Saws will be whizzing, drills will be buzzing and sawdust will be flying as more than 400 students from high schools across five Southern California counties build 16-foot canoe-like boats, kicking off the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California's 17^th Annual Solar Cup competition.

Solar Cup is a high school education program in which teams of students from throughout Southern California build and race solar-powered boats.  The seven-month program culminates in a three-day competition at Lake Skinner, in Temecula Valley. Through the program, students learn about conservation of natural resources, electrical and mechanical engineering, problem solving and much more.

Solar Cup began in 2002 with eight schools and 100 students. This year, about 850 students from 42 schools in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego counties are participating. Saturday's workshop is limited to 12 students from each team.

In the months ahead, teams will apply math, physics and engineering skills to equip the boats with steering, solar panels, batteries and sun-driven motors producing up to 320 watts. Students will also accumulate points through the submission of two technical reports and a water conservation public service announcement.

While Metropolitan provides the boat kits and tools, Metropolitan's member agencies and their water retailers financially sponsor the teams, providing $4,000 to new teams and $2,500 to returning teams to fully build and equip their boats.

Metropolitan Water District of Southern California | www.mwdh2o.com