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Bay Area Whiz Kids Spend Summer Building Solar Cars

SANTA CLARA (KCBS) - Want to meet the kids you'll probably be working for a decade from now? They're spending their summer vacation building solar powered cars at National Semiconductor in Santa Clara.

Twenty-two local African American middle school students are participating in the Summer Science Institute in conjunction with the Greene Scholars Program, which is open to kids of African ancestry only.

One young participant readily admitted he's happier building cars than playing video games during his down time from school.

The statistics also bode well for him and his peers, as the Institute says the overwhelming majority of participants will eventually enroll in higher education - well above the national average for the African American demographic.

KCBS' Betsy Gebhart Reports:

The Summer Science Institute has been sponsoring science and engineering programs for African American pre-teens at a number of high tech companies for the last decade.

(© 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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