Page 17 - Rotary DIN Feb 16
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Lift off for the Rotary Rocket youth service committee chairman, sees the
project going from strength to strength. He said:
Not to be missed at this year’s district conference: “The car will race for the first time in Newquay on
the Bideford Rocket. May 14 and then on to Rockingham, Merryfield,
Castle Combe and then back to in October for the
Bideford Rotarians with students and 'Rotary Rockets’ season’s final race.
After six months of design, development and “We are in contact with other Rotary clubs who
testing, the Bideford College Technology will hopefully contact schools and colleges in their
department has unveiled its latest prototype area creating a partnership to develop, build and
Rotary Rocket electric race car. race their own Rotary Rocket. The Greenpower
race day is great fun with three drivers a four-
It’s a joint venture between Bideford Bridge student back-up team and plenty of parental
Rotary Club, which is providing the finance and support.”
mentoring for the next two years, and Bideford
College. Based on their experience of competing Greenpower is a charitable trust set up by the
in the Greenpower Trust’s electric race car Institute of Engineering and Technology to
competition over the past three years, the College advance the education of young people in science,
has researched and developed a low-cost “starter technology and engineering. Don Carter said:
kit”, which will be made available for less than “Hats off to the Technology Department at
£1,000 to enable schools and colleges to the build Bideford College: without their commitment there
cars for entry into the Greenpower challenge. wouldn’t be a project. The out-of-hours work,
particularly the Wednesday evening club, makes it
All the race car design and build has been done in happen.”
the College with upwards of 25 students, aged 11
to 16, involved. Don Carter, Bideford Bridge’s “This is a very exciting project that will show how
Rotary can work with a local College and prove
that the sciences can be fun. I hope that more
Rotary Clubs will join us and we will see the
project active throughout North Devon”
The car will be on show at the district conference
in Torquay (March 4-6).
Contact: Don Adams (MPRC and Community)
Don.adams1@btinternet.com.
