The Princeton area’s first ever student solar celebration, “SolarJam 2014,” will be held on May 17 (rain date May 18) from noon to 2 p.m. at Princeton High School.

Nine area schools are sending teams of students from 3rd-11th grade who have built either solar mini cars or created passive solar projects. The solar mini cars will participate in a race. Participating schools include: The Cambridge School, Hopewell Valley High School, Melvin Kreps Middle School, The Pennington School, Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart, Princeton Day School, Princeton Junior School, Riverside School, Stuart School of the Sacred Heart. Some schools are sending multiple teams to the event, which is sponsored by PSEG and organized by OASIS (Organizing Action on Sustainability In Schools), a local non-profit school consortium.

The goals of “SolarJam 2014” are to interest students in alternative energy and to showcase the good work local schools are doing in the area of sustainability. There will be food for sale at the event from The Whole Earth Center and The Bent Spoon, both of whom are donating a portion of their proceeds to OASIS. This is a low waste event, so please bring your own water bottle.

The event is free and open to the public and will be held at either the Princeton High School tennis courts or track. At the corner of Guyot Ave. and Walnut Lane look for parking signs. The public is encouraged to come and support local students. For more information contact Liz Cutler at Princeton Day School, lcutler@pds.org.