Experiential Learning for High School Students Using a Solar Powered Artifact: Engineering Outreach

Abstract

The drive to develop an interest in engineering in high school learners is critical to society. We identified the need for a memorable educational artifact to initiate and sustain an interest in electrical engineering. Our developed artifact is aimed at increasing the educational impact of outreach initiatives to encourage high school learners to study engineering. As a result, learners are exposed to interactive technologies and fundamentals of electrical engineering at a pre-university level. In this paper, we present an active and interactive educational autonomous/remote controlled solar car. The design is based on the ‘sense, think and act’ philosophy. The device incorporates digital signal processing, control, power, communication, and robotics. The first field test in the form of an educational outreach demonstrated that learners engaged positively with the car and had a keen interest in electrical engineering applications. The implications of this study are that the solar car proved to be an effective educational outreach tool for engineering, and that it met the project's technical requirements.