CEDAR FALLS - There were very few rules at Thursday's Iowa Junior Solar Sprint races in Cedar Falls.

First and foremost there could be no shadows on the race track. The cars don't move very fast when their power sources are blocked.

Second, have fun.

These are the kind of rules sixth-graders Miguel Steimel and Dalton Schmit had no problem obeying.

"I don't care if we win, I'm just glad we came," Steimel said, after actively cheering on his classmates and competitors. "There are a couple people we want to beat, but we're just having fun. … School is better when there are funner ways to learn."

"It's better than reading a book," Schmit added.

That kind of attitude is exactly what middle school teacher Chris Bailey was looking for when she decided to try the solar car project at Immaculate Conception/St. Joseph's School in Gilbertville.

"The kids get so much more excited with hands on activities. They are more actively engaged in the learning process," Bailey said.

Bailey and Cathy Feldmann led four classes of sixth- and seventh-graders through the process of building the solar powered cars and then pitted the teams of students against each other to determine the 12 lucky participants in the races hosted by the Center for Environmental and Energy Education on the University of Northern Iowa campus. The St. Joseph's students competed against students from West Marshall Middle School in Marshalltown and Clear Creek Amana Middle School in Oxford.

Students assembled the solar cars from kits, which are available through the CEEE. Bailey said her classes thought they could buzz through that process in about 30 minutes, but were surprised to find just how much work went into getting the car to go.

Though Thursday's winner won't be advancing to a regional or even national competition coordinator Pat Higby, the CEEE's energy educator, said she would like to coordinate similar races at this summer's Iowa State Fair.

As for the St. Joseph's kids - they are already looking forward to building bigger and better cars next year.

"Looks like we've got some grant writing to do," Bailey said.

Contact Emily Christensen at (319) 291-1520 or emily.christensen@wcfcourier.com.