AuBC
Sydney - 25 September 2009
1. Mid of adjudicator starting solar boat race at Sydney's Olympic rowing site
2. Tilt up across children holding remote controls
3. Wide of boats in lake
4. SOUNDBITE (English): Unnamed vox pop, solar boat race participant:
"Every single year I've had the fastest boat on the water but I've never actually won the title."
5. SOUNDBITE (English): Unnamed vox pop, solar boat race participant: "We ran into the buoy and then couldn't get off it."
6. Wide of boats sailing in pool
7. Wide of girl holding remote control
8. SOUNDBITE (English): Marcus Adler, event organiser:
"They're learning that there's a lot more to science and engineering than just sitting in a classroom, and I think it's great. You can see that we get a great mix of kids out here and you know honestly, every time they have a disappointment they learn so much."
9. Wide of adults helping children fix boat
10. SOUNDBITE (English): Unnamed vox pop, solar boat race participant:
"You've got to have your combination of series and parallel (circuits) exactly perfect and matched to the weather conditions."
11. SOUNDBITE (English): Unnamed vox pop, solar boat race participant:
"It's wired in series (and) parallel, which means we can change the circuit to suit the weather."
12. Wide of boat in lake
13. Wide of race organiser checking boat does not contain batteries
14. Various of boys holding boat
15. Various of boats racing in pool
16. Wide of girls cheering
17. Close of boat sinking
18. Various of girl jumping into lake to rescue sinking boat
19. Close of boat in lake
20. Wide of boats crossing finish line
LEAD IN:
A group of Australian school children have been enjoying an outdoor lesson in renewable energy.
They were taking part in the annual solar boat challenge in Sydney, Australia and learning about how the sun's power can be used in everyday life.
Sydney's Penrith Regatta course was used for rowing during the 2000 Olympics, and there are still plenty of boats taking to its waters.
These ones are a little smaller�designed by school students hoping to win a solar boat race.
These budding engineers were having a day in the sun, with varying levels of success.
Organisers of the annual event say this is the most fun you can have playing around with solar energy.
Although the children enjoy the challenge, there's also a serious lesson involved, says event organiser Marcus Adler.
"They're learning that there's a lot more to science and engineering than just sitting in a classroom, and I think it's great. You can see that we get a great mix of kids out here and you know honestly, every time they have a disappointment they learn so much."
The young skippers and their support teams spent the day plugging into the power of the sun.
They learnt how best to wire their boats to take advantage of solar power and varying conditions.
There were even random checks to make sure the vessels weren't using performance-enhancing batteries.
After some vital adjustments, the boats were ready to take their spot in the race.
Some of them suffered a watery fate, but there were rescue divers on hand to save their carefully-designed creations.
Most of the entrants enjoyed a smooth day of sailing, with plenty of inspiration to tweak their designs for next year.
The first Sydney solar boat challenge took place in 2006 and received more than 60 entries from primary and secondary school students.
wacky
