The SOL of Auburn was invited by the U. S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to be part of a solar home display at the Walt Disney World EPCOT Center in Orlando, Florida from March 13 to April 4, 1998.  The display was part of a special event called Science Jam at EPCOT.

    The display, including a full-scale cut-away model of a home, its front yard, and driveway, was called Roofus' Solar Neighborhood with Roofus the dog as the mascot.  Shows were run throughout the day where actors performed skits to educate the audience on general energy awareness and particularly solar energy.  Other items on display were solar powered lights, a solar powered water fountain, and a solar powered lawnmower.

    The solar home was meant to highlight the U.S. President's Million Solar Roofs Initiative (hence, Roofus the dog) with the goal of installing one million solar energy systems on buildings across the country by the year 2010.  At the same time, the U.S. Department of Energy is encouraging the nation to create a new generation of buildings that are energy efficient, high quality, affordable, and environmentally sustainable through its Buildings for the 21st Century Program.  The goal of this program is to reduce energy use of new buildings by 50% and existing buildings by 20% by the year 2010.

    The SOL of Auburn was the "car in the driveway".  The car was showcased beside the cut-away house where numerous people saw and touched the car .  For safety reasons, the car was not operated during the entire event (even though many people asked if they could drive it).    The event was beneficial to everyone involved.  Our sponsors received three weeks of advertising in EPCOT, the team attracted more interest to the car, and the general public became more aware of solar powered vehicles, energy conservation, and the Auburn University team.

    Unfortunately, our pictures of the trip didn't develop the way we thought they would. There are a couple pictures posted in the scanned photos section.