Solar Powered Miniature Consol Energy Center

As part of the June 13-17, 2016 REcharge Labs professional development training at Carlow University in Pittsburgh, PA. we were tasked with using a type of renewable resource to run some type of project. As the Pittsburgh group, we decided to make a miniature Consol Energy Center that would run on solar power. Our solar panels run the goal lights, Stanley Cup light, Scoreboard light, goal buzzer, and a spinning hockey player. We hope you enjoy our project!

Step 1: Materials Used

*1 sandwich ring container

*6 cork rectangles cut in half lengthwise

*3 feet of silver bulletin board boarder

*1 piece of 6x10 thin white foam

*1 blue marker

*red marker

*2 black pipe cleaners

*1 six inch square of white netting

*8 two LEGO people

*1 wooden skewer

*1 8x10 piece of yellow paper

*1 piece of carved wood

*4 inches of aluminum tape

*___ LED lights

*____ Solar Panels

*1 motor

* 4 6-inch pieces of bolsa wood

Tools Used:

*scissors, wire cutters, pliers, box cutter, hot glue gun, wire strippers,

Step 2: Figuring Out Our Design

TIME TO BRAINSTORM!!!!

We needed to incorporate a type of renewable energy into our design. Our group chose to use solar power to make different parts of our arena move or light. We experimented with different circuits until we figured out what would work best for our idea.

This is what we came up with:

Solar power will illuminate our goal lights and Stanley cup, rotate one of our Pittsburgh Penguin hockey players, and provide power to our goal buzzer.

Step 3: Putting Our Idea Into Action

We decided that we would start by collecting a variety of materials for our project. We are using a sandwich ring platter as our "building". We cut a white piece of thin foam for our rink. We drew on lines using red and blue markers. We cut rectangle pieces in half and used those for our stands. We use bulletin board boarder to make the "boards" in the rink. We wrapped aluminum tape around the spool and ran a light up the middle to make the "Stanley Cup". We wired all 4 lights, a buzzer, a switch, and motor to solar panels to make them work. We used netting and pipe cleaner to make our goals and card stock, a light, and a buzzer to make our score board. We printed out crowds and logos to help complete our project.