.

There will also be live music, a martial arts demonstration, children's activities from the DuPage Children's Museum and a showcase of model size solar cars created by area middle school students for an Argonne National Laboratory contest.

For more information visit sustainabilitypartnersinc.org or americansolarchallenge.org/events/asc2010.