Solar Planes Exhibit
Solar Planes Exhibit
Solar Planes makes the invisible power of light visible, letting children generate real energy with nothing but a mirror and a steady aim. Four model aircraft sit at the top of the exhibit, each fitted with its own solar panel, while light sources shine overhead and mirrors wait at the base. The challenge is simple but captivating: tilt a mirror to catch the light and bounce it up onto a plane’s solar panel. The moment enough light lands, the panel generates voltage, a motor stirs, and the aircraft begins to turn. Aim more light onto the panel and the plane spins faster still. With four stations, up to four young engineers can experiment at once, discovering first-hand how sunlight becomes motion.
Visitor Experience
Children quickly grasp the goal, get the light onto the plane, and set about angling their mirror to chase the beam upward. The reward is immediate and genuinely exciting: land the light squarely on the solar panel and the aircraft above begins to rotate, driven by power the child has generated themselves. That direct link between a well-aimed mirror and a spinning plane invites endless experimentation, as visitors tilt and adjust to keep the beam locked on and make their aircraft turn faster. With four stations side by side, friends naturally race to see whose plane spins fastest, comparing angles and tactics as they go. It is an energising, lightbulb-moment station that turns a lesson about solar energy into a hands-on competition.
How Solar Planes Work?
Solar Planes traces a clear chain from light to motion:
1. Light and mirrors: Overhead light sources shine down, and visitors angle mirrors at the base to redirect the beams.
2. Aim at the panel: Each child steers their reflected light up onto the solar panel of a model plane.
3. Light becomes voltage: The solar panel converts the light it receives into electrical voltage.
4. Planes take flight: That voltage powers a motor that rotates the aircraft, and the more light on the panel, the faster it spins.
Supporting up to four visitors at once, Solar Planes turns the science of photovoltaics into an intuitive, competitive game that shows exactly how sunlight can be captured and turned into movement.
Target Age
- All ages
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